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It can be difficult to enjoy salads when it’s freezing outside, which is why I’m currently loving salads like this one.
A warm topping of sauteed mushrooms and red onions makes fresh spinach much more appealing at this time of the year, especially with a bit of crumbled goat cheese on top. The combination of warm and tender vegetables, raw greens, and creamy cheese is pretty irresistible!
Spinach isn’t typically my favorite salad green, but a sturdier lettuce is required for salads topped with hot vegetables– you want the greens to wilt a bit, but not become totally soggy. (Arugula would work, too.) If you’d prefer to avoid the cheese, it can easily be left off, but I’d recommend adding another salty topping in its place, such as bacon for meat-eaters, or a sprinkling of Cashew Parmesan for vegans. That extra tangy, salty flavor really helps tie this dish together!
Depending on what else you’re serving, this salad will serve one person as a meal, or 2-4 as a side dish. My toddler and I shared it for lunch the other day, and we easily polished off this whole plate. My son loves eating food off of a fork lately, so he’ll eat anything I put on there. (I’m taking advantage of this while I can!) I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
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Warm Mushroom & Spinach Salad
Serves 1-2
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 cups of fresh spinach (about 3 ounces)
1-2 ounces chèvre (soft goat cheese)
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Melt the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the red onion until it starts to become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the mushrooms and salt and saute until tender, another 6 to 8 minutes. Add in the vinegar and saute another minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the olive oil.
Place the spinach in a large bowl and pour the hot vegetables over the top, tossing well until the leaves are glossy and slightly wilted. Plate the salad and top with crumbled goat cheese and freshly ground black pepper. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve warm!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/2 red onion , thinly sliced
- 8 ounces mushrooms , sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups of fresh spinach (about 3 ounces)
- 1-2 ounces chèvre (soft goat cheese)
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Melt the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the red onion until it starts to become translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in the mushrooms and salt and saute until tender, another 6 to 8 minutes. Add in the vinegar and saute another minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the olive oil.
- Place the spinach in a large bowl and pour the hot vegetables over the top, tossing well until the leaves are glossy and slightly wilted. Plate the salad and top with crumbled goat cheese and freshly ground black pepper. Serve warm!
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 416, Fat: 35g, Carbohydrates: 16g, Fiber: 5g, Protein: 15g
Note:
The best part of making salads from scratch is that you can tweak the flavor to your taste until it’s “just right.” Feel free to add an extra splash of vinegar if you’d like it to be more tart, or any other veggies or toppings you like to make it your own.
Enjoy!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite Winter-time salad?
This was fantastic! Didn’t add the cheese because we had another protein with the meal but I’m sure it would be a tasty addition.
The photo on the white plate looks as if the spinach was TOPPED with the mushroom mixture, not tossed together as in the instructions.
It’s prettier if you use the mushrooms as a topping, but the taste is MUCH better in my opinion if you toss it together with the spinach so that it gets coated in all the flavoring from the cooked mushrooms.
This was excellent! Easy and adaptable, with very little fat and lots of flavor.
Yum
I made this Saturday as a side dish. I used balsamic vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar. Served it over arugula because that’s what I had on hand and left out the goat cheese because I forgot to add it. I t was so delicious. My husband couldn’t wait until the next day to have the leftovers.
Thanks for the easy, fast base recipe. I sauteed the onions with garlic puree then had the final meal come together with two soft boiled eggs and nutritional yeast. Next time I’ll top it with walnuts and sun-dried tomatoes.
This was great! I actually put it on top of a bed of rice noodles, diced tomatoes, salt and basil!
Simple salad yet amazingly delicious!!!!!
This was really good and super easy. Can’t believe I never thought to put those together. I eat spinach almost daily and usually have a salad a few times a week and love sautéed mushrooms and onions. Thanks!
This was very good ! As a grad student with a tight budget and little time to cook, I will come back to this ! Thanks