Some meals never get old and this Strawberry Spinach Salad with Candied Cannellini Beans is one of them! It’s a seasonal fav of mine and one meal you can definitely eat on repeat! It’s light, summery AND can be prepped ahead for the entire week, start to finish in less then 15 minutes!
This salad is a super satisfying meal it’s made with fresh baby spinach greens, ripe strawberries, straight from the garden cucumbers, diced red onion, feta cheese crumbles topped with Candied Cannellini Beans and drizzled with real poppyseed dressing. It’s seriously so good as a lunch dish but also makes a perfect dish to pass for summer get togethers!
RECIPE INSPO
You know in the summer when it’s too hot for actual cooking and heavier meals don’t sound all that appealing but you want a filling meal that’s fresh and satisfying but doesn’t require a lot of effort?! Well, that’s exactly what inspired this Strawberry Spinach Salad- a desire for a really fresh and seasonal dish, that just makes you feel so good without having to do a ton of cooking or dishes!
Salads work perfect for summer meals but they can be a lot of work to put together and they can also pack in the calores if you’re not paying attention to what you’re putting into or on top of them!
This salad combo is one of my favs because it’s more of a detox blend, it’s not loaded with toppings, heavy on the carbs or meat. It’s a vegetarian salad that just makes you feel really good! Plus, it’s so delish that you can seriously eat it all week and not get tired of it- seriously!
My first round of this dish, I just added plain beans to make life super simple. However, I have been roasting beans quite a bit this year and making more flavorful snacks especially protein options. I decided this salad needed some of those delish roasted beans, except, for this recipe, I jazzed them up a bit by doing a different flavor combo. Instead of a savory blend I created a mix of cinnamon and maple syrup to keep the sweetness of the salad present! Calling them my candied cannellini beans. They turned out so good and are definitely worth the extra effort it takes to make a batch for the week!
You can definitely just warm up some plain ol’ beans from the can to save a step but roasting them in this cinnamon mixture adds such a good crunch, kind of gives the salad a comfort texture and brings a fun flavor to the whole entire meal. I would highly recommend taking the extra step to roast the beans -they might become a new fav for you as you can also eat them as a snack or add them to all sorts of other dishes for a tasty protein snack or boost!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS DISH
First, it’s a super fresh and fulfilling meal you can literally make in less than 10 minutes! It’s one of those meals that makes you feel good and healthy after eating it. It’s a nice change up to traditional savory salads because of the fresh fruit, sweet poppy seed dressing and candied cannellini beans.
It’s a lower carb dish that fills you up in a non-bloating way
It takes 10 minutes to put together
Is a well balanced, unprocessed meal
Can be prepped ahead for the week very easily
Is gut friendly and nourishing
NUTRITION INSPO
Eating fresh spinach is an excellent way to get essential minerals into your diet like magnesium, calcium, folate and iron. All these nutrients play a crucial role in women’s health especially in balancing hormones, bone strength and density. It has anti aging benefits, aids in glowing skin, is great for metabolism and also has anti-inflammatory benefits!
Beans are a nice plant based protein option full of nutrients and fiber. They give your meal a dose of comfort food without the guilt. They’re super easy, nutritious, shelf stable and inexpensive!
BUDGET TIPS
Look for beans on sale and stock up
DIY the beans by buying whole dry beans, soak and cook a batch of your own
Buying spinach in fresh bunches verses in containers can sometimes be cheaper
Look for clearance produce; sometimes it’s still perfectly fine and just needs to be sold quickly
INGREDIENTS
Fresh, organic baby spinach
Diced red onion
Fresh, strawberries, trimmed and sliced
Cucumbers
Feta Cheese Crumbles
Cannellini Beans
Olive Oil
Cinnamon
Sea Salt
Pepper
Parsley
Maple Syrup
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 400*F
Drain and Rinse the beans, shake out excess water, set aside.
In a mixing bowl add olive oil, cinnamon, sea salt, pepper and parsley. Stir until combined. Add beans to the dish and mix well.
Top a cookie sheet with tin foil, add 1 tbl olive oil to the foil then add the bean mixture. Spread beans evenly over the pan, top with any additional seasonings. I like to give it another sprinkle of cinnamon. Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes until the beans crack open and are a bit on the crunchy side. you can take them out at this point or leave in for a crunchier texture -about 5 minutes longer. When done cooking, sprinkle with a tiny dash of sea salt and cinnamon, top with 1-2Tbls Maple Syrup and give it a stir until well combined
To a salad bowl, add two cups of spinach, then top with diced red onion, diced cucumbers, sliced strawberries and feta cheese.
Top with candied cannellini beans and a drizzle of poppyseed dressing! Give it a mix and enjoy!
SALAD PREP
To enjoy this amazing salad all week and start feeling so good from binging on yummy greens and fresh produce you can simply prep this salad ahead in individual containers OR try this buffet style meal prep process! (Click that link to learn more about BSMP and the amazing benefits it brings to the never-ending meal time process). It keeps all the ingredients a bit more fresher and allows you to interchange the ingredients as you wish while providing the flexibility to mix and match ingredients throughout the week.
For this dish, each of the ingredients are prepared, washed and cleaned ahead of time and then portioned into separate containers. This allows the produce to stay nice and fresh all week.
For this prep you will need a container for each item. If you bought the spinach and onion pre-packaged, those containers are fine for storing the veggies. To save room in the fridge I like to put my spinach in a gallon Ziploc bag or Reusable storage bag and store it in the veggie drawer. That’s it! You will have a container of each ingredient; strawberries pre sliced, cucumbers peeled and diced, a container with onion, one with fresh spinach, a cheese container and a bottle of fresh dressing or store-bought.
ASSEMBLE
When you’re ready to enjoy a super fresh salad just pull the containers out and assemble as the recipe states! Top with the dressing and enjoy! Check out my new Instagram Reel to see the salad come together easily!
1 Container fresh baby spinach 1 container, strawberries, fresh and firm 1 Medium Red Onion 2 Cucumbers, Peeled and Sliced Feta Cheese Poppyseed Dressing -I used Marzetti Brand here Feta Cheese For the Beans 1 Can Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed -unsalted 2 Tbl Olive Oil 1/2 Tsp Parsley Flakes 1 tsp cinnamon, ground sea salt and pepper to taste 2 Tbl Maple Syrup For The Candied Cannellini Beans For the Salad Prep: For One Salad TO SERVE: You can make this salad ahead for work in the morning and even toss the dressing on top if you want the flavors to soak in, it will make the salad less crunchy but not much. I've done it both ways and I like it both! For the beans; I prefer to heat them up and serve on the salad warm. Just warm up a portion of the beans in a separate container about 30 seconds then place on top of salad mixture. TIME SAVERS: Use Triple Washed Spinach Buy pre-diced onion Use plain beans instead of roasted; simply drain and rinse the canned beans then warm up for about 30 seconds and toss on top of salad VARIATIONS Swap red onion for a sweet Vidalia onion The Marzetti Poppyseed dressing shown in the pictures is really good! I do prefer to make my own dressings to eliminate sugars and processed oils which this dressing does contain. However, in a pinch I do like this one as it doesn't contain preservative or artificial sweeteners. 
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes