This strawberry cobb salad was a hit with the bacon and candied nuts and strawberry balsamic vinaigrette. You can easily make it Whole30 friendly by using plain roasted nuts and compliant bacon!
Strawberry Balsamic Salad
This Balsamic Strawberry Cobb Salad offers a refreshing twist on traditional Cobb with its mix of fresh strawberries, bacon and crunchy walnuts, all drizzled with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Perfect for a light lunch or as a flavorful side dish, this salad is the perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors.
What you’ll need for this Salad with Strawberry
For The Strawberry Cobb Salad
- Bacon
- Romaine hearts or other salad greens
- Hard-cooked eggs
- English cucumber
- Strawberries
- Raw walnuts or pecans
- Maple syrup
- Sea salt
For the Vinaigrette
- Balsamic vinegar
- Dijon mustard
- Sea salt
- Avocado oil or light olive oil
How to Make Cobb Salad With Balsamic Dressing
- Slice the bacon into 1-inch pieces and cook them in a large skillet over medium heat, about 20 minutes, until they reach the desired crispness.
- Meanwhile, prep the lettuce, eggs, cucumbers. Reserve 4 large strawberries (about 5 ounces) and set aside for the dressing.
- In another, smaller skillet add the nuts and maple syrup and cook them over medium-low heat until most of the maple has cooked off and the nuts are sticky and fragrant. Transfer them to a bowl or plate to cool and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.
- When the bacon is finished, transfer the bits to a paper towel to soak up any excess grease.
- Make the dressing by blending the reserved strawberries, balsamic vinegar, mustard, and sea salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. Drizzle in the oil while the machine is running. Taste, and add a little extra salt or maybe a 1/2 teaspoon of honey if your strawberries weren’t particularly sweet.
- Assemble the salads by putting a bed of lettuce in each bowl. Top with sliced cucumbers, eggs, candied nuts, bacon pieces, and sliced strawberries. Drizzle with dressing.
Making Strawberry Salad with Balsamic Dressing in advance
This recipe can easily be prepared in advance! Simply gather your ingredients and prepare up to step 5. Assemble just before serving, or let everyone assemble their own salads!
Make This Strawberry Cobb Salad your own
To make this Whole30 friendly, don’t use maple syrup in the nuts. Just toast them in a dry pan until they’re fragrant (be careful, though, because they burn quickly). If you need to sweeten the dressing, use a little Date Paste or an extra strawberry. Also, be sure that your bacon is compliant.
Nuts and seeds – You could use almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or even flax seeds. Go wild!
Grains – add a base of quinoa or bulgar wheat.
Avocado would be an amazing addition here!
What to Serve with Balsamic Strawberry Salad
This salad contains everything you need for it to be a main meal, or a refreshing side dish.
How to store Strawberry Balsamic Salad
This salad is best stored with the ingredients separated to avoid slimy salad greens and strawberries. Store the strawberries, bacon, dressing and greens in airtight containers, chilled, for 4-5 days.
The nuts can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
If you make one of my recipes, be sure to post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!
Strawberry Cobb Salad With Balsamic Vinaigrette
This is a fun twist on a cobb salad with sweet strawberries, toasted walnuts and strawberry-balsamic dressing! It's paleo and Whole30 friendly, too.
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 10-12 ounce package of uncooked bacon (nitrate/nitrite free and pastured, if possible)
- 2-3 heads of Romaine hearts or other salad greens to feed 6 people, trimmed and chopped
- 6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and quartered
- 1 English cucumber, sliced thinly
- 1 1/2 pounds of ripe strawberries, trimmed and sliced or quartered, divided
- 2 cups of whole, raw walnuts or pecans
- 1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup
- Pinch of sea salt
For the dressing: (makes about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup avocado oil or light olive oil
Instructions
- Slice the bacon into 1-inch pieces and cook them in a large skillet over medium heat, about 20 minutes, until they reach the desired crispness.
- Meanwhile, prep the lettuce, eggs, cucumbers. Reserve 4 large strawberries (about 5 ounces) and set aside for the dressing.
- In another, smaller skillet add the nuts and maple syrup and cook them over medium-low heat until most of the maple has cooked off and the nuts are sticky and fragrant. Transfer them to a bowl or plate to cool and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.
- When the bacon is finished, transfer the bits to a paper towel to soak up any excess grease.
- Make the dressing by blending the reserved strawberries, balsamic vinegar, mustard, and sea salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. Drizzle in the oil while the machine is running. Taste, and add a little extra salt or maybe a 1/2 teaspoon of honey if your strawberries weren't particularly sweet.
- Assemble the salads by putting a bed of lettuce in each bowl. Top with sliced cucumbers, eggs, candied nuts, bacon pieces, and sliced strawberries. Drizzle with dressing.
Notes
Nat's Note:
1. To make this Whole30 friendly, don't use maple syrup in the nuts. Just toast them in a dry pan until they're fragrant (be careful, though, because they burn quickly). If you need to sweeten the dressing, use a little Date Paste or an extra strawberry. Also, be sure that your bacon is compliant.
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Thursday 22nd of November 2018
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