An easy summer salad with cucumbers, blueberries, pecans and feta cheese, topped with a delicious balsamic blueberry vinaigrette!
I hope you guys are having a great week!
Hubby and I went to a baseball game last night, which is a favorite summer treat - feels so all American 😉 Our new stadium uptown is right in the middle of the city and the view is pretty sweet, which just adds to the experience. It wasn't a particularly good game, but that was kinda beside the point, you know?
But on to the food...
If you’ve seen my spring-time favorite arugula salad with strawberries, pistachios and goat cheese, then you know I love a salad with in-season fruits.
(I even have a whole category of healthy summer salads - I'm obsessed!)
And because I’ve also been blueberry obsessed the last couple of months (see my healthy blueberry cake and whole wheat blueberry waffles just to name a few), I had to put blueberries on my easy summer salad.
But not just in the salad. All over the top, too.
My balsamic blueberry vinaigrette is the star salad dressing here today and wow, does it really tie everything together!
This salad is just exploding with flavors and textures, all perfectly balanced.
We’ve got the soft but crunchy butter lettuce, crisp cucumbers, sweet fresh blueberries, rich pecans and salty feta cheese crumbles.
And that bright, tangy blueberry vinaigrette drizzled all over the place.
It’s definitely one of those salads where you will work really hard to get a little bit of everything onto your fork so you can enjoy it all together in each bite.
(Oh, and if you’re wondering about my stripey cucumber, I just use the peeler to do strips all around to leave a little green on there. It’s pretty and tasty, too!)
You could serve this with anything coming off the grill - burgers, chicken, fish, pork, steak, kabobs - and you could even slice up some grilled chicken to put on top of this salad if you want to make a meal of it.
Quick notes about this easy summer salad:
- It makes enough for 2-3 servings. It’s an easy one to double though if you’re serving more people.
- You won’t need the full amount of the balsamic blueberry vinaigrette if you’re just making this for 2-3 people. I’d make the full dressing recipe anyway, though, because it’s good drizzled on, oh, EVERYTHING!
- As mentioned, I like to leave a little peel on my cucumbers. I also like to take out some of the inner seeds after I’ve cut it. You could substitute a hot house or seedless cucumber if you prefer.
- I like pecans here, but you can substitute walnuts or your favorite nut.
- You also can substitute crumbled goat cheese for the feta if you prefer.
Cheers to all the fresh fruits and veggies of summer (particularly the blueberries) and to recipes that don’t require cooking in the heat 😉
Enjoy!
Easy summer salad with blueberries
Ingredients
- 1 (5-6 oz.) bag butter lettuce
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
- ⅓ cup fresh blueberries
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
- Blueberry balsamic vinaigrette
Instructions
- Add the lettuce, cucumber, blueberries, pecans and feta cheese to a large bowl.
- Drizzle with vinaigrette, toss and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food
Glad you had a fun time at the game! I've only seen a baseball game live once, but have seen lots of hockey games 🙂 I love salads and this one is no exception! Love all the ingredients in there and great use of using your blueberry vinaigrette. I could eat a salad like this every day. Great way to keep cool during the warmer Summer months and not have to worry about turning the oven on. I bet it would be great with chicken to add some extra protein. Have a lovely weekend, girl. xo
Kathryn
Keeping cool indeed! It goes great with grilled chicken and yes, you could definitely just slice some up and add it right onto the salad! 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Blueberries and blueberry dressing...salad perfection for a happy summer salad 😉
Kathryn
Totally agree 😉 Thanks Rebecca!
marisa / marisamoorenutrition
Love adding fruit to salads- especially in the summer! This looks great!
Kathryn
Yes! Give me all the fresh fruit this time of year! Thanks Marisa!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
I figured you were going to make something amazing to go with that vinaigrette, and OMG you totally DID! This salad looks fabulous, girlfriend!! Loving all the different textures and flavors going on here! And your blueberry vinaigrette sounds (and looks) like the perfect finishing touch! Total summer salad perfection! Pinned! Cheers, friend!
P.S So glad you had fun at the baseball game!! I haven't been to one of those since I was a little girl! Ohhh memories. 😉
Kathryn
Haha, thanks Cheyanne! I'm all about the summertime goodness right now - soaking it up and gobbling it down 🙂
Kate @ Framed Cooks
I love this!! We are smack in the middle of local blueberries everywhere around us - I just made us a blueberry crispy for dinner (yep dinner, not dessert) this week, and now this is next up on my blueberry list!
Kathryn
And this is why I love you. You had your fruit, your grains and if you add some yogurt or ice cream, your dairy. That totally qualifies as a well-balanced meal 😉
Karly
Looks like I know what I'm having for lunch! This looks so fresh, delish and full of flavor! Can't wait to try it out!
Kathryn
Thanks Karly! It's a cinch to throw together and would be perfect for munching on while you relax by your pool!
Debra @ Bowl Me Over
Yum, yum, yum this salad looks just delicious! Stopped by to do some extra sharing and to let you know I'm featuring your recipe tomorrow on #FoodieFriDIY - stop on by and link up again!
Kathryn
Thank you so much Debra! I'll definitely stop by the party tonight!