Strawberry Spinach Salad

This Strawberry Spinach Salad is the perfect side dish for a family dinner, or a great lunch! Beautiful ripe strawberries, sliced toasted almonds, feta cheese, and red onions all on a bed of rich green spinach and tossed with homemade balsamic poppy seed dressing. 

This Strawberry Spinach Salad is a very popular recipe on my my website. And for good reason too! It is easy to make, delicious, and a crowd pleaser.

This recipe is perfect to bring to a potluck or a family reunion. It also makes a great addition to a BBQ on the back deck or just a summer lunch.

WHAT GOES IN A STRAWBERRY SPINACH SALAD

There are so many different ways to make this salad. I love the combination of ingredients below for the perfect mix of flavor and texture.

• Spinach – obviously
• Strawberries – duh
• Feta Cheese
• Sliced Red Onions
• Sliced Toasted Almonds

Then I topped it all with a homemade Poppy Seed Balsamic Dressing that took me less than 10 minutes to make.

For the full printable recipe, make sure you go to the bottom of the post!

VARIATIONS

One of the reasons I love making salads is they are so easy to make your own. It is easy to swap out one ingredient for another.

Here are some ideas:

• Replace the feta cheese with goat cheese. The softness of this cheese, would go perfectly with the strawberries.
• Take out the almonds and put in some candied pecans instead!
• Not a big fan of red onions in your salad? Swap them out for avocado.
• Don’t really feel like making your own salad dressing? Buy some balsamic dressing! I won’t tell anyone, I swear.
• Feel like it needs a little something something still? Toss in some homemade croutons!

There are no wrong answers when it comes to this Strawberry Spinach Almond Salad.

Except not making it. That would be the wrong answer.

Seriously, if you feel like you don’t eat enough salads, this is a great one to start with. It has fruit! And cheese! And a sweet dressing.

It’s like a gateway salad.

NEED MORE GREAT PICNIC RECIPES?

• Crab Pasta Salad
• Cajun Cobb Salad
• Orzo Pasta Salad

If you make this great recipe or any of my others please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Print Recipe

5 from 7 votes

Strawberry Spinach Salad

This Strawberry Spinach salad with it’s balsamic poppyseed dressing is the perfect easy side dish for a picnic or BBQ, or just a weeknight meal!

Prep Time15 mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: strawberry spinach salad

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 391kcal

Author: Lisa Longley

Ingredients

For Strawberry Spinach Salad

• 10 ounces fresh baby spinach
• 1 quart strawberries quartered
• 1/2 red onion sliced thin
• 1/4 cup almond slices toasted (see note)
• 4 ounces feta cheese

For Balsamic Poppyseed Dressing

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon poppyseeds
• 1 tablespoon minced red onion

Instructions

To make the salad dressing

• Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a mason jar.  Shake well until the sugar is dissolved and the dressing is combined.

To Make the Salad

• Combine all the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl.  Very lightly dress the salad right before serving, reserving the rest of the dressing on the side for people to add more.

Video

Notes

To toast almonds place a small skillet over low heat. Spray lightly with cooking spray.  Add almond slices and stir often until desired level of toasted-ness, about five minutes.  Cool before adding to the salad.

Nutrition

Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 242mg | Potassium: 423mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 4550IU | Vitamin C: 66.8mg | Calcium: 160mg | Iron: 2.3mg