Spring Fling: Strawberry Spinach Couscous Salad

A delicious and healthy salad loaded with couscous, goat cheese, strawberries, spinach and almonds.  All doused in a lemon vinaigrette.  The perfect salad this Spring and Summer!

Strawberry Spinach Couscous Salad

Spring has finally hit Southern California and hopefully all the rain is a thing of the past.  We've come out of our drought after soooo many years.  This makes me want to eat light and healthy and I just picked up some ripe red strawberries so a salad is in order!  This salad is perfect for Spring and Summer meals.  It's filled with great ingredients like, juicy ripe strawberries, baby spinach, Israeli couscous, goat cheese, and sliced almonds for crunch.  Then you make a great lemon vinaigrette and toss it all together and end up with one of the best salads of the season!

Serve this along side the protein of your choice.  It's perfect for picnics, BBQs, potlucks, Mother's Day, Easter (next year) Memorial Day, graduation parties, bridal or baby showers.  You name it, it's a winner!

What Ingredients do I need?

• Cooked Israeli couscous
• Baby Spinach
• Strawberries
• Goat cheese
• Sliced Almonds
• Lemon
• Honey
• Dijon Mustard
• Olive oil

Substitutions and Variations

• Try a different grain such as farro, bulgar, or quinoa.

• Add kale or arugula instead of spinach.

• Switch up the cheese. Try feta, cotija, or ricata salata.

• Try a poppyseed dressing.  Here's my recipe for a Lemon Poppyseed dressing.

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• I always like to use either a leftover grain or cook the grain/couscous ahead of time so that it cools down to room temperature.

HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to emails at the top of this page and follow along on Facebook,  and Pinterest for all of the latest updates.

Additional Strawberry Salads to Try:

• Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Yogurt Dressing

• Summer Salad

• Spinach and Strawberry Salad

• California Salad

Strawberry Spinach Couscous Salad

serves 4-6

Salad

2 cups cooked and cooled Israeli couscous
2 large handfuls baby spinach
2 cups sliced strawberries
2 oz crumbled goat cheese
1/3 cup sliced almonds

Vinaigrette

1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons honey 
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl. In a small bowl or mason jar, whisk together ingredients for the vinaigrette. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss until coated.