Strawberry Fields Salad
This Strawberry Fields Salad combines fresh strawberries, juicy chicken, toasted pecans, crumbled bacon, spring greens, and feta cheese in a flavorful balsamic dressing. It’s the ultimate loaded spring and summer salad!
There’s so much goodness, flavor, and texture in this Strawberry Fields Salad that it never, ever leaves me feeling deprived.
Never heard of a strawberry fields salad? It’s essentially a loaded salad that’s packed with strawberries, chicken, bacon, pecans, feta, and more.
The salad is tossed in a tangy balsamic vinaigrette dressing that pairs beautifully with the juicy strawberries and delicate spring greens.
It’s the perfect main dish salad that takes advantage of my favorite spring and summer produce.
My other favorite loaded salads are my Shrimp Louie Salad and Santa Fe Chicken Salad. You just can’t beat them this time of year! 🙂
Why you’ll love this recipe
- This is no boring salad! It’s a strawberry balsamic chicken salad that’s bursting with sweet and savory flavors and includes a variety of textures.
- This loaded salad is packed with protein, which makes it hearty and satisfying.
- It’s quick and easy to assemble, and it works perfectly with leftover or rotisserie chicken.
- This salad is customizable with whatever greens, nuts, cheese, or protein that you have on hand.
- It’s naturally gluten-free and can be made vegetarian by omitting the meats!
Recipe ingredients
There are quite a few ingredients in this salad, and that’s what makes it interesting. It’s a wonderful combination of sweet and savory flavors with crunchy, chewy textures tossed with crisp, fresh spring greens.
- Chicken. I used leftover grilled chicken breast seasoned simply with smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Rotisserie chicken also works perfectly in this salad recipe.
- Bacon. The bacon adds a nice salty, crunchy element. You can certainly cook the bacon in advance and store it in refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble your salad.
- Spring greens. Spring or mixed greens are my favorite for this salad, but you can truly use whatever greens you have on hand!
- Strawberries. The strawberries are the true star of this salad. This time of year they’re so sweet and juicy that they take it over the top!
- Feta cheese. Feta adds a creamy, salty, tangy flavor, and it truly pulls all of the ingredients together.
- Red onion. The red onion adds a wonderful savory bite to this salad. It can be quite pungent, so be sure to shave it thinly.
- Dried cranberries. Tart, chewy dried cranberries add great texture and flavor here.
- Toasted pecans. I love purchasing pre-toasted pecans from Trader Joe’s for this salad. Walnuts or almonds would be a terrific substitution.
- Balsamic dressing. My homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing is my go-to for this salad. It’s very easy to make and may be made in advance. Use your favorite store bought dressing if desired.
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and quantities.
How to make this recipe
This salad is very easy to make, and each component may be prepped ahead of time.
See the recipe card below for full instructions.
- Prepare the chicken. Grill or bake your chicken breast seasoned simply with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of smoked paprika, or use leftover or rotisserie chicken. Chop or slice the chicken.
- Prepare the bacon. Cook the bacon according to package instructions, either in a skillet, in the oven or the microwave. After cooking, blot dry on paper towels and crumble when cool enough to handle.
- Prepare the dressing. This may be done right before assembling your salad or in advance.
- Prep the salad ingredients. Chop the strawberries and red onion, and gather the cranberries and feta cheese.
- Assemble the salad. Place the spring greens in a large bowl, followed by the chicken, bacon, strawberries, feta cheese, red onion, dried cranberries and pecans. Toss gently with the desired amount of dressing.
Recipe FAQs
All of the ingredients can be prepared in advance and refrigerated in separate containers, but you should not assemble and dress the salad until you’re ready to serve it.
We love pairing strawberry + balsamic in salads, but you’re welcome to use another dressing altogether if desired.
I bet a red wine vinaigrette or honey champagne vinaigrette would be delicious too!
Yes, simply omit the bacon crumbles and chicken to create a hearty vegetarian salad loaded with strawberries.
Recipe variations
- Bacon. Use any bacon you like (turkey, pork, etc.). Omit entirely if vegetarian.
- Spring greens. Swap with baby spinach, arugula, butter lettuce, or another favorite salad green.
- Dried cranberries. Dried cherries would be a wonderful substitute.
- Red onion. If it’s not for you, green onions would be a great substitute.
- Feta. If you don’t care for feta, goat cheese may be used instead.
Recipe notes
- Pro tip: All of the ingredients may be prepped in advance so that all you have to do when you’re ready to enjoy it is toss everything together.
- To toast pecans: place the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant. Use pre-toasted pecan pieces from Trader Joe’s as a time saver.
- This Strawberry Fields Salad is customizable with whatever greens, nuts, cheese or protein that you have on hand!
More berry salad recipes you’ll love
- Raspberry salad
- Berry arugula salad
- Kale cherry salad
- Strawberry feta salad
- Strawberry spinach salad
- Blackberry pear salad
Did you try this recipe? If so, be sure to leave a review below and tag me @flavorthemoments on Facebook and Instagram
Strawberry Fields Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast chopped (about 1 lb. chicken breast)
- 4 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
- 5 ounces spring greens
- 1 1/2 cups strawberries hulled and sliced
- 1/2 small red onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup pecan pieces toasted*
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- [Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing]
Instructions
- Place all the salad ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add the desired amount of dressing and toss to coat. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- Leftover or rotisserie chicken work perfectly in this recipe.
- The balsamic vinaigrette dressing may be made in advance and stored in airtight container in the refrigerator.
- To toast pecans: place the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant. Use pre-toasted pecan pieces from Trader Joe’s as a time saver.
- This Strawberry Fields Salad is customizable with whatever greens, nuts, cheese or protein that you have on hand!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
59 Comments on “Strawberry Fields Salad”
What an EPIC loaded salad, Marcie! I have been craving salads lately too and this one has all of my favourite flavours – I love fruit in salads, plus a little bit of feta, nuts, fresh greens – just yum!! I am putting this on my list to make! Loving your photography too – absolutely drooling over these photos.
Thank you so much for the kind words Katerina! I hope you get to try it soon. 🙂