Thanksgiving Spinach Salad with Dried Cranberries, Almonds, and Goat Cheese (Video)

Thanksgiving Spinach Salad with Dried Cranberries, Almonds, and Goat Cheese is a delicious way to get some greens on the holiday table, and this makes a lovely salad for Christmas too! And this tasty salad is low-glycemic (if you use the cranberries conservatively), gluten-free and South Beach Diet Phase Two. Use the Thanksgiving Recipes to find more recipes like this one.

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Watch the video to see if you’d like to make Thanksgiving Spinach Salad with Dried Cranberries, Almonds, and Goat Cheese!

I’m always on a quest for Carb-Conscious Thanksgiving Recipes at this time of year, but truthfully some of the Thanksgiving recipes I created in the very early days of the blog are still my favorites. Back in 2007 I spent a couple of hours looking through 20 years of November issues of my favorite food magazines and then marched into the kitchen and came up with this Thanksgiving Spinach Salad with Dried Cranberries, Almonds, and Goat Cheese without a recipe except the one I made up in my head. I’ve served this many times through the years, and it’s always been a hit!

Dried cranberries are traditional for Thanksgiving and I think the small amount used here really gives the salad a Thanksgiving feel. Still, dried fruits are higher in concentrated sugar than fresh fruit, so if you’re a low-carb eater or a South Beach dieter, be sure to use a small amount of dried cranberries compared to other ingredients. Of course if you’re making this on Thanksgiving Day this salad is still going to be a pretty healthy alternative compared to many Thanksgiving foods, even if you splurge on the dried cranberries, so enjoy!

(Thanksgiving Spinach Salad with Dried Cranberries, Almonds, and Goat Cheese was updated with better photos, November 2015!)

Whisk together the white balsamic vinegar, agave nectar (or sweetener of your choice), olive oil, and salt to make the dressing. Measure out the salad toppings.(Thanks to Ree for the cute measuring cups that came in the mail!) Toss the spinach with the dressing (you might not need it all) and top each salad with the almonds, goat cheese, and dried cranberries. That’s all there is to this delicious salad.

I promise, this salad will be a big hit on the Thanksgiving table. If some people don’t like goat cheese, use Feta or Parmesan for a salad that will still be delicious.

More Thanksgiving Ideas with Cranberries:

Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon, Dried Cranberries, Almonds, and Parmesan ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Green Beans with Pecans and Cranberries ~ eCurry
Trina’s Low-Sugar Fresh Cranberry Salsa with Cilantro, Lime, and Jalapeno ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries Stir Fry ~ Diethood
Thanksgiving Green Bean Salad with Blue Cheese, Dried Cranberries, and Pecans ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen

Print Recipe

Thanksgiving Spinach Salad with Dried Cranberries, Almonds, and Goat Cheese

Yield: 4 servings

Total Time: 15 minutes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Thanksgiving Spinach Salad with Dried Cranberries, Almonds, and Goat Cheese is a delicious way to get some greens on the holiday table!

Ingredients:

• 5-6 oz. baby spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds
• 2-3 oz. goat cheese (the type that comes in a log; Costco brand is good)

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1 T white balsamic vinegar (could use regular balsamic)
• 1/2 tsp. Agave nectar (or use your favorite sweetener)
• 2 T olive oil
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Wash spinach if needed and spin dry, then place in large bowl.
2. Whisk together balsamic vinegar, agave nectar and salt, then whisk in olive oil. Toss spinach leaves with dressing (you may not need all the dressing if you prefer your salads on the dry side).
3. Arrange spinach on individual serving plates and sprinkle each salad with dried cranberries, sliced almonds, and goat cheese. Serve right away.

All images and text ©Kalyn Denny for Kalyn's Kitchen.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Dried cranberries are relatively high in sugar, so even with the small amount used in this recipe, this Thanksgiving Spinach Salad with Dried Cranberries, Almonds, and Goat Cheese is definitely a splurge for South Beach Phase Two and probably too high in carbs for a low-carb eating plan. If you don’t want to splurge, the salad will still be delicious without the cranberries.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Nutritional Information?
If you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you. Or if you’re a member of Yummly, you can use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information there.