Salad with spinach leaves, fresh sliced strawberries and avocado, grilled steak, and a simple lemon balsamic vinaigrette dressing! Instead, try my lemon poppy seed dressing.
When I originally prepared this, it was simply a strawberry spinach salad. I added avocado, chopped nuts, and cheese to make it a more substantial salad that could be eaten for supper.
We had a great sirloin that we seared and baked till it was medium rare, then cut it across the grain and threw it on top, and it was screaming delicious.
It was very satisfying due to the abundance of steak, avocado, strawberries, almonds, and cotija cheese (because its the best cheese ever and if you dont agree, come at me bro).
Contents
- Ingredients for strawberry spinach salad
- How to make a balsamic vinaigrette dressing
- How do you know when avocado is ripe?
- How do you hull a strawberry?
- Add steak to your salad
- How to cook steak
- Need more salad recipes?
- Or maybe you want to mix up your salad dressing game:
- Spinach and Strawberry Steak Salad
Ingredients for strawberry spinach salad
- Steak: Your preferred cut, cut against the grain. You could also barbecue some chicken! If you’re not a lover of meat or a vegetarian, you may omit it entirely.
- Spinach: The salad’s foundation! You could always substitute various greens, but I adore how easy a spinach salad is.
- Fresh strawberries: The salad’s other hero, fresh strawberries are a simple, delightful garnish.
- Avocado: This adds fat to the salad, making it full. It’s up to you whether you want it sliced or diced.
- Cotija cheese: My favorite kind of cheese for topping salads, dips, tacos, and virtually anything. You may also use feta, goat cheese, or whichever cheese you choose!
- Optional: sliced or slivered almonds for added fiber and protein, as well as a little crunch. If you like the taste of walnuts or pecans, you might substitute those.
How to make a balsamic vinaigrette dressing
This dressing is very simple to make for any salad! You may add additional ingredients and spices, but I prefer to keep it simple and mix the following ingredients together in a small bowl until combined:
- Olive oil, extra virgin
- Vinegar of Modena
- Juice of lemon
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
How do you know when avocado is ripe?
This is an excellent site with a wealth of information and illustrations on how to determine when avocados are ripe.
So, in a nutshell, ripe avocados will:
- Have skin that has an extremely dark green color
- Have rough skin texture
- Provide mild pressure without becoming mushy
How do you hull a strawberry?
To hull a strawberry, all you need is a paring knife. Hold the strawberry in one hand and the knife in the other, with the tip of the knife placed slightly off-center from the stem into the top of the strawberry. Move the knife toward the strawberry’s core.
Spin the strawberry while you guide the knife around the stem (keeping it angled), and after a complete rotation, the stem cap should come right off! A little green stalk with a cone-shaped core will be linked to it.
If that seems like too much bother, you may just chop off the top of each strawberry. You lose a bit more strawberry this way, but if that doesn’t bother you, go for it.
Add steak to your salad
This time, my husband picked up a ribeye by accident, so we just utilized the leanest bits of the cut for the salad. It’s not as nice as it used to be, but I never promised you guys Pinterest perfection in here.
You may use whatever kind of steak you like, but I prefer a flank or sirloin steak. Cook till done to your liking, let it rest, slice, and you’ve got yourself a delicious substantial salad.
How to cook steak
Everyone has their own personal technique of cooking steak on the stovetop, in the oven, or on a grill, but the temperatures that you cook it to for the desired outcome stay constant.
For reference, below are several different doneness temperatures:
- Rare:125F
- 135F medium uncommon
- Medium:145F
- 150°F for medium well
- Congratulations: 160F
Depending of your cooking technique, prepare the steak before preparing the salad so that it may rest for a few minutes.
Don’t like steak? Just leave it out! And maybe some more cheese to compensate. Just a thought.
Need more salad recipes?
- Hunger Thirst Play’s Kale Citrus Salad with Grilled Lemon Basil Dressing
- Half Baked Harvest’s Chipotle Shrimp Cobb Salad with Jalapeo Corn Vinaigrette
- Whitney Bond’s Pesto Chicken Avocado Spinach Salad
- Tara Teaspoon’s Fresh Wedge Salad
- Salad with Arugula, Cantaloupe, and Prosciutto from Bowl of Yummy
- Salad with Asparagus, Egg, and Bacon from Taste and See
Or maybe you want to mix up your salad dressing game:
- The Cozy Cook’s Olive Garden Salad Dressing Replica
- Dressing with Lemon Poppy Seeds
- Evolving Table’s 7 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes
- Paleo Gluten Free Foods’ Creamy Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing
Spinach and Strawberry Steak Salad
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Description
Ingredients
- 1 steak, cooked and cut against the grain
- 6-7 cups loosely packed spinach
- 2 cups hulled and sliced fresh strawberries
- 1 avocado (peeled and sliced)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup lemon juice
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- crumbled cupcotija cheese
- 2 tbsp sliced or slivered almonds
Instructions
- Let your steak to rest for at least 30 minutes, or until it has reached room temperature. Wipe the steak with paper towels to absorb excess moisture, then season well with salt and pepper.
1 steak - Preheat the oven to broil mode.
- Warm a cast iron pan over high heat, add a little oil, and sear the steak for 30-60 seconds. Flip the steak with tongs and sear for 30 seconds on the other side.
- Put a probe thermometer into the middle of the steak, then gently transfer the pan to the oven and broil for 3-4 minutes, then flip and broil for another 3-4 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 5 degrees lower than your preferred final temperature (it will continue to cook a bit after being removed from the oven). Your time may vary based on how you want your steak cooked. The varied doneness temperatures are listed in the notes below.
- Place the finished steak on a chopping board and cover with foil. Put aside while preparing the remaining salad ingredients.
- Clean and rinse the spinach before placing it in a large salad bowl. Set aside.
6 to 7 cups spinach - Set aside fresh strawberries that have been hulled and sliced. Watch how to hull strawberries in the article above!
2 cups strawberries, fresh - Set aside the avocado slices.
a single avocado - 2 lemons, salt & pepper
1 lemon, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, EVOO, and lemon juice in a small bowl, seasoning with salt & pepper to taste.
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp - Toss the strawberries and balsamic vinaigrette into the dish of spinach to coat.
- 2 pieces.
1 steak, cut against the grain
- 2 tablespoons chopped or slivered almonds, 4 cup cotija cheese
Separate the spinach and strawberries into two dishes. Avocado slices, meat, cheese, and slivered nuts go on top. Serve and have fun!
1
Notes
- Rare: 125F
- 135F is considered somewhat uncommon.
- Temperature: 145°F
- 150F for medium well
- Excellent: 160F