When you come home from the farmers market with all of those fresh berries, you have to make this Berry Summer Salad. It's light, fresh, and bright with plenty of contrasting textures and flavors.
Table of Contents
About this Salad
One of my favorite parts of the summer is when the farmers' markets open! I love walking around, seeing the fun items each stand is selling, and picking up fresh produce to use in my meals throughout the week.
What I love most is picking up fresh berries! The gorgeous colors draws me right to them and I really have to control myself to not buy the whole table. Not only are they beautiful, but there are so many ways you can enjoy them. And one of my go-tos is this Berry Summer Salad.
It's a perfectly light side salad and it combines two of my favorite dressings—Honey Mustard and Poppyseed! Enjoy fruity sweetness over a peppery bed of arugula, a sweet crunch from honey roasted pistachios, and a creamy, tangy dressing.
Plus, you can bulk up this meal with a warm, delicious protein or complex carb. It checks so many boxes and will be a great addition to your next summer get together.
And if you're looking for more delicious summer salads, also check out this Blueberry Peach Cucumber Salad, this Summer Green Salad, this Cucumber Melon Salad, or this Watermelon Feta Mint Salad!
Recipe Ingredients
- Arugula: Crisp and peppery, this makes a great base for our salad. It's also a beautiful deep green and will bring a wonderful pop of color! You can also use spinach if arugula isn't your thing.
- Berries: I used strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.
- Honey Roasted Pistachios: These are SO delicious! They add more texture to our salad and a bit of sweetness.
- Red Onion: Adds a little spiciness and contrasts the sweet flavors nicely.
- Crumbled cheese: I love a creamy goat or feta to go with the berries.
- Honey Mustard: No, this isn't just for chicken nuggets. Honey mustard is packed full of creamy, tangy flavor and will be so tasty on our salad.
- Poppy Seed Dressing: The perfect dressing for anything that has to do with berries.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
Base: Instead of arugula spinach or butter lettuce is a great option. I would lean towards a lighter green instead of something hearty like kale, for example, which would take away from the delicate nature of the berries.
Fruit: Try adding to the fruit or swapping any of the berries out with pomegranate, grapes, apples, pear, or cherries.
Cheese: I like feta or goat, but I think brie or white cheddar would be tasty, too!
Dressing: The poppyseed + honey mustard is a combo I highly suggest! However, I think a balsamic vinaigrette (a flavored one like this Strawberry Balsamic would be amazing), red wine vinaigrette, raspberry vinaigrette, or a coleslaw dressing would all be good options, too!
How to Make This Recipe
1. Wash all fresh fruit and let dry. Thinly slice strawberries and red onion.
2. Layer the berries and onion over a bed of arugula.
3. Whisk together honey mustard and poppy seed dressing in a small mixing bowl. Pour over the salad and toss.
4. Sprinkle on honey roasted pistachios and crumbled cheese.
5. Grab a fork and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Store this salad in the refrigerator in an airtight container separate from the dressing for 3 days.
There's quite a few things that could create a soggy salad with this recipe.
First, did you use too much dressing? Start on the lighter side and add more as needed. Arugula is a delicate lettuce and doesn't need a ton of dressing.
Second, did you dry your berries? After your berries dry, be sure to let them dry completely before adding to the salad. The excess moisture will result in a soggy and less flavorful salad.
And third, are your berries fresh? If your berries become too ripe, their juices may start to get everywhere. This juice has the potential to make your salad soggy also, so I recommend making this when your berries are SUPER fresh (it tastes best this way, too:)).
Bulk up this salad with a complex carb like roasted sweet potato, quinoa, or chickpeas. Add a protein like grilled chicken, salmon or steak. My Best Grilled Chicken recipe is a great option!
More Recipes You'll Love
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Recipe
Berry Summer Salad
Equipment
- Salad bowl
- Small mixing bowl
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Whisk
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 cup arugula
- ½ cup strawberries, diced or sliced
- ¼ cup blueberries
- ¼ cup blackberries
- ¼ cup raspberries
- ¼ cup honey roasted pistachios
- ¼ cup red onion, sliced
- ¼ cup crumbled cheese, feta or goat
Dressing
- 2 tbsp honey mustard
- 2 tbsp poppyseed dressing
Instructions
- Wash all fresh fruit and let dry. Dice or slice strawberries and red onion.
- Layer all fruit & vegetable ingredients on a bed of arugula.
- Whisk together honey mustard and poppy seed dressing in a small mixing bowl. Toss with salad.
- Sprinkle on honey roasted pistachios.
- Grab a fork and enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
Looking for this in MyFitnessPal?
If you're using MyFitnessPal, search 'A Paige Of Positivity' and find TRIPLE BERRY SUMMER SALAD calories and nutrition facts. Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
Sydney Van Acker says
the feta + berries combo is one im obsessed with!!!!! plus over the bitter arugula i love all of the contrasting flavors
Courtney Paige says
Gosh, this salad is TASTY! Must try it!