Looking for a side dish recipe to perk up a lackluster dinner? Add a spark to your meal with this fresh and healthy spinach blueberry salad. The salad contains a rainbow of colors. It is loaded with a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits tossed with a sweet and tangy yogurt dressing.
spinach blueberry salad
Does this sound like a dinner at your house? My husband and I grilled some chicken. I baked a couple potatoes, tossed together a simple salad, and called it a meal. It was dinner, but kinda boring.
Wanting to spice up our lackluster and unremarkable dinner, I ditched the ordinary tossed salad for this fresh and healthy spinach blueberry salad that is just bursting with flavor. Loaded with tender baby spinach, plump blueberries, tart apples, red onion, shredded cabbage, and crunchy sunflower seeds, I feel healthy just looking at it. And the creamy yogurt dressing adds just the right touch of sweet tanginess. This is a winner of a side dish!
why I love this spinach blueberry salad
Salads bursting with fresh ingredients like my Melon Salad with Fresh Mozzarella, Lemony Cauliflower Salad, and Apple, Fennel and Radish Slaw and this super fresh and healthy Spinach Blueberry Salad with Yogurt Dressing are some of my favorites. They are extraordinary side dishes for an ordinary entrée of grilled chicken, steak or fish.
And I LOVE that I can prep the salad in advance too. I mix up the dressing up to 4 days in advance and store it in the refrigerator. The salad ingredients are combined in a big bowl, covered and refrigerated. When it's time to serve, I toss the salad with dressing and serve.
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the ingredients for spinach blueberry salad
- plain Greek yogurt
- mayonnaise
- honey
- Dijon mustard
- milk or cream
- kosher salt
- pepper
- baby spinach
- blueberries
- cabbage or cole slaw mix
- apple
- red onion
- roasted and salted sunflower seeds
how to make this healthy salad
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl combine yogurt, mayonnaise, honey, Dijon mustard, and milk. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper.
- Make the salad: In a large bowl, add the spinach, blueberries, cabbage, apple, onion, and sunflower seeds.
- To serve: Toss spinach blueberry salad with the dressing. Sprinkle the more sunflower seeds and serve immediately.
can you prepare salad ahead of time?
A perfect dish to take to your next cookout or party, this spinach blueberry salad can be made in advance. Whisk up the dressing and store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Assemble the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to one a day in advance.
Just before serving, toss the dressing with the salad and top with extra sunflower seeds.
chef tips for making spinach blueberry salad
- Use full fat yogurt: For the richest tasting dressing, use full fat yogurt. But if you are looking for a healthier dressing, use nonfat or low fat yogurt instead.
- Cabbage or bagged cole slaw mix: Use either fresh cabbage (green, purple or napa are delicious options) or a bagged cole slaw mix in the salad.
- Keep the apples from browning: No one likes to eat brown apples. To keep them fresh looking, place sliced apples in a bowl of cold water with the juice of half a lemon for 5 to 10 minutes. Then just drain and add them along with the other salad ingredients.
- Add a nut: If sunflower seeds are not your fave, try a nut instead. Toasted pine nuts, pecans, almonds or walnuts are all delicious in the spinach blueberry salad.
- Add dressing a little at a time: No one likes a salad drowning in dressing. Add the dressing a little at a time. Toss the salad and add more if needed.
did you make this spinach blueberry salad recipe?
If you make this fresh and healthy spinach blueberry salad, I’d love hearing from you. Be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ~ I do my best to reply to all your comments. And snap a photo to post to Instagram. I’ll add the photos to my Insta stories as I love seeing all your creations.
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recipe
Fresh and Healthy Spinach Blueberry Salad with Yogurt Dressing
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Looking for a side dish recipe to perk up a lackluster dinner? Add a spark to your meal with this fresh and healthy spinach blueberry salad. The salad contains a rainbow of colors. It is loaded with a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits tossed with a sweet and tangy yogurt dressing.
Ingredients
for the dressing
- 3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon milk
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
for the salad
- 8 cups of baby spinach
- 2 cups of shredded cabbage or bagged cole slaw mix
- 1 large apple (julienned)
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 small red onion (thinly sliced)
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Instructions
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl combine yogurt, mayonnaise, honey, Dijon mustard, milk. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Make the salad: In a large bowl, add the spinach, blueberries, cabbage, apple, onion, and 3 tablespoons of the sunflower seeds.
- To serve: Toss the spinach blueberry salad with the some of the dressing. Taste and add more of the dressing if needed. Sprinkle the remaining sunflower seeds and serve immediately.
Notes
- Use full fat yogurt: For the richest tasting dressing, use full fat yogurt. But if you are looking for a healthier dressing, use nonfat or low fat yogurt instead.
- Cabbage or bagged cole slaw mix: Use either fresh cabbage (green, purple or napa are delicious options) or a bagged cole slaw mix in the salad.
- Keep the apples from browning: No one likes to eat brown apples. To keep them fresh looking, place sliced apples in a bowl of cold water with the juice of half a lemon for 5 to 10 minutes. Then just drain and add them along with the other salad ingredients.
- Add a nut: If sunflower seeds are not your fave, try a nut instead. Toasted pine nuts, pecans, almonds or walnuts are all delicious in the spinach blueberry salad.
- Add dressing a little at a time: No one likes a salad drowning in dressing. Add the dressing a little at a time. Toss the salad and add more if needed.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Method: no cooking required
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe
- Calories: 118
- Sugar: 13 g
- Sodium: 113 mg
- Fat: 4.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 19.6 g
- Fiber: 3.4 g
- Protein: 3.5 g
- Cholesterol: 3 mg
This recipe was originally posted in August of 2013. Updates in June of 2022 include new photographs and video, detailed recipe instruction and nutrition, and preparation tips.
Gloria
You can never have too many salad recipes, especially this time of year. Fresh ingredients and delicious results are perfect. This will be great at bbq parties all summer long.
Amy Casey
Thanks Gloria. This is one of my go to summer recipes.
Veronika
The combination of sweet and savory was really delicious in this salad! The apples added a nice crunch and I really enjoyed the creamy dressing.
Amy Casey
I love sweet and savory dishes. Thanks for your comment Veronika.
Bernice
Blueberry season is just around the corner and I am so excited to try your recipe. I am a big fan of fruit in salad. That dressing is a keeper too.
Amy Casey
Thanks Bernice! In season blueberries are the best!
Ann
This salad sounds so refreshing and fresh! Perfect for a summer salad! Excited to give it a try! Thanks for the share!
Amy Casey
You are so welcome Ann.
Claire
I made this for lunch for a couple of girlfriends and I today. It was such a hit! The dressing was so full of flavor and the blueberries were such fun! I served it with some grilled chicken breasts and it was perfect.
Amy Casey
Thanks Claire. I love the idea of serving the salad along side grilled chicken. And girlfriend lunches are the BEST!
Sharon
This salad is so light and refreshing with the fruit, but the yogurt dressing is really what pulls it all together. So good!
Amy Casey
Thanks Sharon. I just love homemade dressings.
Mikayla
So good, we made it for dinner and ate it all. Now I need to make it again so I can take it for my lunches this week.
Amy Casey
Great idea Mikayla!
Debbie
This spinach and blueberry salad is such a refreshing salad during the summer. The yogurt dressing is slightly sweet and tangy . It is the perfect touch.
Amy Casey
Thanks Debbie. It's a favorite summery dressing of mine.
Katie Crenshaw
This is a lovely salad to make for the summer. The flavor combination is delicious. Loved the dressing that tied it all together.
Amy Casey
So glad you enjoyed my recipe Katie 🙂