This Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing makes for the perfect healthy summer salad, but it’s great for any season! It’s a quick side dish or entrée and is a great way to use seasonal berries.
Personal Note – You’ll notice that one of the topping options for this spinach salad is granola. Yes, you read that right, granola croutons! And it totally works, especially if you’re looking for a nut-free option or a way to use up that last bit of granola at the bottom of the bag.
When strawberry season is in full swing, we couldn’t be more excited! Admittedly, we enjoy them all year long. However, they’re extra flavorful and nutritious when in season.
We love to include strawberries in recipes like our strawberry watermelon smoothie, strawberry overnight oats, and mini strawberry pavlovas. However, our favorite way to put them to use is in a simple strawberry spinach salad.
Quick to prepare, it’s the perfect warm-weather meal. We get sweetness from the berries and dressing, savoriness from the veggies, and lots of crunch. What more could you want? Enjoy it as a main course on its own, or pair it with your favorite sides and appetizers for a quick meal!
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Salad Ingredients
- Baby Spinach – We prefer this over regular spinach because it’s more tender and has a slightly sweeter taste. Feel free to substitute any greens you like best!
- Berries – Fresh strawberries and fresh blueberries add a pop of color, sweet flavor, and lots of fiber and nutrients.
- Nuts – We like to use sliced almonds or toasted almonds for an even richer flavor. However, any nuts or seeds you like best such as walnuts or even candied pecans.
Ingredient Swap: If you want a different flavor and even more crunch without the nuts, swap or add to the nuts with regular croutons or granola “croutons” using chunky granola like our maple buckwheat granola.
- Veggies – Add sliced cucumbers or any other fresh veggies.
- Salt and Black Pepper – Adjust to taste.
For the Poppyseed Dressing
- White Wine Vinegar – You can substitute red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice for a lemon poppyseed version.
- Raw Sugar – Substitute honey if preferred.
- Onion Powder – You can also use two tablespoons of minced shallot.
- Ground Dry Mustard – Two teaspoons of Dijon mustard works well, too.
- Kosher Salt – Adjust to taste.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Feel free to substitute avocado oil.
- Poppy Seeds – You can typically find these in the spice section of your local grocery store.
Health Benefits of Strawberries
Not only are they tasty, but strawberries are also full of vitamins, nutrients, and fiber, too. For instance, strawberries are:
- Full of vitamin C & manganese
- Rich in antioxidants
- Contains decent amounts of folate (vitamin B9) and potassium
Nutrition Note: Did you know that pairing iron-rich foods (such as spinach) with vitamin C-rich foods (like strawberries) can help with iron absorption?! Vitamin C helps capture non-heme iron from foods and stores it in a way that makes it more readily available to our bodies.
How to Make Strawberry Spinach Salad
Prepare the Poppyseed Dressing
- Add the vinegar, honey, onion powder, mustard, and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse for 20 seconds.
- With the food processor running on medium-low, slowly add a thin stream of olive oil, allowing it to incorporate evenly.
- Pour the dressing into a bowl, and mix in the poppy seeds. Season to taste.
Note: If you don’t have a food processor, mix the vinegar, honey, onion powder, mustard, and salt in a mixing bowl. Then, using a whisk, stir vigorously, and slowly drizzle in the oil to create an emulsion.
Assemble the Salad
- Add the spinach, strawberries, blueberries, almonds, and vegetables to a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Drizzle the dressing on top, and toss to combine.
- Serve immediately, and enjoy!
Note: To create toasted almonds, place the nuts in a medium skillet without oil. Toast over medium heat, shaking the skillet, and stirring until fragrant. The almonds will be light golden brown in color. Be careful not to let them burn!
More of Our Favorite
Gluten-Free Salad Recipes
Common Questions
We love to serve this recipe with a side of protein like grilled chicken or fish! It’s also great with chile ginger marinated shrimp, chicken burgers, or veggie burgers.
Or, enjoy it as a main course topped with shredded chicken. And pair it with grain free naan to make it extra filling!
