Healthy Recipes Salad Green Salad Spinach Salad Cucumber-Blueberry Spinach Salad 5.0 (3) 3 Reviews This spinach-blueberry salad has the perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors complemented by refreshing cucumber slices and creamy goat cheese. Champagne vinegar adds a mild, delicate touch that pairs beautifully with summer fruit. You can use white-wine vinegar instead; simply reduce the amount by a teaspoon to maintain the balance of flavors, as it has a sharper taste. By Amanda Holstein Amanda Holstein Amanda Holstein fell in love with baking at the age of six and has continued to grow her passion through culinary school and working in bakeries. For more than 10 years, she worked at multiple well-known restaurants and bakeries in the Orlando, Florida area, preparing delicious scratch-made desserts and assisting with dinner events, before becoming a test kitchen assistant at EatingWell. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on July 1, 2024 Tested by Catherine Jessee Tested by Catherine Jessee Catherine Jessee is a test kitchen assistant at EatingWell. Meet the EatingWell Test Kitchen Reviewed by Dietitian Emily Lachtrupp, M.S., RD Reviewed by Dietitian Emily Lachtrupp, M.S., RD Emily Lachtrupp is a registered dietitian experienced in nutritional counseling, recipe analysis and meal plans. She's worked with clients who struggle with diabetes, weight loss, digestive issues and more. In her spare time, you can find her enjoying all that Vermont has to offer with her family and her dog, Winston. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Save Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall Active Time: 15 mins Total Time: 15 mins Servings: 6 Nutrition Profile: Anti-Inflammatory Mediterranean Diet Sesame-Free Soy-Free Vegetarian Egg-Free Gluten-Free Jump to Nutrition Facts Jump to recipe Talk about a medley of gorgeous colors, flavors and textures—this Cucumber-Blueberry Spinach Salad has it all! The blueberries add a wonderful fruity flavor and pop of color, the baby spinach provides a tender, leafy bed, and the cucumber brings a crisp, hydrating bite to this summer salad. The blueberry dressing is a wonderful balance of sweet and tart and complements the creamy tang of the goat cheese. Almonds add a toasty-sweet crunch and healthy fat. All in all, this is an antioxidant-packed salad. Keep reading for our expert tips to help make your salad a hit at your next gathering. Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too! For the best flavor, toast the almonds: place in a small dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes.For sweeter almonds, you can candy them. Cook in a nonstick skillet with 1 to 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, stirring until the sugar is completely melted and the almonds are slightly toasted.If you don’t have a food processor handy, you can use a blender, or you can smash the blueberries in a bowl with a potato masher and then whisk in the oil.For a slightly different flavor, you can substitute white balsamic vinegar for the champagne vinegar, and feta for the goat cheese. Nutrition Notes Spinach’s deep green hue provides some clues into the depth of its nutrients. Packed with the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, spinach has been linked to healthy vision, skin, bones, heart, digestion and immune system. Regularly eating spinach may reduce your risk of chronic disease. Despite cucumbers’ propensity to make you burp—thanks to the compound cucurbitacin—they have several health-enhancing qualities. For starters, they’re low in calories and made of 95% water. This means they’re a hydrating veggie. Because they’re rich in the mineral silica, cucumbers help promote healthy skin. And eating cucumbers may help lower blood sugar. Besides making you belch, the cucurbitacin may also help reduce cancer risk. Like spinach, the color of blueberries indicates their antioxidant content. Blueberries are linked with lower blood sugar, reduced inflammation and improved vision, digestion, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and cognitive function. Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 1 1/4 cups fresh blueberries, divided 3 tablespoons champagne vinegar 1 1/2 tablespoons honey 1/4 teaspoon  plus 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 (5-ounce) package baby spinach 1 cup thinly sliced unpeeled English cucumber 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese, divided 1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted Directions Combine 3/4 cup blueberries, vinegar, honey and salt in a food processor; process until fully combined, about 15 seconds. With the processor running, slowly pour oil through the chute until the dressing is emulsified, about 30 seconds. Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall Place spinach, cucumber and the remaining 1/2 cup blueberries in a large bowl. Drizzle with the dressing; toss until well coated. Transfer to a serving dish; top with goat cheese and almonds. Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall Frequently Asked Questions Can I meal-prep this recipe? Absolutely. The dressing can be made ahead and refrigerated, covered, for up to four days. It just needs to be shaken before using. The salad ingredients can also be refrigerated in separate airtight containers for easy assembly. What should I serve with Cucumber-Blueberry Spinach Salad? This salad makes for a great side at a backyard barbecue. Serve it with grilled chicken, pork chops, fish or steak. EatingWell.com, July 2024 Rate It Print Nutrition Facts (per serving) 244 Calories 21g Fat 11g Carbs 6g Protein Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label Nutrition Facts Servings Per Recipe 6 Serving Size about 1 cup Calories 244 % Daily Value * Total Carbohydrate 11g 4% Dietary Fiber 2g 7% Total Sugars 8g Protein 6g 11% Total Fat 21g 26% Saturated Fat 5g 24% Cholesterol 9mg 3% Vitamin A 167µg Vitamin C 10mg 11% Vitamin D 0µg Vitamin E 4mg 26% Folate 54µg Vitamin K 131µg Sodium 241mg 10% Calcium 70mg 5% Iron 1mg 8% Magnesium 41mg 10% Potassium 227mg 5% Zinc 1mg 5% Vitamin B12 0µg Omega 3 0g Nutrition information is calculated by a registered dietitian using an ingredient database but should be considered an estimate. * Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day. Percent Daily Value (%DV) found on nutrition labels tells you how much a serving of a particular food or recipe contributes to each of those total recommended amounts. Per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the daily value is based on a standard 2,000 calorie diet. Depending on your calorie needs or if you have a health condition, you may need more or less of particular nutrients. (For example, it’s recommended that people following a heart-healthy diet eat less sodium on a daily basis compared to those following a standard diet.) (-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a special diet for medical reasons, be sure to consult with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian to better understand your personal nutrition needs. Additional reporting by Carrie Myers, M.S. Carrie Myers, M.S. Carrie Myers is a portfolio entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience in the health and wellness space. As a writer and editor, Carrie has worked for both consumer and trade print and online publications. She's been quoted in several articles as a health and fitness expert. Carrie is also a certified life and wellness coach and exercise physiologist, and the founder of CarrieMichele Co., a lifestyle company that helps women create lives they love where they can be authentic. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines and Linda Frahm Linda Frahm Linda Frahm has been a copy editor and fact checker working with food and nutrition content for the past 30-plus years for consumer print and online publications. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines