Strawberry Spinach Salad with Balsamic Poppy Seed Dressing

Strawberry Spinach Salad is an easy and delicious meal idea, especially when it’s paired with my homemade Balsamic Poppy Seed Dressing!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Today’s recipe for strawberry spinach salad is a great one to have “on deck” for when the weather gets warmer … though honestly, with its mix of wonderful flavors, it’s fantastic at any time of year! Serve it as an appetizer or as a side, or even as a snack if you’re feeling particularly hungry. It’s a total crowd favorite. ?

I don’t know about y’all, but when the weather warms up, I like to have some lighter meals on our menu. (Although light meals are great at any time of the year, really!) Salads in one form or another tend to be one of my “go-to” meals because they’re light, generally super easy to put together, and totally limitless!

So … let’s talk about this strawberry spinach salad and why it’s so phenomenal:

• Spinach is always so, so good. If given the choice of lettuce vs. spinach based salad, I will pick spinach every single time.
• It is one of my absolute favorite things to cook with! (OK, so technically, I’m not cooking the spinach here – but humor me a bit!)
  I love that this salad has sweet and savory … crunchy and soft … creamy and salty – it’s got it all!
• If you’re reading this in spring, the strawberries are perfect at this time of year! One of my favorite things about spring is the fresh strawberries and spinach.

By the way, my kiddos love this salad just as much as I do – and truthfully, what’s not to love? If you’re in more of an orange mood … or banana mood … or blueberry mood … or *insert favorite fruit here* mood – by all means, switch it up! This recipe is totally customizable.

Let’s make some strawberry spinach salad!

Recipe for Strawberry Spinach Salad

Ingredients for the salad:

• Spinach leaves
• Strawberries, hulled and sliced
• Feta Cheese, crumbled
• Bacon, cooked and crumbled
• Pecans, lightly toasted

Dressing for Strawberry Spinach Salad:

• toasted sesame seeds
• poppy seeds
• granulated sugar
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• paprika
• Worcestershire sauce
• minced onion
• black pepper

NOTE: Technically, you don’t have to use the above recipe for poppyseed dressing. A white or red store-bought balsamic vinegar dressing will do just fine. But I really do recommend throwing together this particular recipe first … it really, REALLY makes the whole dish!

How to make Strawberry Spinach Salad

1. Place the desired amount of each salad ingredient on a plate in the order given.
2. In a food processor or blender, combine all of the dressing ingredients until thoroughly blended (about 30 seconds to 1 minute).
3. Drizzle the desired amount of the dressing over the salad.
4. Enjoy!

Strawberry Spinach Salad Variations

Want to put your own twist on this salad? Here are some of my suggestions!

• Other cheeses: Blue cheese, goat cheese
• Use other nuts: Almonds, walnuts, peanuts, pistachios
• Other fruits: Blueberries, kiwi, pineapple, mango, banana, blackberries, oranges
• Misc: avocado, red onions, white onions, lettuce, croutons

A few tips for Strawberry Spinach Salad

• Not a fan of poppy seeds? You can leave them out!
• Wondering what would pair well with this dish? This would make a great side to a lighter protein like fish or chicken. Heck, you could even add grilled chicken strips TO the salad – that would be phenomenal! That’s why it’s such a good summer recipe, but as I said … dine on it whenever, if you’re not particularly seasonal! It’s fantastic at any time!
• Should you toast or candy any nuts you use? It’s up to you. Both toasted nuts and candied nuts taste beautiful in this salad. Yum!

Other recipes you may enjoy

• Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole
• Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
• Italian Beef Patties with Mushrooms, Onions, and Balsamic Cream Sauce
• Turkey Spinach Wraps
• One-Pot Creamy Bacon Spinach Pasta

4.67 from 3 votes

Servings: 8 servings

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Balsamic Poppy Seed Dressing

By Jamie Sherman

Strawberry Spinach Salad is an easy and delicious meal idea, especially when it’s paired with my homemade Balsamic Poppy Seed Dressing!

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Total: 15 minutes mins

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Equipment

• Salad Bowl Set
• Salad Dressing Shaker
• salad tongs

Ingredients 

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For the salad

• ▢ Spinach leaves
• ▢ Strawberries, hulled and sliced
• ▢ Feta Cheese, crumbled
• ▢ Bacon, cooked and crumbled
• ▢ Pecans, lightly toasted

For the dressing

• ▢ 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• ▢ 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• ▢ ¼ cup sugar
• ▢ ½ cup olive oil
• ▢ ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon paprika
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon minced onion
• ▢ pinch pepper

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Instructions 

• Place the desired amount of each salad ingredient on a plate in the order given.
• In a food processor or blender, combine all of the dressing ingredients until thoroughly blended – about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Drizzle the desired amount of the dressing over the salad. Enjoy!

Notes

• Technically, you don’t have to use the above recipe for poppyseed dressing. A white or red store-bought balsamic vinegar dressing will do just fine. But I really do recommend throwing together this particular recipe first … it really, REALLY makes the whole dish!
• Not a fan of poppy seeds? You can leave them out!
• Wondering what would pair well with this dish? This would make a great side to a lighter protein like fish or chicken. Heck, you could even add grilled chicken strips TO the salad – that would be phenomenal! That’s why it’s such a good summer recipe, but as I said … dine on it whenever, if you’re not particularly seasonal! It’s fantastic at any time!
• Should you toast or candy any nuts you use? It’s up to you. Both toasted nuts and candied nuts taste beautiful in this salad. Yum!

Want to put your own twist on this salad? Here are a few suggestions:

• Other cheeses: Blue cheese, goat cheese
• Other nuts: Almonds, walnuts, peanuts, pistachios
• Other fruits: Blueberries, kiwi, pineapple, mango, banana, blackberries, oranges
• Misc: avocado, red onions, white onions, lettuce, croutons

** The nutrition value provided below is for the salad dressing only. **

Nutrition

Serving: 2tbsp., Calories: 170kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Sodium: 5mg, Potassium: 40mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 31IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 40mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

Originally published on April 19, 2013. Updated on May 12, 2020.