fbpx
Home » Recipes » Salads » Strawberry Walnut Salad with Mint and Feta, Vegan Friendly

Strawberry Walnut Salad with Mint and Feta, Vegan Friendly

from 5 reader reviews

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

This Strawberry Walnut Salad is just in time for summer! Made with spring mix lettuce, sliced strawberries, walnuts, vegan feta cheese, mint and sage leaves, and shallots. A drizzle of flavorful white balsamic vinaigrette adds a mouthful of flavor you’ll want to revisit again and again!

Strawberry walnut salad plated with strawberries, agave, vegan feta, and walnuts on the side

I don’t know about you, but in my neck of the woods, signs that winter is behind us are all around! From later days with sunny skies and warmer evenings to the awakening of greens, yellows, and purples in my yard, I know it’s finally here: spring!

Along with the fresh new season comes recipe and meal-time spring cleaning that will carry us all the way through summer! My family starts to crave lighter fare with fresh veggies and salad. This flavorful strawberry walnut salad made with spring-mix lettuce, sage and mint is perfect for those warmer lighter evenings.

bowl of strawberry walnut salad topped with rings of sliced red onion with sage leaves and strawberries off to the side

Reasons you’ll love this flavorful light savory strawberry salad with walnuts:

  • A cacophony of flavors with the sage and mint leaves, shallots, and feta.
  • Made easy using prepacked spring-mix salad.
  • Easy to sub in your favorite salad mix including baby spinach leaves for a spinach strawberry salad instead.
  • Can sub in other nuts such as pecans or slivered almonds if that is your preference.
  • A delicious white balsamic vinaigrette drizzled on top – see below for other salad dressing options.
  • Delicious enough to serve to your family, yet elegant enough to serve at a dinner party.
  • Made vegan friendly with suggestions for vegan feta – see below.

Pin now to save for later

Strawberry walnut salad plated with strawberries, agave, vegan feta, and walnuts on the side with pinterest text overlay

Ingredients needed to make this springtime strawberry walnut salad

For the salad mixture you will need:

  • chopped walnuts 
  • sliced strawberries 
  • fresh sage leaves 
  • fresh mint leaves 
  •  red onions 
  • 5 ounces spring mix salad purchased prepared and washed, (one container)
  • vegan feta cheese (see below for options)
getting ready to assemble the strawberry walnut salad with a big bowl of spring mix lettuce, walnuts, vegan feta, shallot, and strawberries next to some sage and mint leaves

For the white balsamic vinaigrette ingredients you will need:

  • white balsamic vinegar
  • extra virgin olive oil – light flavor
  • agave nectar
  • salt
  • ground black pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • shallot

What can we use for vegan crumbled feta cheese?

We live in a wonderful time when we can purchase prepared feta cheese from some reliable plant-based cheese brands. I like Violife as well as Follow Your Heart feta cheese.

I realize it’s not always easy to find commercial vegan feta, nor does it always fit with one’s dietary goals. Here are some fabulous vegan feta cheeses you can make at home from some of the best vegan bloggers on the WWW!

If you are not vegan then, of course, use the feta cheese you’d like – but you might be interested in trying some of the above suggestions.

How to make Strawberry Walnut Salad

Follow these simple instructions and soon you will have a tasty summer salad on the table and ready to eat!

Step 1: Make the white balsamic vinaigrette

No need to mince the garlic or cut shallot if you are using a high-speed blender such as a Vitamix. Simply peel and add to your high-speed blender. Shallots are usually small and so this will work well. If your shallot is larger than normal, cut it in half or quarters.

If you have a regular blender and NOT a high-speed blender, just cut the shallot in quarters or smaller, and add olive oil to a blender along with the garlic, vinegar, agave, salt, and pepper.

Start low and work up to high speed. Blend until everything is well blended and emulsified. Pour into a mason jar with a lid or airtight container to store the salad dressing.

Blending together the white balsamic dressing

What is the difference between white and dark balsamic vinegar? And Can I use regular dark balsamic instead?

According to this informative article about balsamic vinegar by The Kitchn, there is very little difference in flavor between the two colors of balsamic vinegar. Dark balsamic tends to be a little sweeter and more syrupy, while white balsamic vinegar lends a cleaner flavor. It then mentions that it’s really about aesthetics and preference and that with lighter-colored food, you might want a lighter-colored vinaigrette. That makes total sense and the white balsamic is really perfect and lovely with this summer salad.

