Blueberry Spinach Salad
This vegan blueberry spinach salad with apple, pecans and tofu feta is quick and easy to make but still delivers on flavour. Enjoy this healthy salad as a light main or serve as a side with your favourite Summer meals.
Salad Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this salad:
- Spinach. I used a mix of spinach and arugula. You can use all spinach, all arugula or another green of choice.
- Blueberries. This salad calls for fresh blueberries so it’s best enjoyed late Summer when blueberries are in season. You can also switch it up and try blackberries, raspberries or sliced peach or nectarine.
- Apple. Use any kind of apple you like! Go with a Granny Smith for a tart and crunchy addition or a Fuji or other crunchy, red variety for a sweeter bite.
- Pecans. I used plain, raw pecans in this recipe since they’re slightly sweet and nice and crunchy. You can also use walnuts (try quick candied walnuts) or slivered almonds.
- Dressing. To highlight the sweet blueberries and apples, the dressing is a tangy, oil-free apple cider vinegar and dijon combo. You could also do my maple dijon dressing, almond maple dressing, tahini dressing or balsamic vinaigrette.
- Tofu feta. I’ve made this salad with and without tofu feta and I think the salad is a bit plain without it. Tofu feta is very easy to make, you can read more about it here. If you can’t do soy, try this recipe for cashew feta or this one for almond feta.
Blueberry Spinach Salad Recipe
You don’t really need an exact recipe for this salad. Just throw everything in a bowl and enjoy! Want more blueberries, go for it? Extra pecans, throw them in there! Add as much apple as you want too.
This salad is oil-free, gluten-free, vegan, whole food plant-based and easy to make in minutes (aside from waiting time for the tofu feta).
More Summer Salads
- Vegan Greek Pasta Salad
- Vegan Dijon Potato Salad
- Beet Walnut Salad
- Chickpea Shawarma Salad
- Bell Pepper Chickpea Salad
If you’re looking for a main to serve this salad with, try my Chickpea Veggie Burgers or Quinoa Beet Burgers.
PrintBlueberry Spinach Salad
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
A sweet and tangy Summer salad that’s perfect for a light main dish or healthy side to a veggie burger and baked fries.
Ingredients
For the Tofu Feta
- 1 package extra-firm tofu, pressed then crumbled
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
For the Dressing
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp minced shallot or white onion
- pinch of sea salt
For the Salad
- 2 handfuls of spinach per salad
- 1/4 cup blueberries per salad
- 3 tbsp pecans per salad
- 1/2 an apple, diced
Instructions
- Ideally, make the vegan feta the night before making the salad. If not, you’ll need 20 minutes to press the tofu and at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour to marinate it. First, place a of block of extra-firm tofu on a dish towel and fold the towel over it. Place the tofu wrapped in the cloth on a plate and place a heavy object on top of it. I use a few cookbooks but anything works. You can use a tofu press if you have one. Press for 20-30 minutes to remove excess water. Once pressed, crumble the tofu into feta cheese-sized chunks into a bowl or container and add the rest of the tofu feta ingredients. Mix well, cover and marinate for 1 hour up to overnight.
- To make the dressing, whisk the ingredients together in a dish or shake vigorously in a container.
- Assemble each salad by starting with a couple handfuls of greens then topping with blueberries, pecans and thinly sliced apple. Add a few tablespoons of feta to each salad then drizzle with dressing and enjoy.
Notes
The tofu feta recipe makes quite a bit so feel free to cut in in half if you only want enough for 4 salads. Extra feta can be used in my Avocado Corn Salad, Mediterranean Quinoa Bowls, Arugula Peach Salad or Greek Pasta Salad.
The salad takes just minute to prepare but you’ll need 20 minutes to press the tofu and at least 30 minutes to marinate it.
Keywords: blueberry salad, blueberry pecan salad, healthy, oil-free, gluten-free, vegan side salad
Another winner! We added a little lemon juice to the dressing and some vegan bacon as an optional topping and the whole family loved it. I really appreciate being able to play roulette with this website and making whatever comes up, knowing it’ll be delicious. This salad is a definite “make again” for my crew!
★★★★★
Yummy and easy! It can be hard to find a salad that tastes great AND is quick to throw together, so this salad is a win. Making the tofu feta is super easy, and if you make it first you have time to let it marinate while you clean and chop up all the other ingredients. I like to eat a big portion so I usually double the dressing amount. My tip to others would be to make sure your tofu isn’t too wet! Press as much liquid out of it as you can to be able to get that feta texture 🙂
★★★★★
I wanted something light and fresh today and I’m trying to eat more salads, so this was great! The tofu feta was so good…I was a little unsure haha. I made the tofu and salad recipe but I did use store-bought balsamic dressing since I had it on hand.
★★★★★
Délicieuse salade!