Hearty Strawberry Cucumber Salad

Dive into the heart of freshness with my Hearty Strawberry Cucumber Salad! This dish is a labour of love in the best way possible and is delicious. Bursting with sweet strawberries, crisp cucumbers, and a tangy dressing, this salad is a celebration of love and freshness on a plate. Perfect for Valentine’s Day, a GALentine's brunch, or any special moment worth celebrating with a dash of whimsy.

Strawberry Cucumber Salad

There is so much to love about a salad that has simple ingredients that go perfectly together! I love this strawberry cucumber salad for that reason. I made it Valentine’s Day-themed by cutting all the ingredients into hearts but that is completely optional because this salad is delicious any time! I love it as a salad that is versatile enough to be a side or a main dish! You can add protein to this dish or you can reduce the serving size and share it amongst a few as a side dish. It’s colorful, fresh and perfectly balanced! Let’s dig in.

What You’ll Need for This Strawberry Cucumber Salad

  • Spring Greens Mix: The leafy base offers not just a bed of color but also a variety of nutrients and textures.
  • Strawberries: Their sweet juiciness contrasts beautifully with the savory elements, adding a burst of vitamin C.
  • Cucumber: Adds a refreshing crunch and hydration to every bite. 
  • Red Onion: I love adding a bit of raw red onion to this dish as its sharpness complements the sweetness of the strawberries and the tanginess of the dressing.
  • Fresh Basil: Brings an aromatic freshness that elevates the salad.
  • Peas: Introduce a lovely pop of green and a sweet, earthy flavor.
  • Vegan Feta: Adds a creamy, tangy element that mimics the classic salad cheese but in a plant-based form.


Salad Dressing Ingredients

  • Olive Oil & Lemon Juice: The base of the dressing, providing a smooth texture and bright acidity.
  • Dijon Mustard: One of my favorite ingredients for a salad dressing because it adds depth and a slight tang.
  • Salt, Garlic & Maple Syrup: These three ingredients help to perfectly balance the dressing. 

How to Make Strawberry Cucumber Salad

Creating this salad is a joyful journey! Start with heart-shaped strawberries and cucumbers to add an extra touch of love to every bite. As mentioned previously of course you can omit this step if you’re not looking to make this salad for V-Day. Combine with spring greens, red onion, fresh basil, peas, and vegan feta, then toss with a homemade lemony dressing for a refreshing finish. This salad comes together in minutes and is worth every bite! 

How Long Will This Salad Keep

Enjoying this salad fresh for the best experience! If you have leftovers, they’ll keep in the fridge for a day or so, but remember, the fresher, the better. The dressing can be stored separately and used throughout the week. If you don’t think you will finish the whole salad at once I might suggest adding the salad dressing per serving so that the salad could stay fresh a little longer in the fridge.

How To Customize This Strawberry Cucumber Salad

You could do so many things with this salad like adding your favorite protein for some additional heartiness. You could also add some rice and turn it into a bowl. These ingredients are customizable as well, if you don’t have something on hand you could consider swapping it for something that you do have! The best part of this salad is that you have fun and enjoy the freshness that it provides!

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Meet Claire

Welcome to Claire Bear Bites! Here is where we have the most amount of fun with food. I’m an silly, quirky Aussie living in LA, creating and loving bright, colorful, healthy and delicious plant based meals.

This deliciously colorful meals are a direct reflection of me and my love for experimenting. Food should make you happy, smile and make you do a weird lil happy dance cause it taste so dang good. Life can be stressful but your food doesn’t need to be! Let’s have fun and eat the rainbow!

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Hearty Strawberry Cucumber Salad

Be still my strawberry loving heart!!! This fun, whimsical, love filled sweet and savory salad is a MUST make this Valentine’s Day (and let’s be honest… ANY day!!) These flavors are timeless and If you haven’t tried strawberries in savory salads… TODAYS the day! This is a salad that is sure to be a new favorite in your kitchen. Created with fun heart shaped ingredients, bright, fresh, vibrant flavors, and completely plantbased! This delicious dish is a reminder that salads can be the star of the show! Whether is a GALentines brunch with friends, a special dish for your sweetheart or a fun new way to get your kids in the kitchen enjoying veggies…. You will fall in LOVE with the love filled salad!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine Vegan
Servings 2

Equipment

  • heart bowl, cutting knife

Ingredients
  

  • 1 bag/container fresh spring greens mix
  • 6-8 strawberries halved
  • ½ medium cucumber sliced
  • ¼ small red onion sliced thinly
  • fresh torn basil
  • cup peas
  • 2 tbsp vegan feta crumbled

Salad Dressing Ingredients

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • ¼ tsp salt more to taste
  • ½ tsp maple syrup

Instructions
 

  • Let’s start by creating our fun heart shaped veggies!
  • For the strawberries. Simply slice in half, lay each half on a cutting board and create a V shape with your knife at the widest end with the greens.
  • Next, slice the cucumber and using a heart shaped vegetable cutter (my favorite is available in my shop LINK HERE) simply cut out hearts from the center of the slice.
  • Slice onion, then to a fun heart shaped bowl, add all your prepare salad ingredients. ** if you don’t have a heart shaped bowl, simply shape a heart on a plate with your ingredients:)
  • Next. Simply prepare the dressing by whisking all ingredients together in a bowl then drizzling desired amount onto the salad.

Notes

**store leftover dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
** you can create this salad any time of the year. Simply slice the ingredients as you wish!
** spring greens can be diced for spinach or even kale!
** if you want an extra crunch add some walnuts ontop!
Keyword cucumber salad, easy salad, eat your greens, heart shaped food, plant based, strawberry salad, themed food, Valentines Day, vegan

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Picture of Meet Claire

Meet Claire

Welcome to Claire Bear Bites! Here is where we have the most amount of fun with food. I’m an silly, quirky Aussie living in LA, creating and loving bright, colorful, healthy and delicious plant based meals.

This deliciously colorful meals are a direct reflection of me and my love for experimenting. Food should make you happy, smile and make you do a weird lil happy dance cause it taste so dang good. Life can be stressful but your food doesn’t need to be! Let’s have fun and eat the rainbow!

Let's get social!

Search

Most Recent Recipes

Subscribe for more!

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