The Best Strawberry Spinach Salad EVER

4.83 from 51 votes

The Best Strawberry Spinach Salad EVER

My favorite strawberry spinach salad hits sweet, salty, and crunchy in every bite. Juicy strawberries, tender baby spinach, salty feta cheese, and crisp candied pecans tossed in an easy scratch-made lemon poppy seed dressing. It's the spring and summer salad salad haters will actually go back for!

Prep Time10

Total Time10

Course: Side Dishes

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 273kcal

Author: Eden Westbrook

Equipment

Cuisinart Salad Spinner, Green and White

Ingredients

Lemon Poppy Seed Citronette Dressing

⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil or grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon honey clover, orange blossom, or wildflower preferred
¾ teaspoon poppy seeds
¾ teaspoon dijon mustard
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1½ lemons
¾ teaspoon kosher salt

Strawberry Spinach Salad

8 oz fresh baby spinach washed and dried well
1 pinch kosher salt
8 oz fresh strawberries sliced
5 oz feta cheese crumbled
¾ cup candied pecans or nuts

Instructions

Make the Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

In a medium-sized bowl, add in the olive oil, honey, poppy seeds, Dijon mustard, fresh lemon zest, fresh lemon juice, and kosher salt. Whisk vigorously until well combined and emulsified, then allow flavors to meld at room temperature for at least a few minutes.
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon honey, ¾ teaspoon poppy seeds, ¾ teaspoon dijon mustard, Zest of 1 lemon, Juice of 1½ lemons, ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

Assemble the Salad

In a large serving bowl, toss the clean spinach, pinch of salt, strawberry slices, the candied nuts, and feta cheese together.
8 oz fresh baby spinach, 1 pinch kosher salt, 8 oz fresh strawberries, 5 oz feta cheese, ¾ cup candied pecans or nuts
Serve with the lemon poppyseed dressing, but don't dress it until ready to serve. I actually prefer to serve with little bowls of dressing so everyone can serve themselves the amount they like.

Notes

This recipe makes 4 generous side salad servings or 6 lighter servings.

Make Ahead and Storing Instructions

Make Ahead. Dress the salad just before serving. Do not dress the entire salad if it won't be eaten right away, the salad will wilt.

Store. Store any leftover salad, undressed in the citronette, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Refrigerate any leftover lemon poppyseed dressing in a separate container for up to 5 days, then shake before pouring onto the salad.

Nutrition