The Toasted Pine Nut & Parmesan Salad (10/10 would save This Recipe!)

toasted pine nut salad

Mmmmm, this salad.  Add this one to your next meal plan and put the ingredients on your grocery list…becaaaaause WOW. This little salad is good. So simple. So easy. 

I’ve decided to name it the “log cabin salad” as I combined all of these ingredients on a whim while we were tucked away in a little cabin up the Gunflint Trail. We were on our last day in our rental, we only had access o the random “leftover” ingredients from previous meals, and we wanted one last meal before we packed up and hit the road. The result was this salad…

...annnnd it was (*chef’s kiss*). 

I made it the very next day for dinner, then made it for my parents, annnnd before ya know it we had this salad 3 times in 5 days. 😂✌🏼

  • It’s unique while being classic.

  • It’s on the heartier side while still feeling light. 

  • It’s a versatile base that you can easily customize!

  • It’s packed with beautiful greens & healthy fats. 

  • It’s SO easy.

  • And it is officially the ONLY salad I’ve ever made that my dad asked for SECONDS of (hearty man approved!!)

I cant wait for you all to try it! You’ll find the step-by-step recipe below. :)

You know the saying “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. Welllll, don’t judge a recipe based off of Kate’s food photography, hahahaha.  I 100000% ate every. morsel. of this salad before I remembered to take a photo for the blog post— and instead had …

You know the saying “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”. Welllll, don’t judge a recipe based off of Kate’s food photography, hahahaha. I 100000% ate every. morsel. of this salad before I remembered to take a photo for the blog post— and instead had to take an archived screenshot of my instagram story video of it L O L. #thriving

toasted pine nut & arugula salad:

This recipe makes 2 larger (main) salads or 4 smaller (side) salads.

salad:

  • 2 cups spinach 

  • 2 cups arugula

  • 1-2 cups Brussels sprouts

  • ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted

  • ¼ cup shaved parmesan cheese

salad dressing:

  • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil (more or less based on your preference)

  • 1-2 tablespoons balsamic glaze (more or less based on your preference)

  • ½ tsp salt 

  • ¼ tsp pepper 

directions:

  • Place the pine nuts in a pan over medium-high heat and toast for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly until golden brown. When done, transfer the pine nuts to a separate bowl.  

  • Next, coarsely chop the Brussels sprouts until they are in small, thin pieces (more in their “leaf” form instead of large halved or quartered chunks). Once you have removed the pine nuts from the pan, add in the Brussels sprouts with oil or butter, add salt and pepper to taste, and cook for 5-10 minutes on medium-high heat until the Brussels sprouts begin to soften and brown. 

  • Combine the cooked Brussels sprouts with the arugula, spinach, and roasted pine nuts in a large bowl. 

  • Toss all of the ingredients together with the olive oil and balsamic glaze. Sprinkle salt & pepper on top to taste. When the dressing is well-distributed, serve the salads with shaved parmesan on top.

  • Annnnnd it is ready to enjoy! Bon appétit! 

that’s it! enjoy!

This salad is so versatile and you can customize it to your needs! Serve as a side, have it as a meal, maybe add some protein (chicken or steak would be so delish), consider adding some fun mix-ins (sweet potato, dried cranberries, apple chunks, beets…YUMMMM)  and enjoy! This salad is a new classic in our kitchen, and I hope you enjoy it! 


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