Strawberry Spinach Salad Recipe – Love and Lemons

This strawberry spinach salad is stuffed with pecans, feta, and a tangy poppy seed dressing. Excellent for spring or summer season, it is easy and recent.

This strawberry spinach salad is ideal for spring and early summer season. It begins with a base of recent spinach—one of many first greens to seem at my farmers market every spring—and is topped off with juicy strawberries, crisp crimson onion, toasty pecans, and salty feta cheese. My candy and tangy poppy seed dressing ties all of it collectively.

I believe it’s honest to say that this mix is fairly basic (doesn’t Panera have a strawberry poppyseed salad on its menu?), however I nonetheless wished to share this recipe as a result of it’s so easy and recent, with an exquisite pop of sweetness and shade from the strawberries. It feels particular sufficient to serve at vacation gathering or potluck (I’m making it for Easter on Sunday!), nevertheless it’s so fast and simple that you might toss it collectively for any spring meal.

Yow will discover the whole strawberry spinach salad recipe on the backside of this publish. Alongside the best way, I’m sharing enjoyable swaps and variations, make-ahead suggestions, and extra. I hope you’re keen on this salad as a lot as I do!

What’s In This Strawberry Spinach Salad

Right here’s what you’ll have to make this spinach and strawberry salad:

Strawberries, in fact! They add sweetness, ruby crimson shade, and gentle, juicy texture. Reasonably than chop them, I thinly slice them for this salad. I really like consuming the skinny slices alongside the spinach leaves, they usually look so fairly!
Recent spinach – Use child spinach when you can—its small leaves and tender texture are nice right here. Mature spinach additionally works, however you could need to chop it earlier than you assemble the salad.
Crimson onion – For savory, oniony taste.
Toasted pecans – For crunch and wealthy, nutty taste.
And feta cheese – It provides a tangy, salty pop that contrasts completely with the candy berries.

Discover the whole recipe with measurements beneath.

Attainable Swaps

Change the strawberries with one other recent fruit like blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, orange segments, thinly sliced apples, or pears.
Use spring combine as an alternative of spinach. Butter lettuce would work properly too!
Attempt one other nut. Change the pecans with toasted walnuts, pine nuts, or almonds.
Swap out the feta for crumbled goat cheese or blue cheese. You can even substitute diced avocado to make this recipe dairy-free!

Let me know what variations you strive!

My Simple Poppy Seed Dressing

A candy and tangy poppy seed dressing brings this salad collectively.

It’s simple to make with white wine vinegar, shallot, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, extra-virgin olive oil, and poppy seeds. Should you’d prefer to make the dressing calmly creamy, you possibly can add slightly mayo too.

Simply whisk the substances collectively in a bowl, or place them in a lidded jar and shake to mix.

Attainable Swaps

Wish to strive one other dressing on this salad? Any of those recipes can be nice:

What to Serve with This Strawberry Spinach Salad

This strawberry spinach salad is a superb addition to any spring or early summer season meal! Serve it alongside your favourite protein or with any of those recipes:

It will even be a unbelievable aspect dish for an Easter brunch.

To make this salad meal by itself, add a cooked grain like farro or quinoa and/or a handful of crispy roasted chickpeas.

Make-Forward and Storage Suggestions

The spinach strawberry salad and poppy seed dressing are finest saved individually.

You’ll be able to toss collectively the salad substances—minus the dressing—as much as 1 day upfront. Retailer the salad in an hermetic container within the fridge till able to serve.
You may make the dressing as much as 5 days upfront. Retailer it in an hermetic container within the fridge till able to serve. The olive oil within the dressing might solidify because it chills within the fridge. Simply enable it to take a seat at room temperature for a couple of minutes to melt earlier than drizzling it over the salad!

Undressed leftovers preserve effectively within the fridge for as much as 3 days. As soon as dressed, this salad is finest eaten inside a couple of hours.

Extra Spring Salad Recipes

Should you love this strawberry spinach salad, strive one in all these recent spring salads subsequent: