Blueberry Cucumber Summer Salad with Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette.
You are going to fall in love with this blueberry summer salad!
I’m pretty sure this is the quickest turn around I’ve ever done in testing and photographing a recipe for you! But after posting this salad on my instagram stories last weekend, there were so many requests for the recipe. So here I am!
Funnily enough, I already have another berry salad coming your way. I was planning on sharing it this week but will wait until we are closer to the 4th of July. That salad is also incredible! They both shine in their own special ways.
I speak of my recipes like they are my children, right?
I threw together this salad last weekend when we celebrated my mom’s birthday and it was SO good. It’s similar to my simple fall salad and simple winter salad in that it’s a little fancier (fancy for me apparently = fruit + nuts, haha) than a traditional house salad, but it’s still easy and classic enough that it can go with anything. It can be served before a meal or can be eaten as a light lunch or dinner, of course.
It’s so summery, refreshing and crispy.
We have:
A big old bunch of spring greens. But of course, you can use your favorite variety of greens!
Fresh blueberries that are getting SO good right now.
Fresh cucumber for a refreshing punch.
Thinly sliced scallions, because they add the perfect bite without being way too onion-y.
Parmesan cheese, because cheese is liiiife.
And sugared almonds which add this granola-like crunch and a hint of sweetness.
Oh! Plus a creamy balsamic.
I never even thought I liked a creamy balsamic until I made this. I served the salad with a bottled creamy balsamic last week and it was super good, so I figured that I had to make my own. While this might mark salad dressing #634 on this website, it’s a good one! A traditional one that can go on many salads, one that won’t be discarded when a new season rolls around and one that everyone will love.
The key to the creamy balsamic is to add a little heavy cream into the dressing. I’ve made so many dressings with yogurt and mayo and yes, that’s a possibility here. But it never fails that the yogurt or mayo separates and almost curdles in the dressing after it sits for a while. With the heavy cream, this never happens! You still have to shake it up or stir it well, but it won’t get all weird on you.
I love this salad so much that it kind of reminds me of caprese, in a way. Not the flavors of course, but more in the simplicity. There aren’t many days out of the year where I would consider tomatoes and mozzarella a meal, except for the few weeks where our tomatoes are UNREAL here in Pennsylvania.
This salad is like that. Blueberries, cucumbers and almonds. Easy enough to throw together but also seriously amazing when the fruit is in season. it will be a new fave!
Blueberry Summer Salad
Blueberry Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup sliced almonds
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 8 cups spring greens, baby spinach or your greens of choice
- salt and pepper
- 4 baby seedless cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup blueberries
- ¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
creamy balsamic vinaigrette
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- pinch of salt and pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives
Instructions
- Place the almonds in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Stir in the sugar and cook, stirring often, until the sugar melts and is caramely, coating all of the almonds - about 6 to 8 minutes. Don’t take your eyes off of this as they can burn quickly! Transfer the almonds to a piece of parchment paper to let them cool. Break them into pieces if they are clumped.
- In a large bowl, toss the greens with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Sprinkle on the blueberries, cucumbers, green onions and parmesan cheese. Add the almonds on top. Serve immediately with the balsamic dressing!
creamy balsamic vinaigrette
- Whisk together the vinegar, garlic, cream, mustard, honey and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stream in the olive oil while whisking until emulsified. Stir in the chives. Serve with your favorite salad! This dressing stays great in the fridge. Just shake or whisk it to combine before serving.
Did you make this recipe?
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Crunch crunch crunch.
53 Comments on “Blueberry Cucumber Summer Salad with Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette.”
This looks delicious and I will be making it tomorrow!
Just an FYI – you have Balsamic Vinegar in the dressing recipe twice – I’m pretty sure the second one is supposed to be olive oil.
ahhh you’re right brian! thanks so much, i fixed it! :)
This sounds so good & is so pretty to look at!
Can the dressing be made in advance? Thanks!
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Made this salad tonight and it was scrumptious!!! Thank you
I saw the first picture and feel instantly in love with this. Absolutely amazing. Everything about it.
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Will make this tonite, however rarely have heavy cream – I will exclude, hopefully it will still be good (?)
it will still work marta! it will just be a traditional balsamic vinaigrette and not a creamy one. :)
Making this for Father’s Day grilling day with the family! I did not have heavy cream, so used half & half, but it does not appear as your picture looks of the dressing. Mine is pretty dark, so assuming the heavy cream lightened up your dressing more than mine. I added a little more half/half than required to lighten slightly. Excited to try this!
Big fan of all your recipes~
It was awesome! I will make this again and try candied pecans rather than sliced almonds….so good~! Thank you.
