The Strawberry Spinach Salad is perfect for summer dining. Sweet strawberries, onions, cucumber, and toasted nuts are tossed in a bright lemon poppyseed dressing. Serve as individual salads or toss everything together in a large bowl for family style dining or events. Add grilled chicken to make it a meal!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Salad
- Bagged baby spinach
- Red onion
- Cucumber
- Sliced, toasted almonds – Just heat them in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they’re golden and fragrant.
- Grilled chicken breasts – Optional, but makes it a great one-dish meal!
Dressing
- Lemons
- Rice wine vinegar
- Canola oil – Or other neutral flavored oil.
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Granulated sugar
- Poppy seeds
- Grated onion
- Fresh garlic
How to Make a Strawberry Spinach Salad
- Start by mixing up your dressing. Zest a lemon and grate a little onion into a small jar. To those, add fresh lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, oil, sugar, salt and pepper, and poppy seeds. Give it a good shake and set it aside.
- You can assemble one big salad or individual servings. Layer spinach, cucumbers, red onion, and strawberries. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and drizzle with dressing as desired
Storing and Other Tips
- Assembled salads are best eaten fresh! If you have leftovers or want to plan ahead, store salad components in the refrigerator (except nuts) and build your salads as needed.
- Store your finished dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- If you’re serving a crowd, feel free to dress and toss one large salad immediately before serving. Save a few slices of your veggies and a sprinkle of nuts for garnish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where’s the cheese? Can I add some?
Of course! Feta would be great here. A nice blue cheese would probably be delicious as well.
Can I use a different kind of nut in place of almonds?
Yes. Any toasted nut would be good here. Quick Candied Nuts would be great, too.
Can I make this ahead of time?
You can certainly make the dressing a day ahead of time. You can also toast your nuts. While it’s probably best to prep and slice your produce right before assembly, you could do it several hours ahead of time if needed.
Strawberry Spinach Salad
This bright summer salad combines sweet strawberries and a bright lemon poppyseed vinaigrette. Perfect as a side salad or as a one-dish meal with added grilled chicken.
Servings side salads
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 2-3 large lemons
- ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon grated onion
- 1 clove garlic
Salad
- 1 10- ounce bag fresh baby spinach
- ½-1 small red onion thinly sliced
- 1 medium cucumber seeded and sliced (you can peel it first if you want)
- 1 pint strawberries sliced
- 1 cup sliced almonds toasted
- 1 recipe Lemon Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
- ½ pound grilled chicken breasts sliced or diced (optional)
Instructions
Dressing
- Using a micro plane or other fine grater, grate 1 teaspoon lemon rind off the lemons. Grate 1 teaspoon onion. Place in a small container with a lid. Add the remaining ingredients and shake vigorously. If possible, refrigerate at least an hour before serving. Shake well before serving.
Salad
- Toss ingredients together and serve immediately. You can also arrange the ingredients on individual plates for serving.
- Dress as desired.
Notes
- Nutrition information was calculated without Lemon Poppyseed Dressing or chicken.
- Assembled salads are best eaten fresh! If you have leftovers or want to plan ahead, store salad components in the refrigerator (except nuts) and build your salads as needed.
- Store your finished dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- If you’re serving a crowd, feel free to dress and toss one large salad immediately before serving. Save a few slices of your veggies and a sprinkle of nuts for garnish.
Nutrition
Calories: 203kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Sodium: 65mg, Potassium: 907mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 7379IU, Vitamin C: 95mg, Calcium: 172mg, Iron: 4mg
Calories: 203kcal
Cost: $8
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Questions & Reviews
Yum! Can’t wait to try this! Just sounds like an amazing combinations of flavors! Picking up the ingredients today.
I have had a salad similar to this but added crumbled gorgonzola cheese. Kicks it up a few more notches. YUMMO!!
This looks delicious. I’m always looking for salads that are different from the norm of iceburg and ranch (not there’s anything wrong with that sort of salad, of course!).
Great salad…way too much chicken info…I will now start naming all the chicken I cook:)
Yum, looks delicious! I always have to buy those strawberries at Costco and they are so tasty!!!
Love this salad and can never make it just right. I’m definitely doing it your way next time! Thanks!
Looks really fresh and yummy! I often get into a salad rut so thank you!
Love fruit in my spinach salads! Yum!
Perfect timing…..I have just began to enjoy the benifits and taste of spinach. The recipe looks yummy!
Sounds super yummy! I have been enjoying strawberries in my salads lately and its a very welcome change 🙂