Strawberry, Basil and Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Drizzle

This strawberry salad recipe is an absolute showstopper! Bring this simple salad to all of your summer parties. It will be a big hit!

17 Reviews

41Comments

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I’ll be making this strawberry salad all summer long. It’s beautiful, easy to make, and beyond delicious. What more could we want?

This salad takes a few cues from classic Caprese salad but stars diced strawberries. I opted for crumbled goat cheese instead of mozzarella, and added a drizzle of thick balsamic vinegar.

salad ingredients

To round it out, I added lots of fresh basil, plus a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper. This salad straddles the line between sweet and savory, and it absolutely works.

The final result is a showstopper. Be sure to use red, ripe strawberries and quality ingredients, and you’ll be thrilled with the results. Hooray for easy summer salads!

how to make strawberry basil salad

Strawberry-Basil Salad Tips

Use thick balsamic vinegar.

In other words, use high quality balsamic vinegar or buy/make balsamic glaze. Both options offer intense flavor and look pretty (runny balsamic vinegars will travel straight to the bottom of the plate). See the recipe notes for my suggestions.

Double the recipe for a crowd.

The recipe as written calls for 1 pound strawberries and 1/2 log of goat cheese. To double the recipe, just grab another pound of strawberries and make sure you have plenty of basil.

Serve promptly.

This salad is beautiful and looks best when it’s served promptly. If you’re transporting this salad, you might want to wait and drizzle the olive oil and vinegar on top just before serving.

Change it up.

You can easily substitute sliced fresh peaches for some or all of the strawberries. Another idea? Serve this salad over fresh, leafy greens, with an extra little drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top.

strawberry basil goat cheese salad with balsamic drizzle

Please let me know how you like this salad in the comments! I hope it’s a big hit at your summer parties.

Looking for more strawberry goodness? Here are a few of my favorite strawberry recipes:

strawberry basil salad recipe

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Strawberry, Basil and Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Drizzle

  • Author: Cookie and Kate
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 side servings 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 17 reviews

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This strawberry salad recipe is simple enough to make on weeknights. It’s also the perfect salad to bring to all of your summer parties! Recipe yields 4 side servings; it is easily doubled.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound fresh strawberries, diced
  • Optional: 1 to 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup, to taste
  • 2 ounces crumbled goat cheese (about ½ cup)
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh basil, plus a few small basil leaves for garnish
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon thick balsamic vinegar*
  • ½ teaspoon Maldon flaky sea salt or a scant ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Spread the diced strawberries across a medium serving platter or shallow serving bowl. If the strawberries aren’t sweet enough to your liking, toss them with a bit of honey or maple syrup.
  2. Sprinkle the crumbled goat cheese over the strawberries, followed by the chopped basil. Drizzle the olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top.
  3. Finish off the salad with the salt, a few twists of freshly ground black pepper, and the reserved basil leaves. For the most beautiful presentation, serve the salad promptly. Leftovers will keep well in the refrigerator, though, for about 3 days.

Notes

Make it dairy free/vegan: You could potentially omit the goat cheese altogether, or substitute a few dollops of vegan sour cream. For a vegan salad, use maple syrup instead of honey, if using at all.

*Balsamic vinegar note: For a beautiful drizzle, use high-quality, thick balsamic vinegar (I love Napa Valley Naturals’ Grand Reserve Vinegar—it’s about $10 at Natural Grocers or other well-stocked grocery stores—make sure you get the bottle with “25 stars” on it) or store-bought balsamic glaze/reduction (DeLallo and Alessi make them). You can use regular runny balsamic for less beautiful results, or make your own balsamic reduction.

Nutrition

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.

HELLO, MY NAME IS

Kathryne Taylor

I'm a vegetable enthusiast, dog lover, mother and bestselling cookbook author. I've been sharing recipes here since 2010, and I'm always cooking something new in my Kansas City kitchen. Cook with me!

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Comments

  1. Alexia says:

    This is a beautiful salad and will go great at a BBQ, next to a Caprese salad.

    1. Kate says:

      That would be a great combination! Let me know what you think, Alexia.

  2. jane says:

    My family loved it and it was with American strawberries–not even red right through–I can only imagine what it’s like with fresh ripe local Ontario strawberries, which will hopefully be in season soon. Thank you for the tasty memory. This is a keeper.
    Cheers
    Jane






    1. Kate says:

      Thank you for your feedback, Jane!

  3. Donna Turner says:

    Sounds wonderful but I just wanted to say Best Wishes to you and Congratulations to the groom.

    1. Kate says:

      Thank you, Donna!

