Strawberry Spinach Salad with Creamy Poppyseed Dressing
Fresh & Colorful Strawberry Spinach Salad topped with a Creamy Poppyseed Dressing. Loaded with fresh feta cheese, red onions and pine nuts!
I’ve been on a serious salad kick lately. I can’t get enough of them. This light and fresh Strawberry Spinach Salad is by far one of my favorites. Loaded with fresh spinach, strawberries, cucumber, red onion, pine nuts and feta cheese.
This has summer written all over it even though it’s the dead of winter. This salad is similar to Panera Bread’s Strawberry Poppy seed salad which is sadly only served during the summer. Their version is loaded with blueberries, strawberries, mandarin oranges and chicken. It gets drizzled with an amazing Poppyseed dressing.
I was originally planning on pairing this salad with a balsamic vinaigrette but I couldn’t pass up on this creamy poppyseed dressing. It is the perfect combination with the feta cheese and strawberries. The Creamy Poppyseed dressing makes this salad. It’s super thick and creamy thanks to the Greek yogurt. Don’t let the creaminess full you. Swapping the Greek yogurt for mayonnaise lightened up the dressing and added a boost of protein. The dressing is not too sweet with a hint of lemon. No blender required for this dressing. Everything gets whisked by hand.
How to make Creamy Poppyseed Dressing
- Combine rice wine vinegar, lemon juice, Greek yogurt, poppy seeds, milk, extra virgin olive oil and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth and set aside until you are ready to serve the salad.
Pine nuts are added for crunch. If you don’t have pine nuts on hand walnuts, almonds or pecans would also work in this salad. I personally love pine nuts and always keep a stash in my freezer.
Grilled chicken can be added to this salad for a protein boost.
This salad is super easy to toss together or make ahead for a quick work lunch. Make extra dressing to have on hand for the week.
Why I love this Strawberry Spinach Salad
- It’s easy.
- Light and fresh.
- Healthy.
- Only requires a few ingredients.
….and is drizzled with this Creamy Poppyseed Dressing.
And I can’t forget to give a shout out to my favorite assistant Daisy! ♥
Here are more healthy salad recipes to try!
- Watermelon Feta Salad
- Summer Fruit Salad
- Berry Spinach Salad
- Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad
- Mexican Kale Salad
- Chopped Kale Quinoa and Avocado Salad
Spinach Strawberry Salad with Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
Spinach Strawberry Salad with Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
- 4 cups spinach
- 12 thin slices red onion about half of a small onion
- 10 whole strawberries sliced
- 20 slices cucumber about 1 small cucumber
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts
- 3 tablespoons feta cheese crumbled
- Poppyseed dressing recipe follows below
Poppyseed Dressing
- 1 1/2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
Spinach Strawberry Salad with Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
- Add spinach to a large bowl or 4 individual bowls.
- Top with red onion, strawberries, cucumber, pine nuts and feta cheese.
- Drizzle with poppyseed dressing.
Poppyseed Dressing
- Add all of the ingredients to a medium bowl. Whisk to combine until creamy. Set aside until ready to serve salad.