Step 2: Chop and slice

Chop the walnuts, slice the strawberries, slice the sage and mint leaves, and thinly slice the onion. Set aside.

cutting some ingredients for strawberry walnut salad including shallot, sage leaves, mint leaves and strawberries

Can I toast the walnuts or sub in toasted pecans?

Of course! These are both great substitutions to toast walnuts or pecans, preheat your oven to 350° and roast for 7-10 minutes, watching carefully so that they don’t burn. You will want to toast the nuts well ahead of time so that they have time to cool before adding them to the strawberry salad.

Step 3: Toss together your summer salad

I use a five-ounce container of prepared spring mix salad I buy in the produce department. It comes prewashed and ready to use.

You could certainly put together your own salad mixture. I suggest using the tender “baby” leaves for this summery salad including baby kale, baby spinach, and red leaf lettuce.

I have also used fresh baby spinach to make spinach strawberry walnut salad. It was delicious but reminded me more of late summer than spring. Your personal choice. (But yes, I do love strawberry spinach salad!)

Simply place the spring-mix salad into a large bowl, add the chopped ingredients on top, add in your choice of feta cheese crumbles, and drizzle the white balsamic vinaigrette and your strawberry salad is good to go!

Remember that if you are making your own delicious vegan version of feta cheese, you will need to plan and make it well ahead of time. Some of the recipes need time to sit for the flavor to fully develop.

Here are some more dressing recipes you might like to try.

strawberry balsamic dressing in cup with strawberry salad

I do love this white balsamic salad dressing. It’s perfect for a springtime/summer salad. Here are some other plant-based salad dressings from Veggie Fun Kitchen. If you are looking for an oil-free dressing you can try one of these.

For some other fabulous “fresh leaf” salads from Veggie Fun Kitchen, try:

The printable recipe card for Strawberry Walnut Salad

Strawberry walnut salad plated with strawberries, agave, vegan feta, and walnuts on the side

Did you love this recipe?

Want to share the love? It would be great if you could leave five ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ stars and even a comment. Did you know that this will help Google to find this recipe when others are looking for something similar? Thanks, Cindy

Strawberry walnut salad plated with strawberries, agave, vegan feta, and walnuts on the side

Strawberry Walnut Salad with Mint and Feta, Vegan Friendly

This Strawberry Walnut Salad is just in time for summer! Made with spring mix lettuce, sliced strawberries, walnuts, vegan feta cheese, mint and sage leaves, and shallots. Drizzle on a flavorful white balsamic vinaigrette for a mouthful of flavor you'll want to eat again and again!
from 5 reader reviews
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course, Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: strawberry salad, vegan feta
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 321kcal
Author: Cindy Rainey

Ingredients

White Balsamic Vinaigrette

  • ½ cup white balsamic vinegar
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil light flavor
  • 2 Tablespoons agave
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 shallot

Salad Mixture

  • 1 cup walnuts chopped, see notes for substitutions
  • 1 cup strawberries slice, about 8 large
  • 4 sage leaves sliced
  • 5 mint leaves sliced
  • 1 small red onion sliced thinly, about 1 cup
  • 5 ounces spring mix salad purchased prepared and washed, one container
  • 5 ounces vegan feta cheese see notes for suggestions

Instructions

White Balsamic

  • No need to mince the garlic and shallot. Simply peel and add to your high-speed blender. This will work even if your blender is not high speed. Just cut the shallot in quarters or smaller, and add to a blender along with the vinegar, olive oil, agave, salt, and pepper.
  • Blend for 30-45 seconds until mixed and creamy.

Salad Mixture

  • Chop the walnuts, slice the strawberries, slice the sage and mint leaves, and thinly slice the onion.
  • Add the five ounce container of "spring mix" salad to a large bowl. Add the walnuts, strawberries, sage, mint, and onion. Add the vegan feta cheese. If you did not purchase the feta cheese you will need to make it ahead of time. See the blog post for recipe suggestions. If you are using dairy feta cheese then just add it.
  • Toss together and drizzle the white balsamic on top. Serve

Notes

You can sub pecans or almonds for the walnuts.
If you are not vegan then use whichever feta cheese you wish. If you are vegan, I enjoy Follow Your Heart Brand. You can also make one of the following recipes. Plan to make it ahead of time:
 

Nutrition

Calories: 321kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Sodium: 478mg | Potassium: 181mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 235IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1mg

Posted To:

By on April 25th, 2022

About Cindy Rainey

Veggie Fun Kitchen by Cindy Rainey
Welcome to Veggie Fun Kitchen where you will learn to recreate family favorites the plant-based/vegan way! Let me know if I can help. I'm here for you.

More posts by this author.

Leave a Comment

Recipe Rating