  4. Malinda Evans says:

    Congratulations!!! You looked absolutely lovely, and so does this salad.






    1. Kate says:

      Thank you! :)

  5. Nancy says:

    This was a huge hit at my dinner party. Loved the flavor. I never would have thought strawberries for a salad. Main course was steak so this was very light and refreshing salad. Looking forward to more vegetarian recipes






    1. Kate says:

      I’m glad you were pleasantly surprised! Thanks, Nancy.

  6. Nicole says:

    I loooved this! I had half over greens with a sliced avocado and it was dreamy. I had the other half with some sliced cucumber stirred in. Very yummy.






    1. Kate says:

      I’m so glad you loved it! I really like the greens and avocado pairing idea.

  7. Leslie says:

    I made this on Sunday. It was amazing!!!!!
    Thank you






    1. Kate says:

      You’re welcome, Leslie!

  8. Lilly says:

    I made the strawberry salad dish and it was lovely. I made a few changes and used chopped red onion and smoked balsamic glaze and substitued greek feta cheese for the goats cheese. I used 100% organic strawberries which I cut only in half and I left the basil as whole leaves. I’d post a picture but I do not use instagram.






    1. Kate says:

      Thank you for taking to time to provide feedback Lilly!

  9. Latoya says:

    This is what summer tastes like on a plate. Simple, easy, yet divine. Plan on making this very often. Thanks!






    1. Kate says:

      I agree with you! Thank you for your review, Latoya.

  10. Brittany says:

    So fresh, beautiful, delicious, and easy. I LOVE a classic caprese and this was a lovely twist. I’ll keep this in my back pocket all summer. Thanks for sharing!






    1. Kate says:

      You’re welcome, Brittany!

  11. Laura d. says:

    This was fantastic! Even my 4 year old loved it! I served it with artichokes & avocado toast, which made for an amazing summertime meal. Thanks!






    1. Kate says:

      Thanks for your review, Laura!

  12. Teri says:

    This is a fabulous salad! Took it took a potluck and received rave reviews. Used Trader Joe’s balsamic glaze and their goat cheese with honey–yum!






    1. Kate says:

      Sounds great, Teri!

  13. Lee says:

    This recipe is so damn good! Thanks so much. I feel good just thinking about it! I did put in a full 3.5 oz carton of goat cheese and wouldn’t do any less.






    1. Kate says:

      Thank you for sharing, Lee!

  14. Connie says:

    Kate, this is delicious!! I served it over greens, but tomorrow I’ll serve it without the greens. Simple, quick, but amazing! Thanks for another keeper recipe.






    1. Kate says:

      You’re welcome, Connie!

  15. Jean says:

    Loved the strawberry salad. Had a little extra balsamic reduction and added pineapple to the left over this morning. It was still fantastic. Used feta cheese.
    Just wondering what isn’t good with feta and balsamic reduction?
    Jean






    1. Kate says:

      I have a hard time thinking something isn’t good with it! :)

  16. Alexa Jordan says:

    Oooh, I can’t wait to give this a try! I just got a fresh batch of California Strawberries!

    1. Kate says:

      I hope you love it, Alexa!

  17. Izabela says:

    I’ve never eaten strawberries in a salad before but this looked so pretty that I had to try it. YUM! It was beautiful, fresh and delicious! :) Even my husband, who wasn’t excited at the prospect, ended up loving it.






  18. Kelly Williams says:

    Can I add some kind of lettuce to beef up this salad? What would be good, spinach?

    1. Kate says:

      Hi, Sure you cold try spinach.

  19. Helen says:

    Just made this with vegan feta and added some watermelon too. Perfect lunch On a sunny day ☀️






  20. Penel says:

    Shazam. I did not have goat cheese, I had horseradish hard cheddar. And the malden salt is my favorite. I need to try the caprese salad. My keto is buzzing. Thank you sooo much.






  21. Julie says:

    Cannot wait to try this! I’m growing basil and the farmers market strawberries are amazing this year!

    If I wanted to add a vegetarian protein to this dish, what would you recommend?

  22. Sherrie says:

    Made this salad the night before last. Oh. My. Goodness!!! It was a gorgeous salad (wish I had taken a picture before my husband and I dug in). It looked pretty much like your picture of it, Kate! And it tasted even better than it looked!! My husband and I ate all 4 servings, but that was our dinner. I think this may be my new favorite way to enjoy in season strawberries. I will be making this again real soon, as strawberries are in season here in Ohio. Thank you for sharing this fantastic recipe! I wish it had been included in Love Real Food.






    1. Kate says:

      That’s great to hear, Sherrie!