Simple Spinach Salad is a healthy side salad for any meal! Made easy with baby spinach, olive oil, lemon juice, walnuts, and parmesan cheese, you will be making on a regular basis.
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Spinach Side Salad
Today I am sharing this simple Spinach Salad that goes with EVERYTHING.
Pasta? Yep.
Chicken? Yep.
Casserole? Yes
Soup? YES.
Brunch??? YOU BET.
It is seriously so easy and probably would be a great side salad for most meals any given night. With a limited ingredients list this salad can be made with things commonly found in the fridge and pantry.
So how simple is this Simple Spinach Salad? Lets take a look.
Simple Spinach Salad Recipe
For this side salad you will need:
- Baby Spinach
- Lemon Juice
- Olive Oil
- Romano or Parmesan Cheese
- Diced Walnuts
- Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
See how simple it is?
The most complicated part of this salad is deciding if you want to toast the walnuts.
I marked the toasting of walnuts optional, I highly recommend you do, plus it is really not that hard. But in a pinch you can leave them as is.
So to start you want to get the walnuts toasting. Add walnuts to a small ungreased skillet over medium heat. Let the diced walnuts warm up, stirring occasionally, until the walnuts begin to darken and become fragrant, this usually takes about 4-5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and let the walnuts rest on the warm skillet 2-3 more minutes to finish toasting until ready to add to the salad.
Note the walnuts will start to burn fairly quickly if left unattended.
Meanwhile the rest of the salad only takes minutes to put together while the walnuts toast.
Add the spinach to a large bowl and drizzle lemon juice and olive oil over the top.
Toss the spinach to coat in the lemon juice and olive oil. Add cheese, walnuts, and a dash of freshly cracked pepper. Toss again and serve immediately.
Things to note:
- I use baby spinach for its smaller leaves, milder taste, and ease to find at the grocery store. Other varieties of spinach could be used if you want.
- As with any simple recipe the ingredients play a large role in how the food tastes, so I recommend using fresh lemon juice and high quality olive oil for a better tasting salad. (California Olive Ranch Olive Oil is my favorite.)
- I prefer Romano cheese in general over Parmesan, so I think it tastes better in this salad but they are interchangeable here so use what you have
- You can buy diced walnuts at the store so you don’t have to chop them yourself. I like the convince plus the diced walnuts are great to have for baking recipes. I like the added crunch that adding walnuts to this salad brings so if you aren’t a fan of walnuts I suggest subbing out something else crunchy like a different nut or seed.
- Lastly a note on the pepper. If you aren’t going to be grinding your own fresh black pepper leave it out, using fine pre-ground pepper will give it a slightly different taste than using a grinder. (Need grinders? I LOVE this Wooden Grinder Set that I have.)
- And of course as simple as this salad is you can swap out the nuts for a more allergy friendly seed.
Love salads? You might like one of these:
- Summer Berry Salad with Grilled Chicken
- Crunchy Asian Chopped Salad
- Apple Cranberry Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette
- Chickpea Chopped Salad
- Roasted Pear Pecan Salad
Simple Spinach Salad
Spinach salad with a simple dressing made from lemon juice & olive oil topped with cheese, walnuts, and cracked black pepper.
Ingredients
- 5oz baby spinach
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan or Romano cheese
- 2 tablespoons diced walnuts
- fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Optional: To toast the walnuts*. Add walnuts to a small ungreased skillet over medium heat. Let the diced walnuts warm up, stirring occasionally until they just begin to darken and become fragrant, this usually takes about 5-6 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, give the walnuts a little shake, and let the walnuts rest on the warm skillet 2-3 more minutes to finish toasting until ready to add to the salad.
- Meanwhile add the spinach to a large bowl and drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil.
- Toss the spinach to coat in the lemon juice and olive oil. Add cheese, walnuts, and a dash of freshly cracked pepper. Toss again and serve immediately.
Notes
*The walnuts are great toasted if you have the time, if not just use them as is!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 154Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 178mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 4g
Nutritional data is automated, final nutritional information will depend on ingredients used and any changes made.
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Simple yet excellent! Very nice
Thank you so much!
Just love this dressing! Quick and easy and tastes great with spinach!
Thanks so much!
Quick question: if you don’t have a fresh lemon would you recommend t lime over bottled lemon juice?
Hmm great question, that isn’t one I have though about. I think if I had to choose I would use the bottled lemon juice, usually lime in this situation might be too tart compared to the lemon. Let me know what you use and how it turns out!
Would a little crumbled crispy bacon be good on the salad?
I think it would be!
So good and easy. My kids who don’t eat spinach even ate it. Thank you.
That makes me happy to hear! Thanks for sharing!
Could I use the bottled parmesan (like using on spaghetti) in this salad?
You can it just might not taste as fresh as if you have fresh parmesan.
Thank you for this recipe, it’s so easy to make, healthy and delicious. I’ll be making it regularly!
So happy to hear! Sometimes the simplest recipes truly are the best!
Tasty! I threw in some dried cranberries to add a bit of sweetness. Would probably do well with other dried fruit or fresh berries.
Really enjoyed this spinach salad. We love minimal ingredients in salads since so many are overly sweet. Quick to make and we will definitely be making it again. Used raw walnuts but will try it again next time with toasted for a little added crunch.
This is so simple and so delicious – thank you!
Good recipe, thanks. It was tasty asis, and certainly easy to make. Toasting the walnuts added a nice extra flavor to it. Just because I can’t resist tampering with stuff, I added rice wine vinegar, dried cranberries and ground pepper. That worked, too.
Bob
This, as you said, was a simple straightforward recipe…with one exception..,sooooo delicious and that spark of zest!
The cheese and Roasted Walnuts just made it complete!
A keeper!
This salad recipe popped up when I searched for an easy spinach salad. I always have all of the ingredients on hand, and it’s easy to whip together. I love that I don’t have to whisk up a dressing separately. I’ve made this salad at least four times in the past two months, and I usually rotate recipes very frequently so that’s saying a lot. Definitely toast the walnuts but set a timer so you don’t forget. They burn quickly!