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This Berry and Fig Salad with Vanilla Vinaigrette tastes like summer on a plate! Fresh and light with hints of berries, honey, and vanilla… ah yes very summery indeed! 🙂
The base of this salad is made with fresh organic greens, strawberries, raspberries, almonds, and pumpkin seeds and it’s tossed in a homemade vanilla honey vinaigrette. And if that wasn’t good enough, it is THEN topped with dried mission figs, bee pollen, and goat cheese ( which is optional ).
I couldn’t love a salad more if I tried.
In fact, I think if I was a salad, this Berry and Fig Salad with Vanilla Vinaigrette would be me…. a little sweet, a little sour, with a bit of fruit, a bit of goat cheese, and some nuts and seeds.
Perfecto!
I actually was inspired to make this salad after trying a berry and fig salad at a Nordstrom Cafe a few weeks ago.
I wasn’t feeling that well and I needed energy but I didn’t want to eat any crap that was at the food court, so I decided to try out the cafe at Nordstrom.
Side note: why have I never eaten here before?!
Anyways, I tried their berry and fig salad and was blown away by how yummy it was and by how much energy it gave me. I was also blown away by how amazing raspberries are in a salad.
I’ve used blueberries and strawberries in many a salad but never raspberries and if you haven’t tried them in a salad before, you must!
I decided to recreate my own version of this salad and have thus made this Berry and Fig Salad with Vanilla Vinaigrette many many times since.
To be honest, I usually prefer meat-less salads (which is why this salad is so me) but since my husband loves extra protein, I rarely make salads without chicken, eggs, or turkey.
So I was curious how he would like this Berry and Fig Salad with Vanilla Vinaigrette. After I handed him a big plate of it, I waited for him to say ” this is great, but I just wish there was more protein inside…” which is the usual scenario.
But I just kept waiting… and waiting.
He didn’t say anything and kept raving about how delicious it was.
Success!
This Berry and Fig Salad with Vanilla Vinaigrette is the first meatless salad that I’ve made that my husband has loved.
He kept asking for more and we both noticed and enjoyed how much energy and how great we felt after eating it… which I attribute to all the healthy fruits and veggies and healthy fats in this salad.
Also, the honey vanilla dressing here is AMAZING. Why have I never added vanilla to dressing before?
No seriously, why?!! New dressing obsession right here.
Let me know if you try this salad! 🙂
Note: Leave out the goat cheese to keep it Paleo.
Berry and Fig Salad with Vanilla Vinaigrette (GF, Paleo option)
Ingredients
Berry and Fig salad ingredients:
- 6 cups organic baby greens
- 1/2 cup quartered strawberries, ( a heaping 1/2 cup )
- 1/2 cup whole raspberries, ( a heaping 1/2 cup )
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- 4-5 dried mission figs, ,halved
- 2 ounces goat cheese, -optional (remove to keep Paleo)
- a sprinkle of organic bee pollen
Vanilla honey vinaigrette:
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 2 Tbs tarragon vinegar
- 1 Tbs vanilla
- 1 tsp honey
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix the organic baby greens, strawberries, raspberries, almonds, and pumpkin seeds together in a large bowl.
- Then make the vanilla honey vinaigrette. Mix 2 Tbs olive oil, 2 Tbs tarragon vinegar, 1 Tbs vanilla, 1 tsp honey and salt and pepper in a small bowl until the mixture thickens.
- Pour half of the vanilla honey vinaigrette onto the mixed greens and mix. Add more dressing if you want, or save the rest for later. ( I used about 3/4 of the dressing and saved the rest to use for another point in time)
- Put half of the salad onto one plate, and half onto another plate.
- Top each plate with sliced figs, goat cheese ( optional) and bee pollen. You can sprinkle a bit more almonds, pumpkin seeds, and dressing if you’d like.
- Note: don’t use goat cheese if you want to keep this salad Paleo.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh my goodness! I have never tried figs in a salad before but it sounds so yummy.
I love it!
I love salads, but they can get pretty boring, to say the least. I love that this one adds different fun flavors than I’m used to. It’s definitely a salad I’ve never tried before and I can’t wait to have one.
This one is def not boring 🙂