Strawberry and Mint Herb Salad

This strawberry and mint herb salad with greek yogurt dressing is a perfect summer side to any meal! Strawberry and mint is a delightfully fresh combination, and a great way to use up those fresh herbs you have been growing in your garden.

An abundance of herbs!

This is the first year we are growing an herb garden. It has been one of our dreams. Once we started cooking most of our meals from scratch, I realized how cheap it would be to grow our own herbs. Really, it’s true! I will put a quick price comparison at the end of this blog post if you need some convincing.

There is nothing quite like fresh herbs. The flavor. The satisfaction of growing the herbs yourself, then going out to pick a few leaves for dinner each night. It’s truly been a newly discovered delight of mine.

You don’t even need a yard to grow them. You can get herb growing kits that can sit right in your kitchen window sill or any sunny spot in your home.

We have two mint plants in our herb garden that are growing in abundance! I have never grown mint until this year and I really didn’t know much about mint including how to use the mint leaves once it was time for harvest!

I am still playing around with different uses and recipes which I might share later this summer. However, this strawberry and mint herb salad came from a kitchen experiment of mine.

Kitchen tools you will need.

• Cutting boards
• Knives
• Mixing bowl
• Measuring spoons

Ingredients for Strawberry and Mint Herb Salad

• 5-6 fresh strawberries
• 3 tsp fresh basil leaves (chopped)
• 1 tsp fresh parsley leaves (chopped)
• 1 tsp fresh lemon or regular thyme leaves (chopped)
• 2-3 tsp fresh mint leaves (chopped)
• 2 cups of spring lettuce mix

The salad dressing I make with this salad is one of my favorites! It’s a greek yogurt and herb salad dressing. It is not an Alyssa original recipe, but I will link the recipe here from Must Love Home. It is so delicious, I could probably eat it by the spoonful! If you have fresh dill and thyme at home, I highly recommend using fresh herbs over the dried herbs the recipe calls for.

Instructions

• Wash and cut up strawberries into quarters.
• Wash all the fresh herbs and chop until they are between coarse and fine.
• Measure out 2 cups of spring mix and put in a big mixing bowl.
• Add the fresh herbs and toss.
• Add the strawberries and toss.
  • Pro Tip: Save some strawberries to arrange on top for a beautiful presentation.

Strawberry and Mint Herb Salad Pairings

This summary strawberry and mint herb salad goes well as a side salad to many other summary dishes. Here are a few ideas.

• Roasted chicken and sourdough dinner rolls.
• Grilled stakes with McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning.
• Chicken salad wraps and watermelon.

Is it really cheaper to grow your own herbs?

Yes, it is! My husband and I have always run our finances through a budget, and we consider ourselves fairly money conscious. Even though you can buy dried herbs for an inexpensive cost, the price doesn’t compare to growing your how herbs! Here are a few reasons why.

• Herb plants produce throughout the whole season. If you harvest your herbs as they grow, your plant will keep producing, and producing.
• You can either use the fresh herbs in a recipe like this, or you can dry them, mince them, and keep can/jar them to use throughout the winter.
• Nothing will make you more grateful for how God provides for you than growing your own food (herbs, or vegetables). It is so enjoyable seeing a harvest come out of one little seed.

Price Comparison

Dried basil: $1.19 for a 0.62 oz bottle of Target’s off brand, Good & Gather.

Growing your own basil: $4.95 for a pack of basil seeds on Amazon. A packet of seeds probably has 20+ seeds, therefore giving you 20+ basil plants, which would yield in a growing season so many basil leaves, you could fill 10 + of the 0.62 oz bottles from the Target brand.

This is just one herb. Think of how many herbs, fresh or dried you could have if you grew just some of the basics. Parsley, thyme, oregano, basil, and cilantro! You would save so much money.

Now, I realize I am assuming that you would be using your dried or fresh herbs on a regular basis like I do. Cooking from scratch you use plenty of seasonings to make your food tasty. Growing your own herbs is a great way to eat healthier and save some money along the way!