Fresh Strawberry Spinach Salad (Printable)

Vibrant strawberries, baby spinach, feta, and pecans with tangy poppy seed dressing come together fresh.

# What You Need:

→ Salad

01 - 6 cups baby spinach, washed and dried
02 - 1.5 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
03 - 0.5 small red onion, thinly sliced
04 - 0.33 cup crumbled feta cheese
05 - 0.5 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

→ Poppy Seed Dressing

06 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
07 - 1.5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
08 - 1 tablespoon honey
09 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
10 - 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
11 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

# How To Make It:

01 - In a small bowl or jar, whisk together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, poppy seeds, salt, and pepper until well combined and emulsified. Set aside.
02 - In a large salad bowl, combine baby spinach, sliced strawberries, red onion, crumbled feta, and toasted pecans.
03 - Drizzle the poppy seed dressing over the salad just before serving.
04 - Gently toss to coat all ingredients evenly and serve immediately.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • It actually tastes like summer, not like punishment for eating poorly all week.
  • The whole thing takes fifteen minutes, so you can make it on a random Tuesday without stress.
  • It's the kind of salad that makes people ask for the recipe instead of just picking at it.
02 -
  • Dressing the salad more than five minutes before eating is a mistake you only make once—the spinach starts sweating and the whole thing becomes floppy.
  • Toasting the pecans yourself completely changes the flavor profile, so don't think you can grab them from the back of the pantry where they've been sitting since last fall.
03 -
  • Shaking the dressing in a jar with a tight lid beats whisking it every time because you get better emulsification and it's less dishes to wash.
  • If you're doubling this recipe, don't automatically double the dressing—start with three-quarters of the amount and add more as needed because strawberries release juice as they sit.
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