Let's make Blueberry Salad with candied Almonds, an easy summer salad recipe made with fresh strawberries, blueberries, candied almonds, feta, and spinach. A great vegetarian summer salad bursting with the flavor of garden fresh ingredients and poppyseed dressing.
Yummy!! So fresh and delicious. This is my favorite summer salad!
-Jenny Ramsay
Why This Recipe is the Best
This warm-weather meal is perfect is a patriotic salad perfect for Memorial Day, Labor Day, and especially the 4th of July. It's always a hit and so fresh and delicious. My family loves how versatile this Blueberry salad is. We add chicken, arugula, and sometimes even goat cheese to mix things up!
Be sure to look at our other cool summer salsa and pasta salads Roasted Chili Corn Salsa, and Easy Caprese Pasta Salad.
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Key Ingredients
Below are the key ingredients needed for Blueberry Salad. This salad uses fresh ingredients for the best results.
- Baby Spinach- We found while testing this recipe that the crisp texture of spinach tastes great but you can also use Romain Lettuce or Arugula.
- Poppyseed dressing- This is our favorite (Brianna's Homestyle Poppyseed Dressing)
- Candied Almonds- Buy candied almonds, or follow our step-by-step instructions for homemade candied almonds. Or you can use this roasted almonds in air fryer recipe.
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Blueberry Salad with Almonds
Follow these step-by-step process photos for the best results. The pictures of the almonds will help cook them just right.
- In a medium-sized sauce pan bring cinnamon, sugar, and water to a boil on medium heat. As soon as it starts to boil add the almonds.
2. Stir continually until the boiling sugar water turns from wet and sticky to dry and powdery on the almonds. Immediately remove from the heat.
3. Pour the almonds on a prepared parchment paper and sheet pan and let cool.
4. Assemble the blueberry salad with spinach and toss with blueberries, sliced strawberries, feta, and candied almonds.
Hint: Double the batch of candied almonds to have some for the salad and some to snack on throughout the week!
For another delicious salad, check out this tasty copycat Jennifer Aniston Salad.
Learn From Us
The first time I tried to make homemade candied almonds I was worried about them drying out so I undercooked them and they were too sticky! It's a cool moment when the wet texture turns chalky and dry, that's when you know they are done!
Top tip
Make sure to keep stirring the almonds on medium heat. The cinnamon sugar mixture will burn if you let sit. Stir until the gooey mixture around the almonds no longer looks sticky but looks dry and dusty. The change happens fast and when it does, be sure to pull the almonds off of the stove top and onto the prepared parchment paper.
Recipe
Blueberry Salad with Almonds
Equipment
- small sauce pan
- Salad Bowl
Ingredients
Salad
- 2-3 cups baby spinach
- ½ cup strawberries sliced
- ½ cup blueberries
- ⅛ cup poppyseed dressing
- ⅓ cup feta crumbled
Candied Cinnamon Almonds
- 1 cup raw unsalted almonds
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Candied Cinnamon Almonds
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine water, sugar, and cinnamon and bring to a boil on medium heat. Immediately add almonds to boiling mixture and stir continually.
- Stir until the boiled sugar water turns from sticky to dry and chalky looking. About five minutes. Immediately transfer almonds to the prepared baking sheet to cool. This step happens quickly, so watch carefully. Use a spoon or pour almonds onto baking sheet. Do not use your hands, they will be hot. Set aside to cool
Berry Salad
- Wash and chop strawberries. Wash blueberries and spinach leaves, if needed.
- Assemble salad by placing spinach leaves at the bottom of a medium sized bowl. Top with berries and cooled nuts. Top the nuts and berries with feta cheese and poppyseed dressing.
Notes
- When making the candied almonds remove from heat when they go from a sticky consistency to a dry chalky texture.
- Instead of spinach, use arugula or an arugula blend.
- Instead of spinach, use kale or a mixture of kale and other leafy greens.
- To make this a vegan-friendly salad, replace the feta with vegan cheese or don't have the cheese at all and use vegan-friendly salad dressings.
- Use goat cheese instead of feta at a 1:1 ratio.
- Use a lighter dressing and make our honey mustard vinaigrette found here.
- Candy pecans instead of almonds for a similar sweet nut.
- Add ½ cup chopped blackberries to make this a triple berry salad.
- Add ½ cup peeled and sliced fresh peaches for a variety of fruit.
- Add ½ cup garden fresh raspberry for a berry explosion salad.
Nutrition
Storing Blueberry Salad
Store ingredients separately until ready to serve. Keep blueberries, strawberries, spinach, and dressing chilled in the refrigerator.
Store Leftover salad for 1-2 days in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Candied almonds can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
Substitutions
- Chicken- Need to add some protein? Make this a copycat of Wendy's strawberry chicken salad by adding sliced grilled chicken to the top or side.
- Avocado- Make this a Panera blueberry and avocado salad copycat by adding ⅓ cup diced avocado.
- Raw or Roasted Nuts- Making the almonds candied is fast and delicious but you can also use raw or roasted nuts on the salad instead.
- Apples - Add ½ cup chopped apples, fuji, granny smith, or your favorite apple.
Jenny Ramsay says
Yummy!! So fresh and delicious. This is my favorite summer salad!
Laurie says
Looks really yummy !! I don't see where the Feta comes in. I can't find it in the ingredient list or the body of the recipe. Not util you get to replacing it with the vegan cheese is it mentioned. Am I missing something?
Andrea says
Thanks for pointing that out! It's fixed on the recipe card now. Add 1/3 cup feta cheese when assembling the salad. You can add more or less depending on personal preference.