Wonderful! Everyone enjoyed this salad. Dressing- over the top
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. Thank you for another great salad recipe Jessica
I made this last night for dinner and my fiance said “This is like the best salad I’ve ever had”. SOOO I think this is a winner! I almost skipped the candied almonds and am SO glad I did. I tried to cut the sugar at first bc it looked like so much and then realized that yes, I Did need all 3 tbsp. Whatever, we’re in a PANDEMIC. Bring on the sugar.
I did cut the cream out of the dressing, simply because I didn’t have any (and see above pandemic). Was still absolutely delicious! I also used shredded parm because that’s what I had.
Can’t say enough about this one! SO GOOD!!! Thank you Jess!
I’ve tried MANY of your salad recipes but this one tops the list Made this last night for dinner along with some crispy oven baked chicken and some baby potatoes. There was a small amount left and guess what I’ll be having for lunch today? This is a delicious salad and one that I’ll be making often. We love balsamic dressing and the cream in this one takes away a tiny bit of the tang and smooths everything out – so good.
Subbed in kale and feta, because that’s what I had! So delicious. You’ve never let me down, but especially when it comes to salads!
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You may already have this with other recipes but this would be great for me if you had a Pinterest link so I could pin this recipe straight to my salad page. I love any and every shortcut! Thank you so much! I can’t wait to try this!
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Gah! Why no dressing recipe tab? (LOL.) I am requesting a top ten favorite dressings for green salads post. (However, this! This is being made this weekend. Thank you!)
omg stephanie so funny – i actually just thought of that this weekend. I’m going to make one and do a post!
We have made this (as written) a few times now, and it is SO tasty!! Thank you for our new summer staple salad. Agree with another comment that the dressing colour looks a bit darker than in the picture – but it’s still great. I think you could easily omit the cream if you didn’t have it on hand.
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This was to die for. Even the 5 y/o was into it.
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This was delicious! The perfect summer salad. It’s so easy but tasted as good or better than something you’d get at a high end restaurant. Thank You!!
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Such a great, light lunch! The candied almonds really make it!
can this be refrigerated overnight?
This is the most DELICIOUS salad! Perfect combination of crunch & flavors. The dressing is phenomenal! This has become my FAVORITE salad! Thank you for sharing!
This salad was a hit! My guests were raving about the blueberries and nuts all night. Make sure to watch your sugar melt like the recipe says as I my almonds ALMOST over cooked. My husband wants me to make it again today, it was just that good!
Any substitutes for the mustard?? I just can’t!
What is the calorie content for this salad?
Made this for an al fresco dinner last light with friends (finally!) and it was a big hit! Those sugared almonds though!!!!!! So glad I didn’t live them out.
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If I wanted to add a grilled chicken breast to make it a meal, which of yours would you suggest, meaning, what would be a good flavor blend, as far as a marinade? Thanks!
Delicious! Didn’t candy the almonds, ran out of time and I’m trying to cut out sugar. Used sour cream instead of whipping cream in dressing – the BOMB! I love the salad and dressing. Took it to concert in the park last night and it was an amazing summer supper.
Absolutely delicious!
One of the best salads I’ve ever had – and I’m a salad lover! I brought this to a football watch party and all of the ladies there wanted the recipe. It is a total crowd pleaser!!
So good! I used thinly sliced red onion instead of green onion to add some more color. Took the salad to a family gathering and it got rave reviews. Thanks so much!
Which of your book contains this salad recipe? I’d love to have a copy!
Hi! Can you substitute lactose-free milk for the heavy cream? Or coconut milk?
Also, can you sugar sunflower seeds instead of almonds for a nut allergy? What would you recommend?
Thanks ♥️
This salad is phenomenal– I’ve already made it a handful of times and love that it’s quite adaptable.
I didn’t have heavy cream, so I used a bloop of honey mustard, whisked that with balsamic, olive oil, a bit of water to thin it out, and added garlic powder, salt, pepper. Worked beautifully!
We also skipped the parm and didn’t feel like we were missing anything. This can also be bulked up with a little rotisserie chicken or a few handfuls of quinoa mixed in! Thanks for the yummy recipe!
We had a HSE feast for Memorial Day! We made this, your black bean and corn burgers, and the grilled gorgonzola potatoes. All delicious! Kid and adult approved :-)
this was awesome! The biggest problem was my husband ate the almonds by the handful and now there are none left for me. Thank you for sharing!
I absolutely love this salad. I’ve already made it three times and I’m making it again tonight. The only tweak I’ve made is that I leave the cream out of the vinaigrette. It’s amazing.
Thanks for the recipe.
Such a refreshing and delicious summer salad.
can you use white balsamic vinegar?
This salad has EVERYTHING! It has the crunch of greens & cucumbers, sweetness of almonds, the pop of those fresh blueberries bursting in your mouth, the saltiness of the Parmesan, & then the tang of the balsamic dressing! I have used coconut milk in place of heavy cream in the dressing & that works for a dairy free dressing version.