Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

Savor the flavors of summer time with this strawberry spinach salad recipe with poppyseed dressing, almonds, avocado, purple onion, and coconut bacon. This salad makes an important facet dish for all the pieces from brunch to dinner.

Submit initially printed June 2019; up to date April 2024.

This strawberry spinach salad with poppyseed dressing is the quintessential salad for spring and summer time! As quickly as these juicy strawberries made their look on the farmer’s market, we’ve been shopping for at the very least 2 quarts per week.  (They don’t final lengthy with our toddler round.)

This spinach and strawberry salad is the proper salad for strawberry season. I’m not a fan of most poppyseed dressings from grocery shops as a result of they’re usually a lot too candy. That’s why I’m obsessive about my selfmade lemon poppyseed dressing for this recipe. It’s critically the most effective dressing for strawberry spinach salad! Not too candy and the lemon provides zippy taste that enhances the candy strawberries.

I like serving this scrumptious salad with brunch for Easter or Mom’s Day, however it’s additionally easy sufficient to toss collectively for lunch for the week. Talking of brunch, take a look at my 30+ vegan brunch recipe roundup for loads of inspiration.

Substances for Strawberry Spinach Salad

• Spinach: recent spinach that’s pre-washed makes this salad really easy to place collectively. I desire the recent child spinach selection for the reason that leaves are smaller and extra bite-sized. Should you’d desire totally different leafy greens, strive one other tender leaf selection like arugula.
• Avocado: one key to a great salad is contrasting textures – avocado provides creaminess to this vegan salad.
• Pink Onion: we love the chew of some purple onion on this salad, however if you would like one thing that isn’t as sturdy – substitute with shallot or inexperienced onions. You can too take away a number of the power of the purple onion by soaking it in ice chilly water for 10 minutes after slicing.
• Ripe Strawberries: for the most effective taste, use ripe recent strawberries which are aromatic and evenly purple in shade with little to no white on the high of the berry.
• Almonds: we like so as to add some chopped almonds to this salad for additional crunch. If you wish to save your self some chopping, purchase pre-sliced almonds for this recent salad. Don’t have almonds available? It’s nice with pistachios, sunflower seeds, and pecans too and even candied pecans if you could find them.
• Lemon Poppyseed Dressing: The lemon poppyseed dressing comes collectively fast with just a few lemon juice and zest, extra-virgin olive oil, poppy seeds, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. I like the lemony punch from the lemon zest on this tangy poppy seed dressing. I like to make use of a microplane to zest the lemon.

Variations and Substitutions

• Use a special dressing: in case you don’t like poppyseed dressing otherwise you need to strive one thing somewhat totally different – this spinach and strawberry salad can also be scrumptious when served together with your favourite store-bought or selfmade balsamic dressing. This selfmade strawberry balsamic dressing can also be an important possibility for this salad.
• Add a protein: if you wish to make this salad right into a meal, strive including some plant-based protein appreciated canned chickpeas, cooked lentils, edamame, or tofu.
• Add cheese: we love serving this with a few of our favourite plant-based vegan feta. In case you are serving this one to vegetarians, you may add some crumbled goat cheese or a salty feta cheese.

Tips on how to Make Spinach Strawberry Salad With Poppyseed Dressing

Make the Coconut Bacon (if utilizing): we love the smoky taste that this straightforward coconut bacon provides – plus, it’s tremendous easy to make! To make it, you’ll toss the coconut flakes in seasoning, unfold right into a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet, and bake till crispy. (Make sure you take a look at the linked put up for particulars!)

Make the Dressing: add all the poppyseed salad dressing substances to a bowl and whisk effectively to mix or add to a mason jar and shake to combine.

Chop Your Salad Elements: lower up the strawberries, almonds, creamy avocado, and onion. To take the chew out of the purple onion, soak the sliced onion in a bowl of ice water for 5-10 minutes whilst you chop the opposite substances.

Assemble: add the spinach to a big salad bowl and high with the strawberries, avocado, onion, almonds, coconut bacon, and dressing.

Ideas for Making this Straightforward Spinach Salad

• You’ll need to use an avocado that’s nonetheless just a bit bit agency in order that it holds collectively higher on this wholesome salad when sliced. The avocado will brown after slicing, so add it to this salad proper earlier than serving.
• Add the dressing proper earlier than serving! As soon as the dressing is added, the spinach begins to wilt over time, so it’s best so as to add the tangy dressing proper earlier than you eat.
• You’ll have leftover coconut bacon – however it’s so good, you’ll need to apply it to all of your salads any longer! We additionally wish to apply it to these vegan breakfast tacos, vegan nachos, or this vegan broccoli cheddar soup.

What to Serve with Strawberry Spinach Poppyseed Salad

Since this scrumptious strawberry spinach salad doesn’t have a lot protein on it’s personal, you’ll need to serve it alongside a protein and a few carbs to make it a meal. Because it’s the beginning of summer time, we’ve been firing up the grill so I’ll generally have this alongside of a veggie burger or veggie sausage and roasted potato or grilled corn.

Storage and Make Forward

Make Forward: You’ll be able to chop the strawberries and prep the dressing as much as 2-3 days prematurely and retailer in an hermetic container within the fridge till you’re prepared to make use of. You can too make the coconut bacon as much as per week prematurely and retailer in an hermetic container or mason jar within the pantry till prepared to make use of.

Fridge: the assembled salad is finest when loved the identical day you make it. If attainable, retailer the dressing and salad in separate containers. Nevertheless, you’ll be able to retailer any leftovers in an hermetic container for as much as 1 day within the fridge.

Spinach Strawberry Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

Created by: Deborah Murphy

Course Entree, Salad, Facet Dish

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook dinner Time 15 minutes minutes

Whole Time 35 minutes minutes

Savor the flavors of summer time with this vegan strawberry spinach salad with lemon poppyseed dressing and coconut bacon. You’ll need to make it on repeat all summer time!

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Substances  

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Lemon Poppyseed Dressing:

Directions

For the Salad: 

• Add spinach, strawberries, almonds, onion, and bacon to a big salad bowl. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Serve instantly.

Diet

Serving: 1serving | Energy: 290kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 4g | Fats: 25g | Saturated Fats: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 19g | Sodium: 205mg | Fiber: 6.5g | Sugar: 5.5g

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