Strawberry Balsamic Broccoli Salad
Elevate your salad game with this Strawberry Balsamic Broccoli Salad. This refreshing and nutritious salad brings together the sweetness of fresh strawberries, the tang of balsamic vinegar, and the vibrant crunch of fresh broccoli florets. I add summer sausage for a protein packed lunch, but you can leave the meat off for a delicious vegan lunch!
If you’re looking for more more delicious salads, try Gut Healthy Chicken Salad, Simple Green Salad with Homemade Dressing, or Real Simple Corn Salad.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Strawberry Balsamic Broccoli Salad
- Ready In: 10 minutes
- Makes: 1 serving
- Main Ingredients: Romaine lettuce, broccoli, strawberries
- Flavor Profile: sweet, citrusy, salty
- Dietary Info: gluten free, eggless, no seed oils, vegan swap available
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: vibrant strawberry broccoli salad with 3 ingredient homemade dressing
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Vibrant Flavors: This easy summer salad recipe is bursting with color and flavor! The strawberries add vibrant color while also providing a little sweetness. I love the combination of strawberries and balsamic as you get the sweetness from the strawberries paired with the rich and slightly acidic notes of the balsamic vinegar.
- Healthy: The base of this salad is raw broccoli giving this easy summer salad recipe a wonderful cool crunch that is also packed with healthy organic veggies! One bite, and you'll be hooked!
- Flexible Recipe: If you are vegan or vegetarian, you can leave out the summer sausage. But this salty meat adds amazing depth of flavor to this dish, and it makes a delicious lunch or dinner that’s full of protein. Try adding avocado if you are skipping the meat for a creamy addition!
- Perfect for Cookouts: This is such a vibrant and flavorful salad, perfect for BBQs or a potluck. You can make a larger batch and it makes a great side salad.
This easy summer salad only requires a handful of organic ingredients that blend together in a beautiful light and vibrant salad that packs a punch! Crunchy broccoli, sweet strawberries, and crisp romaine lettuce are the base of this simple salad.
I make my own homemade salad dressing with just 3 ingredients. Skip store bought dressings with seed oils, flavors and other ingredients you don't need. This quick and easy dressing brings bold flavor with a tangy punch!
I love making this Strawberry Balsamic Broccoli Salad (without the meat) as a side dish to Garlic Herb Beef Tenderloin Steak, Savory Mustard Herb Ham, or Slow Cooker Turkey
Or enjoy as a main meal with a homemade cookie for dessert like Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies with Homemade Caramel or Vegan Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Ingredients
- Romaine Lettuce: I love using this leafy green, but you can also use kale or mixed greens too!
- Broccoli: Organic raw broccoli adds crunch to this salad!
- Strawberries: Organic strawberries add sweetness and texture. The combination of the strawberries with the balsamic
- Summer Sausage: This is optional, but I like to add in organic summer sausage for protein if I'm making this a meal. You could also add in grilled chicken or salmon too!
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Organic extra virgin olive oil is the base of this homemade salad dressing.
- Seasoning Mix: I use FreshJax Organic Citrus Pepper Blend as the seasoning for this salad dressing, making it super simple because all you need is this one ingredient and it provides tons of flavor!
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
How to Make Homemade Dressing in Minutes
I don’t buy salad dressing anymore, because so many of them have seed oils such as canola oil or sunflower oil. And even if those are organic, they aren’t the best oils to consume on a daily basis. There’s no need for seed oils in salad dressing, in my opinion!
I love using FreshJax seasonings for organic salad dressing! It’s one of my favorite seasonings to mix with organic extra virgin olive oil and balsamic. This makes salad dressing easy peasy and I never have to buy it, just drizzle a bit of the extra virgin olive oil and balsamic and sprinkle on the seasoning! This easy summer salad recipe has become one of my go to lunches as it's quick, easy, and seed oil free! I use this technique in my Simple Cranberry Kale Salad with Homemade Dressing and Gut Healthy Chicken Salad.
Tips
- You can switch up the lettuce and use your favorite, kale, mixed greens, spinach, iceberg all work!
