Spinach and Hazelnut Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Great inspiration for a variation on this - the dressing is delicious and I poured it over a salad of mixed greens, sliced strawberries and kiwis, goat cheese and walnuts. Tangy, sweet, and refreshing!

Wow. I am really surprised how good the other reviews are. I made this tonight, following the recipe exactly and it was awful. My husband and I love salads and have no aversions to spinach or avocado, but agree that this is the worst salad we've ever had. He even said to me, "Please don't make this one again."

GREAT - and very easy to make. I substituted hazelnuts with pecans, and it was just as good.

This was really yummy but it made so much I'll put the dressing on the side.

I had been looking for a fruity vinaigrette. While I didn't make the salad from this recipe, I did make the dressing, using red wine vinegar in place of balsamic, and with strawberry marmalade. (I live in Lima, Peru, sometimes you have to make do with what you can find) It was delicious. I used it over a simple spinach salad, and I can't get enough.

I liked the idea of this recipe, my taste buds just didn't agree with the avocado being a part of this salad. Next time I think I may omit it, at least personally since my husband liked it. The dressing fell a little flat for me and I think needed something more (maybe a little Dijon mustard?). Thank you as I like the salad mix itself and it was a hit with my husband :).

Hubby and I hosted our first Christmas Eve dinner this year. We used all recipes we got off allrecipe.com. I left off the raisins and we did use croutons instead of the cereal. I never really cooked much before, hubby is a great cook. The vinigrette on this was good but I really didn't taste much of the strawberry in it but maybe I should have purchased a better quality preserve (money was kinda tight after we purchased the meat !!) Still was really good, will make again.

I made this recipe for dinner guests who are major foodies. They couldn't stop eating it and commenting on how good it is!! I used some hazelnuts that I purchased at a farmer's market in Portland, Oregon. I used raspberry preserve and it was great. The shredded wheat cereal was very unique and my guests liked the novelty. I substituted craisins because I did not have golden raisins. I love it!

I was looking for a balsamic vinaigrette recipe and found this - it is a very simple, tasty dressing. I mixed the ingredients with my hand blender, as I like my dressings to emulsify. I put the dressing on a different salad, so I can't comment on that part of this recipe.

You have to like balsamic to like this dressing. It really stands out. I added fresh strawberries (mashed) and skipped the black pepper.

I use this in a college cafeteria as a vegetarian alternative, and didn't expect it to be so widely popular. It's simple to make and goes quickly, great for a fast paced lunch. Thanks!

I just made this for my hubbys lunch for tomorrow. I did not have the strawberry perserves so I used fresh strawberries and added a little honey to it. You really have to like the flavor of balsamic vinegar to like this dressing. I thought it was a nice mix of flavors. I will have to see what hubby thinks.

The salad was good - the dressing we weren't so crazy about - too much balsamic for our tastes and I did use a pricey balsamic with good flavor. Probably won't make this dressing again but enjoyed the salad ingredients. Thanks

The dressing is really good

I LOVE this salad and dressing. The only change I make is adding some honey to the dressing ...YUM!