Easy Spinach Goat Cheese Salad with Cranberries

Spinach goat cheese salad for all your potluck needs and beyond! Each component is tasty on its own (okay maybe not spinach) but when they all come together, something truly delicious happens.

This salad has got it going on! Tender spinach leaves, creamy goat cheese, tart cranberries, and salty/crunchy pepitas. Yes, yes and yes. I think we all know you can have a salad with the tastiest ingredients in the world but if the dressing is no good, the whole thing is ruined. That is not the case with this dressing! It has perfectly balanced acidity, a touch of sweetness and get this: just 6 ingredients. Bring this as a side salad or a main dish to your next holiday get-together, or special occasion or just serve it at home to your family. It will be your new favorite salad dressing!

Disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase any of the items linked in this post, I should earn a small commission. This creates no additional cost to you and helps support the work that goes into running The Fig Jar. Thank you! -Becky 

I don’t have any interesting stories about how this lovely little salad came to be. Just had some extra goat cheese from a failed recipe attempt and was determined not to waste it! I hate when I buy a special ingredient for a recipe, only use part of it, and then the rest gets wasted because it’s just not something I eat all the time. That’s why I have a bunch of recipes that call for chipotle peppers in adobo! Most recipes don’t call for the entire can so I’ve come up with a bunch of places to use up those peppers. Like chipotle mayo, tamale pie and black bean soup to name a few. But I digress, let’s talk ingredients!

Ingredients for Spinach Goat Cheese Salad Recipe

Salad Ingredients

• Spinach – Spinach is growing nicely in my composting garden right now! 
• Dried cranberries
• Creamy, crumbly goat cheese – I get the Chevre kind from Trader Joe’s, but you can also find it on Amazon and possibly at your local grocery store in the deli section.
• Pepitas or pumpkin seeds – I prefer to buy raw and roast and salt them myself, but you can buy them already roasted if you prefer.
• Marinated shallots – We will talk about how to do this! It’s easy and requires basically the same ingredients as the vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette Ingredients

• Avocado oil – You can also use sunflower or canola oil. Olive oil is a bit healthier but it gives dressings a more bitter taste, which is why I prefer avocado oil.
• Red wine vinegar
• Garlic powder
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• Honey

These 6 simple ingredients alone in the right proportion (this is key!) make the perfect salad dressing. It will make you look forward to eating salad! Sometimes I like to spruce up a fresh spinach salad by adding fresh herbs (like basil, dill, mint, and parsley, which all grow nicely in my Aerogarden) and finely minced shallots. Just an option!

How to make goat cheese salad

So this is a really simple recipe but there are a few (easy) extra steps like reconstituting the cranberries and marinating shallots that make it feel like a special salad from a fancy schmancy restaurant.

STEP 1: Marinate the shallots and reconstitute the cranberries

You might be tempted to skip this step and just throw some thinly sliced shallots on the salad and call it a day. And you can, but….

I really think you should give this step a try. It’s so worth it! It takes the edge off the onion flavor and imparts a nice pickle-y flavor that is the perfect complement to the goat cheese and cranberries.

To make them: simply slice the shallots, place in a jar and top with vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar and a drizzle of oil. Shake and let stand while you prepare the other ingredients and the dressing.

To reconstitute the cranberries, simple place them in a small bowl and pour some hot water over them. This will make it so they aren’t so hard. This is super easy to do and makes them more pleasant to eat.

STEP 2: Roast pepitas

Or you can buy them already roasted/salted. I like to just roast my pepitas myself so I can control the salt. It’s easy to do! Just spread the seeds out on a parchment-lined baking sheet drizzle with just a touch of oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake in the oven for a few minutes.

STEP 3: Make the dressing

Not much to see here, just throw all of the ingredients in a small mason jar and shake! But lemme tell ya, this dressing is MY FAVORITE homemade dressing. I can’t even count how many times I’ve made it in the last few months.

It has taken me forever to finally make a dressing that I like more than any bottled kind and I’m so excited about it. It tastes delicious in everything from Fig Goat Cheese Salad to this Mediterranean Pasta Salad or this Italian Chopped Salad.

Also, note that you will end up with extra dressing. Enjoy it for up to 2 weeks after making it! I promise it will make you want to eat more salads.

STEP 4: Assemble the salad

I think you know what to do here, except may I just suggest tossing the spinach leaves with dressing in a large bowl first, then sprinkling on the goat cheese, cranberries, pepitas and shallots. That way the goat cheese doesn’t smear all over the spinach and look messy.

Additions and Substitutions

If you’re like me, you like cooking to be simple and easy. So, if you don’t want to bother with reconstituting cranberries, feel free to bypass this step and just buy cranberry goat cheese! You can find it on Amazon or at other major grocery stores. Other lettuces that would go well with this salad are micro greens or leafy greens like arugula. If you can’t find shallots, red onion can work well, too. Another nice addition would be some crisp cucumber. If you’re not a fan of goat cheese, feta cheese or blue cheese would work as well.

Storage Instructions

To store this salad, simply place in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Once the dressing has been added, it is best to eat this salad immediately.

Tried this Goat Cheese Spinach Salad recipe?

If you try this recipe, please consider leaving a comment/rating below and let me know how it went. I’d love to hear from you! You can also connect with me on instagram and Pinterest.

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Spinach Cranberry Goat Cheese Salad

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A simple spinach salad that is big on flavor. It’s easy to make and is a great side for almost any meal.

• Author: Becky Schmieg
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
• Category: Salad, Side Dish
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Salad contents

• 1 5oz bag fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2.5 oz goat cheese

Roasted pepitas

• 1/2 cup raw pepitas *see note
• 1/4 tsp avocado oil
• sprinkle of salt

Marinate shallot

• 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallot (about 1 medium-sized shallot)
• 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
• drizzle of avocado oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 3 tbsp water

Dressing

• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 2/3 cup avocado oil
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp honey

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Instructions

Marinate shallots

1. Place sliced shallots in a small bowl. Add vinegar, water, salt, pepper, sugar and a drizzle of oil. Stir and set aside.

Roast pepitas

1. Spread pepitas on a parchment-lined baking sheet and add a small drizzle of oil (just enough to coat) and a sprinkle of salt. Place in a 325F oven for 7-10 minutes until fragrant.

Reconstitute cranberries

1. Place dried cranberries in a small bowl. Pour hot water (just enough to cover) over the cranberries and let stand for about 5 minutes. Drain water.

Dressing

1. In a jar, combine vinegar, oil, salt pepper, honey and garlic powder by shaking vigorously (with the lid on of course!)

Assemble

1. Add spinach to a large bowl. Add desired amount of dressing and toss. Top with cranberries, pepitas, shallots and goat cheese crumbles.

Notes

Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1. You can buy these already roasted and salted, I just prefer to do that myself so I’m providing instructions on that.

Dressing

1. You will end up with extra dressing, enjoy it for up to 2 weeks after making it.