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This wonderful spinach avocado salad with fresh mozzarella tossed with bright lemon vinaigrette makes a light and fresh side dish perfect all year round.
It’s ready in 10 minutes and easy to customize with your favorite add-ins!
I’ve been making various versions of this spinach avocado salad for years now and always tastes delicious. It’s a great way to get my greens, a hit with my family, and it’s endlessly flexible too.
It’s exactly the kind of salad I like to serve for weeknights or dinner party, and it’s about as simple as it gets and goes so well with any meal.
It combines baby spinach leaves, a superfood with amazing health benefits, with mozzarella and avocado that add a delicious creaminess, and make this salad fresh and satisfying.
I love to add some toasted pine nuts on top, but go ahead and swap in whatever kind of nuts you have on hand or toss in boiled eggs, cooked prawns, olives or sun dried tomatoes to turn it into a more substantial meal.
It’s also YUMMY and quite fancy if you serve it with crusty panini rolls, crispy breadsticks or warm focaccia at a dinner party.
Feel free to make it your own version, and enjoy!
List of the ingredients
- Baby spinach
- Avocado
- Fresh mozzarella
- Pine nuts (optional)
- Honey & mustard (not pictured, I forgot them! : )
- Garlic
- Lemon juice
- Salt & pepper
How to make Spinach avocado salad
- Whisk or shake the dressing ingredients into a glass jar until emulsified.
- Combine spinach, avocado and torn mozzarella in a large salad bowl.
- Scatter the toasted pine nuts over the salad.
- Drizzle on the dressing, toss gently, and serve immediately. However, once it’s tossed the salad doesn’t look as pretty, so another option is to serve the dressing on the side so everyone can add their own dressing.
Recipe notes
Ingredients & substitutions
Spinach: I love using fresh baby spinach for this salad, it’s so convenient and packed with minerals and vitamins, but fresh arugula or any of your favorite salad greens will work.
Avocado: rich and packed with nutrients, avocado makes this spinach salad extra yummy and pairs beautifully with fresh, creamy mozzarella.
Fresh Mozzarella: look for soft, spongy mozzarella balls that are packed in water (whole mozzarella ball or ciliegine are both fine). I torn the mozzarella cheese into pieces, roughly, I love more these rustic chunks of cheese than slices. It’s a textural thing.
Pine nuts: I usually use pine nuts or walnuts for this spinach avocado salad, but just about any variety of nuts or seeds that you prefer will play well, preferably toasted to bring out their flavor.
Lemon vinaigrette: I use 100% extra virgin olive oil with its fruity flavor, fresh lemon juice, a touch of honey, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper. I recommend making a double batch, while you’re at it, it keeps for a few days and it’s great to use on another salad.
What to serve with this spinach avocado salad
This spinach avocado salad is delicious for weeknight dinners or special celebrations, it makes the perfect side salad to pair with just about any meal! Here are some pairing ideas that feature pastas:
If you love spinach…
I’ve got you covered with some delicious spinach recipes, terrific to use up loads of fresh spinach. Ready to get your healthy leafy greens?
- Spinach pizza
- Pasta with spinach
- Easy spinach frittata
- Pasta with spinach and fresh tomatoes
- Lemon ricotta pasta with spinach
- Spinach soup
More favorite salad recipes
If you love this spinach avocado salad recipe, try one of these fresh salads next:
- Arugula pear salad
- Artichoke salad
- Spinach arugula salad
- Potato salad with olives
- Beetroot salad
- Or any of these Holiday salads
If you make this spinach avocado salad with fresh mozzarella, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it or tag a photo #theclevermeal on Instagram. I would love to hear from you!
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Spinach Avocado Salad with Mozzarella
Ingredients
Spinach avocado salad
- 5 oz (140 grams) baby spinach, washed and drained
- 1 small avocado, diced or sliced
- 4 oz (120 grams) fresh mozzarella, torn into pieces
- 1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon honey
- ½ teaspoon mustard
- ¼ scant teaspoon fresh garlic, grated
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Make the dressing: combine all of the dressing ingredients together in a bowl and whisk vigorously (or shake them together in a glass jar with lid) until fully combined and emulsified.
- Prep the salad: place spinach to a large bowl or serving plate, top with sliced or diced avocado (make sure you keep the same size when you cut it), torn mozzarella and toasted walnuts. Top with fresh cracked pepper.
- Serve: drizzle dressing over salad, gently toss and serve. Another option is to plate the salad and serve with dressing on the side so everyone can add their own dressing.
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