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.
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Ingredients You’ll Need
Below picture shows all ingredients needed 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
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.
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 slice the onions, soak it in vinegar or ice bath for 10 minutes. Drain it and then use it. It’ll cut down the harshness.
Finally sprinkle crumbled feta cheese on top.
Serve immediately for best taste.
FAQS
Use mandarin orange segments or pineapple cubes to make this salad or roasted pumpkin cubes to make 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).
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.
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:
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Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- 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 slice the onions, soak it in vinegar or ice bath for 10 minutes. Drain it and then use it. It’ll cut down the harshness.
- Finally sprinkle crumbled feta cheese on top.
- Serve immediately for best taste.
Video
Notes
- Baby Spinach – 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).
- If strawberries are not in season use mandarin orange segments or pineapple cubes to make this salad or roasted pumpkin cubes to make this salad.
Farrukh Aziz
This is making my mouth water! Strawberry and spinach is a really good combination, and in a salad is a good and healthy option! I’m sure my kids will love this!
Jyothi Rajesh
Thank you Farrukh