Cranberry Blueberry Salad with Blueberry Balsamic Dressing

We LOVE with this healthy Blueberry Salad! This scrumptious Summer salad is fun, fruity, and flavorful, and topped with the most amazing homemade blueberry balsamic dressing.

While I’m no stranger to dumping blueberries into my salads, I’ve never once considered blending them into a dressing. Well not until a berry dressing finally knocked my socks off, that is. There’s a sweet raspberry dressing at a local lunch spot here that has totally changed my mind about fruity dressings and holy cow I’ve been missing out!

Since I suspect their berry dressing is laced with enough sugar to classify it as liquid candy, I figured I had two choices: embrace dessert salads and give up donuts in favor of sugar-laden greens *OR* make my own healthy berry salad dressing at home.

Obviously I chose the latter.

No way am I giving up donuts!

Raspberries don’t last long in this house, as my pint-sized sidekick, can clear out a carton in a sitting, so I decided to tackle the bucket of farm-fresh blueberries we picked the week prior.

I blended a cup of berries into my go-to balsamic dressing and had to talk myself down from polishing off the entire jar right then and there. I really am kicking myself for not jumping on the fruity dressing bandwagon when it first became a thing. It’s totally legit!

Bring on the berries!

Cranberry Blueberry Salad with Blueberry Balsamic Dressing

:: vegetarian :: gluten-free :: dairy-free :: paleo :: clean eating ::

5 from 5 votes

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Cranberry Blueberry Salad with Blueberry Balsamic Dressing

I'm head over heels in LOVE with this healthy Cranberry Blueberry Salad with Blueberry Balsamic Dressing! This scrumptious Summer salad is fun, fruity, and full of flavor!

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword Cranberry Blueberry Salad

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 2 servings

Calories 185 kcal

Author Jenn Laughlin - Peas and Crayons

Ingredients

• 1 heaping cup blueberries
• 1 4-5 oz bag spring mix salad greens
• 1/2 English cucumber, chopped
• 1/2 cup mandarin orange segments
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2-4 TBSP roasted unsalted sunflower seeds

BLUEBERRY BALSAMIC DRESSING:

• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 TBSP red wine vinegar
• 2 TBSP dijon mustard
• 1 TBSP  honey
• 1 tsp salt I use sea salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup avocado oil olive oil works too

Instructions

1. First make your dressing: In a food processor or blender, combine all dressing ingredients except for the avocado oil. Blend until blueberries are completely pureed, then use the little top cut-out to drizzle in the avocado oil at the end. Once dressing is emulsified you're good to go!
2. Wash + dry your greens. 
3. Combine with cucumber and blueberries, then toss with a drizzle or two of dressing. Add extra as desired.
4. Top with mandarin orange segments, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds and serve!

Recipe Notes

Making this salad in advance? Go for it! Mix together everything minus the orange and dressing then combine when ready to serve!

NOTE: This recipe makes a bottle's worth of dressing which will keep great in the fridge for future salads. Only want a little? Feel free to halve the recipe!

Recipe yields 2 large salads or 4 side salads.

Nutrition Facts below are estimated using an online recipe nutrition calculator. Since we all add different amounts of dressing, values are for salad only. Add 50 calories per 2 TBSP of dressing.

Nutrition Facts

Cranberry Blueberry Salad with Blueberry Balsamic Dressing

Amount Per Serving

Calories 185 Calories from Fat 54

% Daily Value*

Fat 6g9%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Sodium 57mg2%

Potassium 414mg12%

Carbohydrates 35g12%

Fiber 4g17%

Sugar 23g26%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 1383IU28%

Vitamin C 38mg46%

Calcium 32mg3%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

special diets and swaps

You can swap in maple syrup or another all-natural sweetener of your choice if desired. For a VEGAN or WHOLE30 friendly dressing, simply skip the honey!

Craving cheese? GOAT CHEESE or FETA would be great in this salad!

Though I made this salad with spring mix, feel free to use whatever salad greens you have on hand. You can add spinach, arugula, massaged kale, green leaf lettuce, etc…

Feeling fruity? Add any of your favorites such as apples, strawberries, raspberries, and even kiwi.

As always, you can veg this bad boy up however you’d like! I think BROCCOLI would be absolutely amazing in this salad and sliced ALMONDS would be great too!

I’m so excited for y’all to try this cranberry blueberry salad! Whenever blueberry season starts here I get beyond giddy to whip this up!

If you get a chance to try this healthy cranberry blueberry salad, let me know! You can leave me a comment here (LOVE checking those daily!) or tag @PEASandCRAYONS on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creations. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!

Looking for a few new salad recipes to try this Summer? Check out these 20 Easy Healthy Salad Recipes!