This salad is my new favorite – I ate the whole 4 servings of it by myself the other day, and then proceeded to eat another helping with dinner! So… of course I ran right out of spinach which has inspired an extra trip to the grocery store for more – you get the picture, it’s more than just a salad, it’s breakfast lunch and dinner right now!
It has some similar flavors to the more classic Winter Salad, but amped up with creamy avocado and pomegranates. Originally I was thinking a creamy poppyseed dressing until I discovered I was completely out of poppyseeds! So I ended up turning to chia seeds instead – and what a great discovery! If you haven’t had chia seeds in your dressing before, you’ll want to try this out right away! I love how they slightly thicken the dressing, and make it even creamier.
Whenever I’m putting apples in a salad, I always cut them the same way – quartered and cored, then cut each quarter into quarters lengthwise, and finally slice across the slices to create small bite sized triangles.
The 1st time I made this salad, I ate the whole thing myself!
The 2nd time I made it to go alongside my Crockpot Rosemary Chicken with Butternut Squash.
And… the third time, I paired it with Simple Roasted Sweet Potatoes, (with butter of course)!
I’m sort of addicted to toppings, dressings, and sauces because I can never leave well enough alone! So if you don’t have all the ingredients for this salad or don’t feel like deseeding a pomegranate, it’s still good with even just 2 toppings. Although I’ll just say it’s worth your while to put everything in because each ingredients adds something to the overall picture.
And… speaking of pomegranates, last year I discovered a great method for easily, (yes easily) deseeding a pomegranate – check it out over here at Pomegranates 101! The more you practice this method, the faster you’ll get – I did 6 pomegranates the other day, start to finish was just 15 minutes, (including cleanup)!
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Spinach Salad with Creamy Chia Vinaigrette
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 4 big salads 1x
Ingredients
Creamy Chia Vinaigrette:
- 1 Teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Teaspoon sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon chia seeds
- 2 Tablespoons coconut cream, scooped from the top of a can of coconut milk
Salad Ingredients:
- 8 ounces pre-washed baby spinach
- 1 Honeycrisp apple, weighing 10 ounces, cored and cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 cup pomegranate arils
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed
- 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese, I used sheep’s milk feta
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Whisk together all the ingredients for the chia vinaigrette until smooth. Let the dressing sit and thicken while you assemble the salad.
- In a large serving bowl, toss together all the ingredients for the salad. I like to save a small amount of the pomegranate arils and feta cheese to sprinkle on top for a garnish later.
- When you’re ready to serve, toss the dressing with the salad and garnish with the reserved pomegranates and feta cheese.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
I’ve made the Chia Vinaigrette with and without the coconut cream. Both ways are good, I just always lean toward creamier dressings.
For dairy free, be sure to leave out the feta cheese!
Wow, great idea on the chia vinaigrette! Will definitely have to try that. And I’m completely addicted to sauces, dips, dressings, condiments, whatever too. Right there with ya 🙂
Anything and everything with sauce! 🙂
What a beautiful salad..especially for the holidays. I’m very curious to try it with the chia seeds! Nice recipe!
It’s been an instant favorite in our house! Chia seeds are so fun to use, there seems to be endless ways to enjoy them! 🙂
I’ve never tried using chia in a vinaigrette, it’s such a great idea tho. Can’t wait to try this one K!
I’d never tried it either but it’s pretty much a staple now! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
I love everything about this salad. Nuff said!!! Especially the pomegranate arils, bought 28 pons at the grocery store, no that wasn’t a typo. Ha. They were on clearance, 4 for 1.50, sure they have to be used asap but still.
I’ve never bought more than 12 at a time, and it was everything the 2 of us could do to eat them all! 🙂