Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Last updated February 21, 2022. Originally posted February 21, 2022 By Jyothi Rajesh 4 Comments

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Try this strawberry spinach salad with poppy seed dressing for your next meal. Great as a side dish, terrific as meal as well if you plan to eat light and healthy. Poppy seed dressing adds magical flavors combination.

spinach and strawberry salad in wooden bowl with poppy seed dressing

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Why this salad works?
Ingredients you’ll need
How to make spinach and strawberry salad
FAQS
📋 Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Why this salad works?

1. Poppy seed dressing has magical combination of flavors. You need to try the salad so much for the dressing.
2. What’s better than strawberry and balsamic to-gether.
3. No need to mention how healthy this salad is!
4. Terrific as side dish or as a meal!
5. Uses fresh ingredients and super easy to make!

Ingredients you’ll need

Here’s what you’ll need to make strawberry spinach salad-

10 oz baby spinach, rinsed and dried thoroughly
1 quart strawberry, cleaned hulled and sliced
½ red onions, sliced
1 cup pecans, roasted and chopped
⅓ cup feta cheese, crumbled

For Poppy Seed Dressing-

½ cup vegetable oil
⅓ cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon yellow mustard paste
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2 teaspoon poppy seeds

all ingredients for strawberry spinach salad on board

Ingredients additions and substitutions

Additions:

Paprika – Add paprika or cayenne pepper if you like heat or slight kick in the salad.
Bacon – add some crispy bacon bits to the salad for extra deliciousness! Bacon makes everything better.
More berries – add fresh blueberries or raspberries to the salad to make it berrylicious!
Seeds – add sunflower seeds, roasted pumpkin seeds, flax seeds.

Substitutions:

Strawberries when not in season can be substituted with orange segments or pineapple bits or roasted pumpkin cubes or any other squash roasted in oven.
Substitute pecans with any other nut of your choice. Almonds, pine nuts, walnuts all are good.
Feta cheese can be substituted with goat cheese or crumbled blue cheese. If you don’t want to add cheese, it’s okay to leave it out.
Vegetable oil can be substituted with olive oil or avocado oil.
For sweetener choose any of these – honey, maple syrup, sugar, stevia.
Balsamic vinegar –highly recommend you don’t skip it. Strawberry and balsamic vinegar to-gather tastes terrific. If you want to substitute balsamic vinegar – use mix of white distilled vinegar and Worchester sauce together in place of balsamic vinegar.

spinach and strawberry salad in wooden salad bowl

How to make spinach and strawberry salad

Roast The Nuts – Roast pecan nut in oven at 300℉ for 5 to 8 minutes. Stay next to the oven and keep close watch. Nuts always tend to burnt pretty fast in oven. Toast until nuts are fragrant and begin to tan slightly. Remove immediately from the oven and transfer to cutting wooden board. Chop nuts into small pieces. Keep aside.

Poppy Seed Dressing – Into a jar pour vegetable oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, salt and pepper, mustard paste, poppy seeds. Close the jar tightly with lid. Shake well. Keep the dressing aside while you assemble the salad.

Assemble Salad – into a salad bowl add baby spinach, fresh strawberries, sliced red onion, toasted nuts. Pour poppy seed dressing. Toss gently. Pro-Tip: If you find raw red onion too harsh in taste, you can use pickled onions.

Finally sprinkle crumbled feta cheese on top.

Serve immediately for best taste.

step by step picture collage of strawberry spinach salad

FAQS

What can I use when strawberries are not in season?

Use mandarin orange segments or pineapple cubes to make this salad or roasted pumpkin cubes to make this salad.

What other greens can I use in this salad?

I like using baby spinach for it’s texture and flavor. To substitute baby spinach you can use lettuce, kale (fresh kale torn into small pieces and massaged slightly).

Can I make this salad ahead of time?

Gather all salad ingredients in a bowl and make the dressing. Undressed salad and poppy seeds salad can be stored refrigerated for few days (salad for 2-3 days and dressing will last for 4-5 days). Tip: if you plan to store salad refrigerated, suggest you add nuts just before serving so they have the crunch.
When you are ready to serve, pour the salad dressing, toss gently and serve.
Remember salad once mixed with dressing should be consumed immediately.

What to serve with strawberry spinach salad?

The salad is terrific side with any grilled or roast meat like grilled chicken, roast pork. I could eat this as a meal; the flavor combinations are wonderful for light meal.

MORE SALADS YOU WILL LOVE:

Broccoli Salad

Classic Egg Salad

Beet Salad With Feta

Israeli Couscous Salad

Avocado Corn Salad

Tomato Salad

Watermelon Feta Salad

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