Patriotic Summer Salad
a super easy salad for summer hosting or an quick and easy meal prep
This patriotic summer salad is one of my favorite things to bring to cookouts, pool days, and backyard dinners because it looks beautiful, feeds a crowd, and takes almost no effort to throw together. The combination of sweet berries, creamy goat cheese, crunchy pecans, and tangy poppyseed dressing feels fresh and festive without spending hours in the kitchen.
I also love this as an easy meal prep option during the hotter months. Just store the salad ingredients and dressing separately, then assemble when you’re ready to eat. Add some shredded rotisserie chicken or your favorite Instant Pot chicken to turn it into a filling lunch or simple weeknight dinner.
The best part is that this recipe is flexible: adjust the measurements to fit your crowd, shortcut the homemade dressing with a store-bought poppyseed dressing if needed, or add chicken to make it a meal. It’s colorful, fresh, and one of those easy recipes everyone always ends up asking for.
Ingredients:
16 oz of spring mix
1 lb strawberries chopped
12 oz blueberries
4 oz goat cheese
1/2 cup pecans chopped
Dressing:
1 cup avocado oil
3 tbl honey
3 tbl diced shallots
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup ACV
Instructions:
De-stem and quarter your strawberries.
Place your spring mix in a large serving bowl. Add your strawberries, blue berries, crumble your goat cheese on top along with the chopped or halved pecans.
In a jar with a lid (such as a mason jar), add your dressing ingredients in and shake. Natural separation will occur and you can shake before serving.