Strawberry Feta Spinach Salad

Berry Salad with Creamy Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing bursting with fresh berries and adorned with CANDIED pistachios and feta is so easy, delicious and beautiful for company!

This Berry Salad is summer in a bowl.  It’s bright and refreshing, requires hardly any chopping and all the ingredients can be prepped ahead of time for an easy, stress-free potluck salad side.  You can customize the Berry Salad with your favorite ingredients or whatever you have in your garden!

BERRY SALAD RECIPE VIDEO

Spinach Berry Salad Recipe

This isn’t just any Berry Salad, this Berry Salad recipe is is loaded with candied pistachios, creamy feta and a silky Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing!  Because in my opinion, every salad needs cheese and nuts and the best dressing in order to be extraordinary.  And we only aim for extraordinary here at Carlsbad Cravings. 

The salted, roasted, candied pistachios and the creamy, salty feta are the crowning jewels in the strawberry feta spinach salad that perfectly balance the the sweet enveloping creamy Poppy Seed Dressing.  

If a salad is only as good as its dressing – then this Berry Salad is deeeevine.  This Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing is deceptively simple, velvety, smooth, and sweet speckled with poppy seeds and sesame seeds.  It starts with a base of strawberry yogurt, which you blend with sour cream and mayo, cider vinegar, sugar, dried onions, poppy seeds and sesame seeds.

Refreshing Berry Salad with Creamy Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing so you can taste the best of summer in every forkful.

 

Strawberry Feta Salad Ingredients

This strawberry spinach salad with poppy seed dressing is a cinch to make! Here’s what you’ll need to make the salad itself as well as the strawberry spinach salad dressing:

• Spinach: I used baby spinach, but any variety will work.
• Berries: I used a blend of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.
• Red onion: Slice it very thinly so you don’t chomp down on a big piece.
• Apple: You can use any variety of sweet apple you’d like.
• Kiwi: An optional add in, but I love the flavor and texture it adds to this strawberry feta salad.
• Strawberry yogurt: I used regular, full-sugar strawberry yogurt. Use any kind you’d like.
• Mayonnaise: Provides the creamy base of the dressing and binds all of the ingredients together.
• Sour cream: I prefer sour cream in this strawberry poppyseed dressing recipe but Greek yogurt works well because we are making a tangy dressing. 
• Milk: You need just a splash to thin out the strawberry poppyseed dressing.
• Sugar: I add a few tablespoons to the dressing to balance out the tangy sour cream and vinegar.
• Apple cider vinegar: You need some vinegar to cut through the creamy dressing.
• Poppyseeds: A must in any poppyseed dressing recipe.
• Sesame seeds: Adds extra flavor and texture to the dressing.
• Feta cheese: You can buy feta cheese in a block or pre-crumbled. Either works!
• Caramelized nuts: I use my 5 Minute Caramelized Nuts Recipe for the caramelized pistachios — so — you guessed it – they only take 5 minutes and are so worth it. 

How to make Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

1. Caramelize the nuts according to recipe instructions (linked below).
2. Add all of the strawberry poppyseed dressing ingredients (EXCEPT the poppy seeds and sesame seeds) to your blender; blend until smooth. 
3. Add poppy seeds and sesame seeds and pulse until combined. 
4. Assemble the strawberry feta spinach salad and drizzle with dressing!

Can I Prep Spinach Berry Salad in Advance?

Yes, you can prep individual components of this salad in advance and then assemble it when you’re ready to eat.

• Fruit and veggies. You can slice the onion, apple, and kiwi ahead of time. Store in separate containers until ready to use.
• Dressing. Blend up the strawberry poppyseed dressing and store in the fridge up to 5 days before using it.
• Nuts. You can prep the nuts days in advance so you can have them all ready to go and are never tempted to skip this crowning jewel.

Recipe Tips

• The caramelized nuts recipe is for 1 cup nuts. You can prepare 1 whole cup (because you will eat them!) or simply halve all the ingredients.
• You can swap out the strawberries for raspberries to make this a winter in season salad too!
• You can prep the dressing days in advance and store in an airtight container until you’re ready to dress your salad.

