Spring has a flavor. It's bright and a little sweet, with just enough warmth to remind you that the good months are finally here. It's the first evening you eat outside without a jacket. The first weekend the windows stay open. The first time the air smells like possibility instead of February.
We built Back Porch Bliss for exactly that feeling. And then we built this salad to go with it.
The Back Porch Bliss Spring Salad isn't just a great seasonal dish. It's a deliberate pairing — every element chosen to echo the iced tea and lemon profile of the drink, so that what's in the bowl and what's in the can feel like they were always meant to be together. Because they were.
Why This Pairing Works
Great pairings aren't accidental. They're built on the same principle that makes a good playlist work — each element reinforcing the next, the whole experience becoming more than the sum of its parts.
Back Porch Bliss leads with bright lemon, a whisper of sweet tea, and that clean, easy finish that comes from our 1:1 THC and CBG blend. So we designed a salad that speaks the same language. A honey lemon vinaigrette that's as bright and citrus-forward as the drink itself. Sweet tea-glazed pecans that bring the warm, Southern iced tea note directly into the bowl. Fresh mint and crisp cucumber that feel like spring arrived ahead of schedule. And ripe strawberries, because nothing says the season has officially changed like the first good strawberry of the year.
Every bite is a natural extension of every sip. That's not a coincidence. That's craft.
The Recipe: Back Porch Bliss Spring Salad
Serves 4 | Prep: 15 min | Roast: 15 min
The Sweet Tea Pecans
- 1 cup pecan halves
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp strong brewed black tea, cooled
- ½ tsp flaky sea salt
The Honey Lemon Vinaigrette
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1½ tbsp honey
- ½ tsp dijon mustard
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
The Salad
- 4 cups arugula
- 2 cups butter lettuce, torn
- 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
- ½ cup fresh blueberries
- 4 radishes, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup shaved parmesan
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves
- Flaky sea salt and lemon slices to finish
How to Make It
1. Make the sweet tea pecans. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Toss the pecan halves with honey, cooled brewed black tea, and flaky sea salt until well coated. Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer and roast for 12–15 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the glaze is set and the pecans are golden and fragrant. Keep a close eye — honey can go from beautifully caramelized to burned faster than you'd like. Let them cool completely on the pan before handling.
2. Make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, and dijon mustard. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking continuously until the dressing emulsifies into something glossy and bright. Season with salt and pepper, taste, and adjust. It should be bold, a little sweet, and very lemony — the kind of dressing that makes the whole bowl sing.
3. Build the base. On a large platter or wide salad bowl, combine the arugula and torn butter lettuce. The arugula brings a peppery bite that balances all the brightness coming from the dressing and the drink — don't swap it out for something milder.
4. Layer the good stuff. Arrange the cucumber and strawberry slices over the greens. Scatter the blueberries and thinly sliced radishes across the top — the radishes add a satisfying crunch and a pop of spring color that makes the whole platter look like the season itself. Add the shaved parmesan, fresh mint leaves, and sweet tea pecans last.
5. Dress and serve. Drizzle generously with the honey lemon vinaigrette just before serving. Finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt and a few thin lemon slices. Serve immediately alongside a cold Back Porch Bliss — and do it outside if at all possible.
A Few Notes Before You Head to the Porch
The sweet tea pecans are the secret weapon. They're what takes this from a great spring salad to an intentional Back Porch Bliss pairing. The brewed black tea in the glaze pulls the iced tea note of the drink directly into the bowl in a way that feels seamless and a little magical. Make a double batch — they keep in an airtight container for up to a week and will not last that long.
The radishes matter. They're the most spring thing on the plate. Thinly sliced, they add crunch, a gentle peppery bite, and that unmistakable blush of pink that makes this salad look as good as it tastes. Don't skip them.
Don't skip the mint either. Fresh mint is the bridge between the salad and the drink — it carries the herbal, cooling quality of iced tea through every bite and makes the pairing feel like it was engineered in a lab. It wasn't. It just came together that way.
Make it a meal. This salad is a generous side as written, but it becomes a full spring dinner with grilled chicken, seared salmon, or a ball of fresh burrata laid right in the center. All three play beautifully with the vinaigrette.
Get ahead of it. The sweet tea pecans can be made up to a week in advance. The vinaigrette keeps in the fridge for five days — just shake or whisk before using. The night of, all you're doing is assembling, which means more time on the porch and less time in the kitchen. Which, as it happens, is exactly where we want you.