When summer temperatures soar, I start craving meals that are light, colorful, and bursting with fresh flavor. This Mixed Berry Salad with Prickly Pear Vinaigrette is one of my favorite warm-weather recipes because it comes together in minutes without turning on the stove or oven. Sweet, juicy berries are tossed with a vibrant homemade prickly pear vinaigrette and served over a bed of fresh spinach, creating a refreshing salad that’s perfect for lunch, dinner, or entertaining.
The star of this recipe is the Prickly Pear Syrup from Sterling Farms, which gives the vinaigrette its beautiful ruby-pink color and delicate sweet-tart flavor. I’m excited to partner with Sterling Farms because they make it incredibly easy to enjoy this unique Texas ingredient without the time and effort of harvesting and preparing prickly pears yourself. Their ready-to-use syrup brings bright flavor and gorgeous color to recipes while saving hours in the kitchen.
While Sterling Farms is well known for its premium Texas-raised meat boxes, their pantry collection is equally impressive. Their Texas-made Prickly Pear Syrup is one of my favorite pantry staples because it’s so versatile. Beyond this salad dressing, it’s wonderful in lemonades, mocktails, cocktails, iced tea, fruit desserts, marinades, and glazes. Having a bottle on hand makes it easy to add a touch of Texas flavor to both sweet and savory recipes.
If you’re searching for a salad that’s as beautiful as it is delicious, this Mixed Berry Salad with Prickly Pear Vinaigrette checks every box. It’s fresh, naturally colorful, and packed with seasonal berries, making it the perfect addition to summer lunches, backyard barbecues, holiday cookouts, or an elegant brunch. One bite, and you’ll understand why this has become one of my favorite ways to celebrate berry season.
Ingredients
1 lb.fresh strawberries, quartered
1 pint fresh blueberries
2 6-oz. containers blackberries
2 6 oz. containers raspberries
1/2 English cucumber, sliced and quartered
1/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds
1-2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
2 4-oz. packages goat cheese, crumbled
Prickly Pear Vinaigrette
3 Tbsp. prickly pear syrup
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
6 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp Sugar or Stevia
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the Prickly Pear Vinaigrette. Whisk and set aside.







In a large bowl, combine the strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, English cucumber, almonds and poppy seeds. Mix gently. Dress the berries with the Prickly Pear Vinaigrette. Gently stir until well coated.

To serve the salad, arrange some fresh spinach on a plate. Top with a few spoonfuls of the berry mixture. Drizzle some of the dressing that has collected at the bottom of the bowl over the top.

Crumble the goat cheese over the salad and serve.

If you like this recipe, you may also like the following recipes:
Cactus Kiss Cooler Mocktail and Cactus Kiss Cocktail

Fresh Mixed Berry Spinach Salad with Homemade Prickly Pear Vinaigrette
Equipment
- 1 knife
- 1 measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- 1 medium bowl
- 1 whisk
- 1 large bowl
- 1 Large spoon
Ingredients
- 1 lb. fresh strawberries quartered
- 1 pint fresh blueberries
- 2 6- oz. containers blackberries
- 2 6- oz. containers raspberries
- 1/2 English cucumber sliced and quartered
- 1/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds
- 1-2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
- 2 4- oz. packages goat cheese crumbled
Prickly Pear Vinaigrette
- 3 Tbsp. prickly pear syrup
- 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 6 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp Sugar or Stevia
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the Prickly Pear Vinaigrette.
- Whisk and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, English cucumber, almonds and poppy seeds.
- Mix gently.
- Dress the berries with the Prickly Pear Vinaigrette.
- Gently stir until well coated.
- To serve the salad, arrange some fresh spinach on a plate.
- Top with a few spoonfuls of the berry mixture.
- Drizzle some of the dressing that has collected at the bottom of the bowl over the top.
- Crumble the goat cheese on top of the salad and serve.
