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This fresh salad is loaded with juicy strawberries, crunchy sesame seeds, and tender marinated pork, all drizzled with a creamy homemade buttermilk ranch. It’s the perfect mix of bright, bold, and tasty in every bite!

Plate of salad with pork, strawberries, and garden ranch on top.

I don’t know about you but in the summer there’s nothing like a big salad for dinner. While the base of my salads tend to stay the same, I can create a whole new salad by changing up the toppings.

How do you build a great entree salad?

The way to build a great entree salad is all about the toppings.

Protein: Choose from beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, or even tofu
Cheese: Cheddar, Blue cheese, feta, goat cheese, Swiss, or gorgonzola
Fruit: Fruit is optional but strawberries, blueberries, dried cranberries, apples, pears, or citrus
Nuts: Nuts are also optional but slice almonds, candied pecans, or walnuts are great choices

All of these things help add additional flavor and the combinations are endless. I decided I wanted to make a salad with pork and strawberries on it and then I built my salad from there.

I started with tender butter lettuce and green leaf lettuce. Then I added carrots, celery, and chopped cabbage for some crunch.

I chopped up some strawberries and put them all around the salad. Instead of nuts I added toasted sunflower seeds for some additional crunch.

Originally I wanted a nice, creamy cheese and chose a garlic and herb cheese spread to crumble on top of the salad. However, it didn’t add the flavor I was looking for so I used both the garlic and herb cheese and a sharp cheddar cheese.

I finished the dish off with sliced pork chops. I marinated them in a sweet and spicy Asian BBQ marinade because I thought the spiciness would pair well with the sweet strawberries. Feel free to use your favorite marinade.

Then came the dressing. I am usually one for making a vinaigrette but in this case I thought a nice Ranch dressing filled with fresh herbs would work best.

What fresh herbs can I use in my ranch?

You can use anything that is growing in your garden. Your best bets are chives, dill, and parsley. I had chives and parsley growing in my garden so I only needed to purchase dill. Then you can add any combination of basil, thyme, oregano, or even tarragon.

Ingredients:

olive oil
sunflower seed kernels (or you can use pecans or almonds)
boneless pork chops (in your favorite marinade)
garlic herb cheese spread
buttermilk
mayonnaise
sour cream
red wine vinegar (or champagne vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
fresh chives
fresh dill
fresh parsley
mixed greens (I used butter lettuce, red leaf lettuce, and some cabbage)
strawberries

To make the dressing combine half the garlic herb cheese, the buttermilk, mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar,fresh herbs, salt, and pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet and toast the sunflower seed kernels for 2-3 minutes. Remove and cool. Heat remaining olive oil over medium high heat, add the pork chops, and cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until they are cooked through. Remove and slice.

Meanwhile, toss the mixed greens in a bowl. Crumble the remaining garlic herb cheese over top of the lettuce. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds. Plus the strawberries all over the lettuce. Top with the pork slices. Drizzle with dressing.

This salad was fantastic! It had everything I want from a salad. The greens were fresh and tender, the cheese was creamy and flavorful, the strawberries added a nice sweetness, and the sunflower seeds adds a nice nuttiness.

The Ranch dressing is bursting with herbaceous flavor. It’s not a strong ranch which I really appreciated. It’s more of a fresh ranch.

Finally, the pork was a little bit sweet, a little bit spiced, and worked well with the cheese, strawberries, and ranch dressing. It was overall a great salad.

Can I use a different protein on top?

Of course! Use chicken, beef, shrimp, or tofu on top. If you don’t want a protein this would make a wonderful side salad as well.

If you’ve tried my Pork and Strawberry Salad or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:

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Pork and Strawberry Salad with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Fresh green salad tossed with sunflower seeds, strawberries, and garlic herb cheese then dressed with homemade buttermilk ranch dressing.

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Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 30

Servings: servings

Author: Hezzi-D

Equipment

1 large skillet
1 blender

Ingredients

1 pound boneless pork chops marinated
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 5 ounce package garlic herb cheese spread, divided
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons sour cream
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil divided
1/4 cup sunflower seed kernels
8 cups mixed greens
2 cups strawberries quartered

Instructions

To make the dressing place the buttermilk, mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, chives, dill, parsley, and half of the cheese in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Meanwhile, heat 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil in a small skillet. Add the sunflower seed kernels and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. This will take 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
Heat remaining oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the marinated pork chops and cook for 4-5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Remove from heat and slice.
Divide the lettuce between four plates. Crumble the remaining cheese over top of the lettuce. Sprinkle the sunflower seeds over top of the lettuce.
Sprinkle the strawberries around the outside of the lettuce mounds. Place the sliced pork on top of the salads.
Serve with the buttermilk ranch dressing.