This honey roasted strawberry feta salad balances the intense sweetness from the roasted strawberries with the fresh, peppery watercress and asparagus greens and the salty feta.
I know this makes me weird but one thing I always feel is missing from party spreads is a nice big salad.
There’s always plenty of chips, dips, finger foods, cheese and fruit platters, but hardly ever anything green!
It kinda drives me nuts because if there’s a nice big pile of green next to the chips, cheese and whatever other carb fest foods are at my disposal, it obviously completely negates those things (and means I can try one of every dessert).
And then of course when there is, it’s some mixed iceberg salad with your typical cherry tomatoes, carrots and bottled dressing options.
Lame.
So in light of all that, today’s feta strawberry salad what I’d bring to the party. It’s a healthy salad that will garner a bit more excitement than usual.
When you combine honey roasted strawberries, crispy fresh greens and salty feta, the salad becomes more than party worthy.
Strawberries and feta are a classic combination. The sweet and salty thing just works.
To make things even sweeter and deepen the flavor a bit, these strawberries took a little bath with some honey and then got all hot and bothered in the oven for about 30 minutes. It’s one of my favorite methods for cooking or baking with strawberries — try it in this strawberry quick bread too. The result is a deliciously sweet, roasted soft berry whose juice is drizzled on top as the dressing.
No oil or vinegar even needed.
Combined with the salty feta crumbles, peppery watercress, fresh shaved asparagus and toasted walnuts, I’m betting no one is going to miss the iceberg.
If you want to use another green besides watercress (which I personally love but I get that some think it’s too peppery), baby spinach would be great. Although predictable because isn’t spinach always used with strawberries?
Another option would be the Asian version of spinach: tatsoi. Tatsoi makes a great salad green and is a bit more exciting than traditional spinach.
Baby chard or baby kale would also work well.
The greens are really up to you, those honey roasted strawberries are really the star of the salad show anyway!
Strawberry Feta Salad Ingredients
- strawberries
- honey
- Bibb lettuce
- asparagus stalks – I like to shave mine with a vegetable peeler like I do when making raw asparagus salads.
- watercress
- crumbled feta cheese
- toasted walnuts
- sprouts for garnish
How to Make Fresh Summer Strawberry Salad with Walnuts
Combine the fresh strawberries and honey in a small bowl and toss. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Transfer the strawberries to an oven safe baking dish and cook for 30 minutes until they have softened and the juices are starting to run out.
While you wait, mix together the greens and divide them into salad bowls. Top with feta cheese and walnuts.
After the strawberries are roasted spoon them on top of the salad.
Top with alfafa sprouts for a a garnish and spoon the juice on top which will serve as the dressing.
More Ways to Use Fresh Strawberries
When strawberries reach peak season, they are so delicious but you may find yourself with an abundance.
Here are some of my favorite ways to use them up:
- Roasted Strawberry Couscous
- Strawberry Avocado Lime Salad
- Strawberry Tabouleh
- Cold Strawberry Soup
- Grilled Chicken with Strawberries
Tips for Making Strawberry Feta Salad
- Use fresh strawberries. For more tips read my guide to strawberries.
- You can roast the strawberries ahead of time, then keep the roasting “juice” for use as a “dressing” on another favorite salad combination.
- For the lettuce blend you can also use baby spinach, kale, chard, or any other lettuce like romaine or even iceberg if preferred.
- If you are going to store the salad for later, it’s best to drizzle the strawberries and juice just before serving.
Honey Roasted Strawberry Feta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 head Bibb lettuce, roughly chopped or torn
- 8-10 trimmed asparagus stalks, shaved using a vegetable peeler
- 2 ounces watercress
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
- alfafa sprouts for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F degrees.
- Place strawberries and honey in a bowl and toss to combine.
- Transfer strawberries to a baking dish and roast for about 30 minutes until the strawberries have softened and released their juices.
- In the meantime, assemble the greens in a salad bowl.
- Top with feta and walnuts.
- Spoon the strawberries on top of the salad once they’re finished roasted.
- Garnish with alfafa sprouts and spoon the strawberry juice from the baking dish over top as the dressing.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Looks absolutely delicious. I love salads with fruit added.
You need a Pinterest button on your pages. If you have one, it isn’t apparent.
My apologies…just found the Pinterest button, I must be blind!
I bet this is an amazing combination of sweet and salty. Great pics!
Feta cheese is the best! This looks like a great healthy lunch with some crusty bread. I’m glad I came across your site from the PB + chocolate Buzzfeed article…you probably knew about that right? :)
This looks absolutely wonderful!! What a beautiful summer salad, and exactly the kind of salad I love to make :) I totally agree with the need for a big beautiful salad! Thank you!
I love it. I’ve never roasted strawberries before, but it seems like I have a reason to now! Back home (in Puerto Rico) we often pair cheese and fruit preserves or pastes, so I can very well picture this particular combo! Thanks for sharing.
I love this recipe. It will be a fabulous recipe for when we have friends over. Thanks for sharing with us!
This is so pretty Gina!
Healthy and delicious salad.. looks so elegant!
This is my kind of salad! I adore strawberries, feta and nuts in a salad…but I have never tried roasting the strawberries…genius! And, incredible gorgeous photos…but what else is new? Pinned! :D