Variations of Strawberry Poppyseed Salad

• Make it tangier. You can customize the dressing to make it tangier by adding more vinegar.
• Make it sweeter. Add more sugar to the strawberry poppyseed dressing.
• Use different nuts. You can substitute the pistachios for caramelized almonds or walnuts as well. 
• Skip caramelizing the nuts. If you are running short on time, you can skip the caramelizing of the nuts altogether and just use plain nuts, but you will also be skipping out on some serious YUM. 

Serving Strawberry Feta Spinach Salad

This feta strawberry spinach salad recipe pairs well with pretty much any summer main dish. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• POTLUCK MAIN DISHES. Apricot Steak, Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Honey Mustard Chicken, Crockpot BBQ Chicken or Oven/Grill Barbecue Chicken,  BBQ Ribs and BBQ Beef Brisket.
• SANDWICHES & BURGERS: BBQ Beef Brisket Sandwiches Philly Cheesecake Sandwiches, French Dip Sandwiches,  Italian Beef Sandwiches, BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Best Burgers and BBQ Bacon Burgers.
• PASTA. Avocado Pasta, Caprese Chicken Pasta, Pea and Bacon Pasta, Skinny Chicken Parmesan, and Spinach Pasta.

Storing Strawberry Salad with Poppyseed Dressing

This strawberry salad with poppy seed dressing will last approximately 3 days in the refrigerator IF you don’t add the dressing directly to the salad. If you combine the salad and dressing before storing it in the fridge, it’ll become soggy. If you plan on storing leftovers, hold the dressing, fruit and the veggies and store in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator. 

LOOKING FOR MORE SUMMER SALAD RECIPES?

• Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad wit Italian Dressing
• Strawberry Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Berry Fruit Salad in Honey Mascarpone
• Pina Colada Fruit Salad
• Strawberry Melon Fruit Salad
• Strawberry Broccoli Salad with Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
• Steak Salad
• Crunchy Asian Salad
• Creamy Cucumber Salad
• Italian Pasta Salad with Tortellini
• Grape Salad with Vanilla Yogurt Dressing
• Southwest Pepper Jack Salad with Creamy Avocado Salsa Dressing

WANT TO TRY THIS BERRY SALAD RECIPE?

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©Carlsbad Cravings by CarlsbadCravings.com

Tools Used in This Recipe

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Mason Jars

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Salad Spinner

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Kitchen Knife Set

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Teak Wood Cutting Board

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Nonstick Fry Pan with Lid 12 in.

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Spinach Berry Salad

Berry Salad with Creamy Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing bursting with fresh berries and adorned with CANDIED pistachios and feta is so easy, delicious and beautiful for company, it is sure to become a new favorite!

Servings: 6

Total Time: 20 minutes mins

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 5 minutes mins

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Ingredients

Berry Spinach Salad

• 10 cups baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 cup strawberries sliced**
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup raspberries
• 1/2 red onion thinly sliced then quartered
• 1 sweet apple chopped or thinly sliced
• 1 Kiwi peeled, sliced and quartered (optional)

Creamy Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing

• 5.3 oz container strawberry yogurt
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsps sour cream
• 2 Tbsps milk
• 3 Tbsps sugar
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
• 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp dry minced onion flakes (optional)

Garnishes

• 1/2 Recipe Caramelized roasted and salted pistachios
• 1/3 cup feta cheese crumbles

Instructions

• Caramelize pistachios according to directions. Set aside.*
• Add all of the Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing Ingredients (EXCEPT the poppy seeds and sesame seeds) to your blender; blend until smooth. Add poppy seeds and sesame seeds and pulse until combined. For a tangier dressing, add more vinegar, for sweeter, add more sugar. Add additional milk to thin if desired. Store in the refrigerator while you prepare salad.
• Combine Spinach Salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. If serving entire salad immediately, drizzle with desired amount of dressing and toss to coat. If there might be leftovers, drizzle dressing on individual salad servings. Season with freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.

Video

Notes

Don’t miss the “how to make” recipe video at the top of the post!

*The Caramelized Nuts recipe is for 1 cup nuts. You can prepare 1 whole cup (because you will eat them!) or simply half all the ingredients. **You can swap out the strawberries for raspberries to make this a winter in season salad too!

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