This spinach strawberry salad is best enjoyed right away. However, you can prepare the dressing several days in advance, and store it in a sealable jar in the fridge. You can also prep the produce separately, and store it in the fridge. Then, just shake the dressing, assemble the ingredients, and serve!
Absolutely! Feel free to use any dressing you like best. Some of our favorite options include vegan Ranch dressing, strawberry vinaigrette dressing with mint, green goddess dressing, balsamic vinaigrette.
Feel free to mix and match any ingredients you like best! Red onion, goat cheese, feta cheese, raspberries, quinoa, and sesame seeds all make great additions.
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Dressing Recipe
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Make this strawberry spinach salad with poppyseed dressing for a sweet and savory, quick, summertime main course or side dish!
Ingredients
Salad
- 10 ounces (about 5 cups) baby spinach
- 2 to 3 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 1 cup blueberries
- ¼ cup sliced almonds or toasted almonds (optional- ¼ cup maple gluten free granola see notes)
- Optional 1 cup sliced cucumber or other spring vegetables of choice
- Sea salt, to taste
- Course black pepper, to taste
Poppyseed Dressing
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar (see notes for substitutes)
- 2 Tablespoons raw sugar or honey
- ½ teaspoon onion powder or 2 Tablespoons minced shallot
- ½ teaspoon ground dry mustard or 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
Instructions
Dressing
- Add the vinegar, honey/sugar, onion powder, dry mustard, and salt to the bowl of a food processor; pulse for 20 seconds. With the food processor running on medium-low, slowly add a thin stream of olive oil until fully combined.
- Pour the dressing into a bowl and mix in the poppyseeds. Season to taste.
Salad
- In a large serving bowl add the spinach, strawberries, blueberries, almonds, and optional granola. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle the dressing on top, and toss lightly to combine.
- Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftover salad dressing in an airtight container for 4-5 days. Always shake the dressing before serving.
Notes
Alternative Method – Without Food Processor – Mix vinegar, honey/sugar, onion, dry mustard, and salt in a mixing bowl. Using a whisk, stir vigorously and slowly drizzle in the oil to create an emulsion, thickening the dressing.
Substitute Tips – White wine vinegar may be substituted with white vinegar, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice for a lemon poppyseed version.
Toasting Almonds – Place the almonds in a medium-sized skillet without oil. Toast over medium heat, shaking the skillet and stirring until fragrant or about 4-5 minutes. The sliced almonds should be light golden brown in color. Remove from the heat and transfer the toasted almonds to a plate or bowl to cool.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Method: no bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: salad with dressing
- Calories: 310
- Sugar: 14.9 g
- Sodium: 214.6 mg
- Fat: 24.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.6 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 4.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
I love this salad! It is so simple and is perfect for a lunch. I add some lemon garlic chicken too it for extra protein. Radishes are also a good vegetable substitution for the cucumbers.
Oh that addition sounds lovely! Lemon garlic goes so well with everything! thanks for the feedback Taylor.
Surprised by how refreshing this salad tastes
I’m so glad! Yes, it’s one of my favorite summer salads! Let me know if you try the granola croutons too!
Crazy in love with this recipe!
Glad you liked it too! 🙂
Such a great summer salad. I love the idea of “granola croutons”. I made a batch and plan on using on other things too.
Thanks for such creative recipes with gorgeous photography.
Okay, I have to admit that I was skeptical of the granola on a salad idea, but this is brilliant! I never should have doubted your genius. This salad is amazing!
When I was young, I hated when my mom put fruit in salads, but now I almost always add some. But strawberries are a favorite and your salad was perfect!
I’m so glad, thank you Liz!!
Granola croutons? That is genius!
I try;) lol. Thank ya
LOVE strawberries; and I love the awesome use of granola here. Granola in a salad… in place of the often-refined-white-bread-based croutons salad element?! Again, LOVE.
And one way to use up all those bars we buy, right? Haha.