This strawberry spinach salad is a blend of baby spinach leaves, fresh strawberries, red onion, almonds, feta cheese and avocado, all tossed in a poppy seed dressing. A fresh and colorful salad that’s fit for any occasion!
When the weather warms up, I’m all about salads. I often find myself making watermelon salad, berry fruit salad and this light and delicious strawberry spinach salad.
In the spring and summer I like salads that feature fresh produce. I love this salad because of the hearty spinach. My kids love this salad for the sweet strawberries and tangy dressing! Give this salad and try and you will have a real crowd-pleaser!
Strawberry Spinach Salad Ingredients
The ingredients for this strawberry spinach salad can be found in most grocery stores. Look for in-season, ripe produce for the best results.
- Strawberries: I prefer smaller strawberries as it makes the salad easier to eat. If your berries are particularly large, you may want to coarsely chop them instead of using quarters.
- Spinach: I buy a container of pre-washed baby spinach leaves to make the prep work as easy as possible.
- Avocado: Look for a firm but ripe avocado. A softer avocado can get mushy when the salad is tossed.
- Almonds: Most major grocery stores sell thinly sliced almonds that are ready to use in this salad.
- Feta: Look for a high quality block of feta for best results. I use a cow’s milk feta for this salad.
- Red Onions: Cut your onions thinly or finely mince them for optimal flavor and texture.
Poppy Seed Dressing Ingredients
This poppy seed dressing contains pantry staples and makes for the perfect sweet and savory counterpart to the salad ingredients. For this poppy seed dressing you will need extra virgin olive oil, sugar, apple cider vinegar, poppy seeds, salt and black pepper.
How Do You Make Strawberry Spinach Salad?
To make this strawberry spinach salad recipe, first prepare all of your produce. Rinse and dry your spinach leaves, quarter your strawberries, slice your red onion and dice your avocado. Next, for the dressing whisk together olive oil, sugar, apple cider vinegar, poppy seeds, salt and pepper. Assemble the salad by starting with baby spinach leaves, which go into a bowl with quartered strawberries, sliced almonds, diced avocado, sliced red onion and crumbled feta cheese. Pour your dressing over the top of the salad and toss everything together. Serve and enjoy the salad!
Tips For The Perfect Strawberry Spinach Salad
- I like to buy a block of feta cheese and crumble it myself, I think it tastes much better than pre-crumbled feta cheese which often contains anti-caking agents and other preservatives.
- I buy a bag of toasted sliced almonds for this recipe. You can toast your own almonds by placing them on foil in the toaster oven for 2-3 minutes on the toast setting, or by toasting them in a dry pan on the stove. Watch carefully so that your nuts don’t burn.
- I use a mandoline to slice my red onion into paper thin shavings. You can also finely mince your onion if you prefer.
- Pour your dressing over the salad quickly after placing your vegetables in your bowl so the avocados don’t have a chance to turn brown.
Quick Tip
Serve this salad immediately as the spinach leaves will eventually wilt in the dressing.
Recipe FAQs
I typically buy a bag of pre-washed spinach leaves, but you can also buy a bunch of spinach leaves and wash them yourself. I recommend soaking spinach leaves in a bowl of cold water, then gently swishing them around to remove any dirt. Repeat the process until the water is clear, then use a salad spinner to dry your greens.
The dressing for this salad can be made up to 3 days in advance. You can also prepare the strawberries and red onion in advance. Right before you’re ready to eat, place all the ingredients in a bowl and add the dressing.
I use baby spinach in this recipe, because the leaves and the stems are tender. If you use larger spinach leaves, it’s possible that the stems might be tough and need to be removed. Otherwise, there is no need to cut spinach for a salad, just use the whole leaves.
Since strawberry spinach salad has some sweetness, I like to enjoy it with mini cornbread pudding, smoked chicken wings and fresh strawberry pie. These dishes enhance the sweet and savory flavors in the salad.
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Flavor Variations
This strawberry spinach salad is delicious and flavorful; however, you can change it up to suit your own taste:
- Cheese: Try some cheddar cheese, mozzarella, goat cheese, Monterey jack or blue cheese.
- Fruit: You can add other fruit like blueberries, blackberries, diced peaches and cherry halves.
- Nuts: Add some more crunch with some chopped walnuts, pecans, candied pecans or cashews.
- Dressing: If you want a different dressing, try my Greek salad dressing, Italian dressing, homemade ranch dressing, honey mustard or balsamic vinaigrette.
- Grain: Make your salad hearty with a cooked grain like quinoa or farro!
- Meat: You can add your favorite protein like grilled salmon, garlic butter shrimp or grilled chicken breast.
Once you try this strawberry spinach salad it is sure to be a staple on your dinner table all spring and summer long.
More Great Salad Recipes
Chopped Salad with Chicken
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Creamy Cucumber Salad
11 mins
Brussels Sprout Salad
21 mins
Cucumber Tomato Salad
11 mins
Ramen Noodle Salad
16 mins
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Strawberry Spinach Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 6 cups baby spinach leaves
- 2 cups strawberries quartered
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds toasted
- 1/4 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 1 avocado peeled, pitted and diced
- 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled
For the dressing
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the salad
- Place the spinach, strawberries, almonds, red onion, avocado and feta cheese in a large bowl.
For the dressing
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sugar, apple cider vinegar, poppy seeds, salt and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately.
Notes
- I buy a bag of toasted sliced almonds for this recipe. You can toast your own almonds by placing them on foil in the toaster oven for 2-3 minutes on the toast setting, or by toasting them in a dry pan on the stove. Watch carefully so that your nuts don’t burn.
- Use a mandoline to cut your red onion as thinly as possible.
- I prefer to use a whole block of feta cheese and crumble it myself, as I feel that the flavor is better than the pre-crumbled cheese at the store.
Would honey work okay in the dressing?
Yes that’s fine!
Wonderful and super fresh salad, thank you! This was a perfect salad with my family dinner last night, we all enjoyed it!
this was everything that I wanted it to be and more! thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
This is soooo fresh and delightful! My new favorite!
This salad received rave reviews, eclipsing the lasagna, which was supposed to be the main event. My husband ate the leftovers, which was extremely unusual, because he typically does not eat leftovers, or salad. Prep consisted of layering all of the ingredients on top of the spinach except the dressing, tossing only those dry ingredients just before serving. Knowing that I would have leftovers I allowed everyone to add the dressing to their individual portions and was able to preserve the remainder for the next day. It was delicious, and am planning to experiment with using artificial sweeteners in the dressing next time to accommodate my diabetic guests. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!
I love salads like this! I haven’t tried making my own poppyseed dressing, but you’ve inspired me to try your recipe. Definitely looking forward to adding this salad into my lunch and dinner rotation!
Oooh, so many fantastic flavors packed into this strawberry spinach salad! I especially love the addition of the homemade poppy seed dressing.
I love the idea of a refreshing strawberry salad for lunch. This looks so delicious, and I appreciate the tip about slicing the onions with a mandoline to make them thin.
The weather has been warming up here and I’ve been craving lots of berries! This spinach salad is a great solution!