- You can switch up the protein and use up leftover chicken, deli turkey, or even deli ham. I've tried them all!
- If you're making in advance, do not dress this until you're ready to enjoy. This will prevent lettuce and strawberries from becoming soggy.
- If you are vegan, just leave out the summer sausage.
How to Make Strawberry Balsamic Broccoli Salad
- Chop the lettuce, broccoli, red pepper, red onion and strawberries. Grate the carrot using a large box grater.
- Dice the summer sausage, if using.
- In a large bowl, add the chopped broccoli, lettuce, red pepper, red onion, strawberries, and summer sausage (if using).
- Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic and sprinkle with the FreshJax Organic Citrus Pepper Blend. Stir it up and enjoy! Feel free to adjust the dressing to taste as well.
Strawberry Balsamic Broccoli Salad FAQ's
Unlike classic broccoli salads that use mayonnaise-heavy and creamy dressings, this version uses a light homemade balsamic olive oil dressing for a fresher, brighter flavor that lets the strawberries and broccoli shine.
Yes! I use a simple 3 ingredient olive oil dressing that is light and delicious, no mayo needed.
Homemade olive oil dressing keeps this salad simple, fresh, and free from unnecessary additives or seed oils that are often found in bottled dressings.
Yes, if you prefer, you can use a store bought dressing. Opt for something simple like a lemon olive oil dressing or a citrus vinaigrette for best flavor with this salad.
Strawberries are light and sweet and the balsamic vinegar is tangy, making them a perfect pairing as the complement each other.
Yes, because I add in protein here (the summer sausage) I often eat this as a full meal. It makes a great lunch!
I use summer sausage, as I think the salty summer sausage pairs so well with the light and bright flavors of this salad. But, you can also use grilled chicken, steak, or salmon which are all really delicious with this as well. And, you can even use deli meat like ham or turkey.
You can use salami for a very similar flavor if you don't have summer sausage. You can also use any other protein that you like such as chicken, steak, salmon, tuna, ham, turkey or even bacon.
Yes, nuts that would go well with this include pistachios, almonds, pecans and walnuts. You can also add in feta cheese, goat cheese, cheddar cheese or mozzarella!
I love adding pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds to this salad for a little crunch!
Yes, but just don't dress it until you're ready to eat or serve it. The dressing can make the strawberries soggy if it sits for too long. I only recommend prepping this the day before as the strawberries will release water the longer they sit, so this is really best eaten right away.
Both strawberries and broccoli (along with carrots and red bell pepper) are safe for dogs as long as they are plain. So, while the salad itself is not safe for dogs because of onions and dressing, you can give your dog a little bite of raw carrot, strawberry (no stems), broccoli or red pepper as you prep.
More Organic Salad Recipes
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Strawberry Balsamic Broccoli Salad
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups broccoli florets (chopped)
- ½ cup chopped romaine lettuce
- ½ red bell pepper (diced)
- 2 slices red onion (diced)
- 4 strawberries (sliced)
- 1 large carrot
- 6 slices Organic Prairie Summer Sausage (diced)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- FreshJax Organic Citrus Pepper Blend
Instructions
- Chop the lettuce, broccoli, red pepper, red onion and strawberries.
- Grate the carrot using a large box grater.
- Dice the summer sausage, if using.
- In a large bowl, add the chopped broccoli, lettuce, red pepper, red onion, strawberries, grated carrot, and summer sausage.
- Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic and sprinkle with the citrus seasoning. Stir it up and enjoy! Feel free to adjust the dressing to taste as well.
Video
Notes
- You can switch up the lettuce and use your favorite, kale, mixed greens, spinach, iceberg all work!
- You can switch up the protein and use up leftover chicken, deli turkey, or even deli ham. I've tried them all!
- If you're making in advance, do not dress this until you're ready to enjoy. This will prevent lettuce and strawberries from becoming soggy.
- If you are vegan, just leave out the summer sausage.
- High Altitude – Follow the recipe as noted.
Nutrition
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