Strawberry Spinach Salad
Strawberry Spinach Salad – a crowd-pleasing vibrant salad with a bed of fresh spinach, luscious strawberries, avocado, thinly sliced onions, crunchy candied almonds tossed with a delicious strawberry poppy salad dressing. Perfect easy salad for picnics, potlucks and summer get together.
Aside from mango, pineapple and plantains, I have an extreme affection for strawberries, too. They are luscious, sweet and refreshing to eat. And you can basically make a ton of recipes with it.
When summer hits, I always stock up (okay, more like *hoard*) tons of strawberries in my fridge. I love snacking on them especially when covered with chocolate , enjoy them as strawberry smoothie or as lemonade.
But my favorite of them all, is that I can add strawberries on any salads! This Strawberry Spinach Salad is by far my favorite.
It’s loaded with healthy baby spinach, avocados, thinly sliced onions, luscious sweet strawberries and some crunchy almonds for added texture and flavor. All of those fresh produce is topped off with this homemade strawberry poppy seed vinaigrette.
Aside from the fact that this strawberry poppy salad dressing here is stunningly pretty (agree??), it also has wonderful great flavors that complements well. It’s slightly sweeter and a little bit of tang which is so perfect with any other kinds of salad, too.
You can make ahead a big jar of this dressing to drizzle when you get the hankering for salads. It’s the prettiest jar of dressing you’ll ever have. Just store them in the fridge and make sure to label or you’ll probably mistaken it as a smoothie. : D
Now don’t hold back when making this strawberry spinach salad.
This would be perfect for picnics, potlucks and summer get together. It makes a great side to your grilled meat or fried chicken. As always, you can add a couple of your favorites for this salad.
Want to add more fruits? Throw in some raisins or berries. Or add some cheese or a bit of diced protein too like bacon or chicken.
Enjoy!
Tips and Notes:
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Make the candied almonds by stirring together sliced almonds about ½ cup sliced almonds and about ¼ cup sugar for about 7 minutes or more.
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If you don’t have almonds, you can replace it with your favorite nuts like cashews. You can also check my recipes for Candied Pecans HERE and my Candied Peanuts.
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If you’re allergic to nuts, you can throw in pumpkin seeds, sunflowers seeds or flaxseeds. Or simply add your desired dried fruit like raisins, berries and cherries.
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Ingredients
Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing
- 2 cups fresh strawberries , halved , if desired
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped onion
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 3-4 Tablespoons white vinegar
- ¼ -1/ 3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt , adjust to taste
- freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons poppy seed
For Strawberry Spinach Salad
- 10 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 2 cups strawberries , quartered
- 1 avocado , sliced
- 1/2 red onion , sliced thin
- ½ cup sliced almonds or candied almonds (see notes)
Instructions
- In a blender blend all ingredients: strawberries, onion, garlic, mustard , oil , vinegar, sugar ,salt and pepper. Add poppy seeds after blending.
- In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries, sliced avocado, and onion. Pour dressing over salad, and toss.
- Serve topped with almonds or candied almonds.
Nutrition Information:
How to Make Strawberry Spinach Salad
In a blender blend all ingredients: strawberries, onion, garlic, mustard , oil , vinegar, sugar ,salt and pepper.
Add poppy seeds after blending.
In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries, sliced avocado, and onion. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Serve topped with almonds or candied almonds.
Can olive oil be substituted for canola oil?
Sure can, Darlene 🙂
NEVER eat canola oil! It’s very unhealthy in the body. Use it in machinery, not your human self.
Nom nom nom!