Spinach, cranberry and goat cheese salad for all your potluck needs and beyond! Each component is tasty on it’s own (okay maybe not spinach) but when they all come together, something truly delicious happens.
This salad has got it goin on. Tender spinach leaves, creamy goat cheese, tart cranberries, salty/crunchy pepitas. Yes yes yes. But I think we all know you can have a salad with the tastiest ingredients in the world but if the dressing is no good, the whole thing is basically ruined. That is not the case with this dressing! It has perfectly balanced acidity, a touch of sweetness and get this: just 6 ingredients. Bring this as your contribution to your next holiday get together, work potluck or just serve it at home to your family. It will be a hit for sure!
I don’t have any interesting stories about how this lovely little salad came to be. Just had some extra goat cheese from a failed recipe attempt and was determined not to waste it! I hate when I buy a special ingredient for a recipe, only use part of it, then the rest gets wasted because it’s just not something I eat all the time. That’s why I have a bunch of recipes that call for chipotle peppers in adobo! Most recipes don’t call for the entire can so I’ve come up with a bunch of places to use up those peppers. Like chipotle mayo, tamale pie and black bean soup to name a few. But I digress, let’s talk ingredients!
Ingredients
Spinach salad
- Spinach (Spinach is growing nicely in my composting garden right now!)
- Dried cranberries
- Creamy, crumbly goat cheese (I get the chevre kind from Trader Joe’s)
- Pepitas or pumpkin seeds (I prefer to buy raw and roast and salt them myself, but you can buy them already roasted if you prefer)
- Marinated shallots (we will talk about how to do this! it’s easy and requires basically the same ingredients as the vinaigrette)
Vinaigrette
- Avocado oil (you can also use sunflower or canola)
- Red wine vinegar
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Pepper
- Honey
These 6 ingredients alone in the right proportion (this is key!) makes a super delicious dressing that will make you look forward to salad. Sometimes I spruce it up by adding fresh herbs (like basil, dill, mint, parsley) and finely minced shallots. Just an option!
Make this spinach and goat cheese salad
So this is a really simple recipe but there are a few (easy) extra steps like reconstituting the cranberries and marinating shallots that make it feel like a special salad from a fancy schmancy restaurant.
1: Marinate the shallots and reconstitute the cranberries
You might be tempted to skip this step and just throw some thinly sliced shallots on the salad and call it a day. And you can, but…. I really think you should give this step a try. It’s so worth it! It takes the edge off the onion flavor and imparts a nice pickly flavor that is the perfect compliment to the goat cheese and cranberries.
To make them: simply slice the shallots, place in a jar and top with vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar and a drizzle of oil. Shake and let stand while you prepare the other ingredients and the dressing.
Reconstituting the cranberries is just a fancy way of saying pour some hot water over them so they aren’t so hard. Super easy to do and makes them more pleasant to eat.
2: Roast pepitas
Or you can buy them already roasted/salted. I like to just roast my pepitas myself so I can control the salt. It’s easy to do! Just spread the seeds out on a parchment-lined baking sheet drizzle with just a touch of oil, sprinkle with salt and bake in the oven for a few minutes.
3: Make the dressing
Not much to see here, just throw all of the ingredients in a jar and shake! But lemme tell ya, this dressing is MY FAVORITE. I can’t even count how many times I’ve made it the last few months. It has taken me forever to finally make a dressing that I like more than any bottled kind and I’m so excited about it.
Also note, you will end up with extra dressing. Enjoy it for up to 2 weeks after making it! I promise it will make you want to eat more salads.
4: Assemble the salad
I think you know what to do here, except may I just suggest tossing the spinach leaves with dressing first, then sprinkling on the goat cheese, cranberries, pepitas and shallots. That way the goat cheese doesn’t smear all over the spinach and look messy.
Tried this recipe?
If you’ve tried this spinach, cranberry and goat cheese salad, let me know! Leave a comment/rating below and let me know how it went. You can also find me on instagram @thefigjar 🙂
More salad recipes
PrintSpinach Cranberry Goat Cheese Salad
A simple spinach salad that is big on flavor. It’s easy to make and is a great side for almost any meal.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Salad, Side Dish
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Salad contents
- fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 2.5 oz goat cheese
Roasted pepitas
- 1/2 cup raw pepitas *see note
- 1/4 tsp avocado oil
- sprinkle of salt
Marinate shallot
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallot (about 1 medium-sized shallot)
- 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
- drizzle of avocado oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp water
Dressing
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 2/3 cup avocado oil
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp honey
Instructions
Marinate shallots
- Place sliced shallots in a small bowl. Add vinegar, water, salt, pepper, sugar and a drizzle of oil. Stir and set aside.
Roast pepitas
- Spread pepitas on a parchment-lined baking sheet and add a small drizzle of oil (just enough to coat) and a sprinkle of salt. Place in a 325F oven for 7-10 minutes until fragrant.
Reconstitute cranberries
- Place dried cranberries in a small bowl. Pour hot water (just enough to cover) over the cranberries and let stand for about 5 minutes. Drain water.
Dressing
- In a jar, combine vinegar, oil, salt pepper, honey and garlic powder by shaking vigorously (with the lid on of course!)
Assemble
- Add spinach to a large bowl. Add desired amount of dressing and toss. Top with cranberries, pepitas, shallots and goat cheese crumbles.
Notes
Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- You can buy these already roasted and salted, I just prefer to do that myself so I’m providing instructions on that.
Dressing
- You will end up with extra dressing, enjoy it for up to 2 weeks after making it.
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