Our Spinach and Blueberry Salad is wonderfully light and refreshing! It makes a great side salad, or you can use it as a base and add your favourite protein to make it an easy summer meal.
We have taken sweet luscious blueberries, vibrant baby spinach, creamy avocado and red pepper for a pop of colour then drizzled them with our deliciously tangy cilantro-lime vinaigrette for an unforgettable super tasty salad.
Blueberry Health Notes
Blueberries are an antioxidant-rich fruit low in calories and incredibly healthy, with the potential to regulate blood sugar levels and aid in heart and brain health.
It is the anthocyanins in blueberries that give them their brilliant purple colour and makes them an excellent antioxidant.
They are a good source of manganese and vitamins C and K1. They also provide small amounts of copper, as well as vitamins E and B6.
The ingredients in this salad and substitutions
- Blueberries – well and truly the star in this salad, we have used them for their sweetness and incredible antioxidant benefits. You can replace with blackberries, raspberries or strawberries if you prefer.
- Baby Spinach – we have used it as a base in this salad and because it is high in iron. You can swap it for some rocket/arugula or with a mesclun or spring mix instead.
- Red Bell Pepper/Capsicum – for their sweet fruitiness and a pop of colour, swap the red for yellow if you are using strawberries or raspberries for a nice contrast. They are high in vitamin A and will give you 169% of your vitamin C needs.
- Avocado – in this salad for its wonderful creaminess and healthy fat content that will keep you fuller for longer.
- Coriander/Cilantro – here for its citrusy taste, however, if you hate it try replacing with some aromatic basil or refreshing mint instead.
- Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette – we have blitzed cilantro, lime, fresh ginger, garlic and a dash of cumin powder for its earthiness. The cilantro can be replaced with basil or mint if you prefer. Or if you are looking for a simple dressing just use any citrus and oil mix. (1/4 cup citrus to 1/3 cup oil).
You Will Need
3 Steps to Making this Salad
1PREPARE YOUR VEG & BERRIES
Wash your baby spinach and dry with a towel or with a salad spinner for extra dry leaves.
Wash your blueberries and pat dry.
Wash your capsicum/pepper remove the core and seeds then dice finely.
Wash, peel and remove the seed from your avocado, then dice, squeeze some lemon or lime juice on top to prevent it from browning.
EITHER PAT OR SPIN DRY SPINACH WASH & DRY YOUR BLUEBERRIES DICE RED CAPSICUM (PEPPER) DICE AVOCADO & ADD LEMON JUICE
2MAKE DRESSING
Wash your coriander/cilantro, shake to remove excess water, pat dry. Cut off the root ends the roughly chop, keep a ⅓ cup to use in the dressing. Reserve the rest for the salad.
Add the chopped coriander and the avocado oil, lime juice, ginger and garlic in a blender. Taste your blueberries then depending on how sweet they are, you may need to add some sweetener – add the cumin powder and season with sea salt and cracked black pepper and blitz to combine.
Taste and adjust seasonings according to your personal preferences.
ADD ALL DRESSING INGREDIENTS TO BLENDER BLITZ UNTIL WELL COMBINED
3ASSEMBLE THE SALAD
Put everything in a large mixing bowl, season with some sea salt and cracked black pepper. Pour over the dressing and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings, arrange in a serving bowl and serve.
ADD ALL INGREDIENTS TO BOWL POUR OVER DRESSING MIX WELL TO COMBINE
Make-ahead and Storage Tips
- The dressing can be made a day or two in advance and kept covered in your fridge until you are ready to assemble the salad.
- Toss the ingredients together several hours in advance (make sure your avocado has lots of lemon juice). Pour the vinaigrette on top and toss it through the salad just before serving.
- Alternatively, you can also serve the dressing on the side in a small jug.
- Keep it covered in your fridge, and this salad is still good to eat the following day even though it had lost its “freshness”. You can add some tuna flakes or quinoa to bulk it up.
Meal Prep Tips
- This is an excellent salad to meal prep for lunches and can be made more substantial by adding some cooked quinoa or grilled chicken, pulled pork or seared beef/lamb strips.
- Assemble your salad, making sure that your avocado has been smothered in lemon juice to prevent browning then portion into individual containers.
- Make the dressing and pack into small containers to keep it separate from the salad.
- Pour over the dressing and toss to combine just before eating.
Looking for more Berry Salad Recipes to Try?
Equipment
- Salad Spinner
- Small Food Processor or High-Speed / Bullet Blender
Ingredients
- 150 grams baby spinach (approximately 5 cups)
- 2 small packets blueberries (approximately 250 grams)
- 1 large avocado (approximately 280 grams)
- 1 medium red capsicum / bell pepper (approximately 150 grams)
- 1 small bunch coriander cilantro (half for salad half for dressing)
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ⅓ cup avocado oil
- 1 tbsp ginger grated
- 1 tsp sweetener optional
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¼ tsp cumin powder
Instructions
- Wash and dry all your vegetables and blueberries. Use a salad spinner for the baby spinach for extra dry leaves.
- Remove the core and seeds from the capsicum/ bell pepper then dice finely.
- Wash, peel and remove the seed from your avocado, then dice, squeeze some lemon or lime juice on top to prevent browning.
- Wash your coriander/cilantro, shake to remove excess water, pat dry. Cut off the root ends then roughly chop, keep a ⅓ cup to use in the dressing. Reserve the rest for the salad.
- Add the chopped coriander and the avocado oil, lime juice, ginger and garlic in a blender. Taste your blueberries then depending on how sweet they are, you may need to add some sweetener – add the cumin powder and season with sea salt and cracked black pepper and blitz to combine.
- Taste and adjust seasonings according to your personal preferences.
- Put everything in a large mixing bowl, season with some sea salt and cracked black pepper. Pour over the dressing and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings, arrange in a serving bowl and serve.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
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