Fresh Strawberry Spinach Salad (Print)

A vibrant mix of spinach, strawberries, feta, and pecans with tangy poppy seed dressing.

# Components:

→ 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

# Directions:

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 Advice:

01 -
  • It comes together in 15 minutes, which means you can make it while someone's still deciding what to drink.
  • The poppy seed dressing is so much better homemade that you'll never go back to bottled, and it's literally five ingredients.
  • Fresh strawberries and spinach together hit that sweet-savory note that makes people feel like they're eating something fancy when really it's just good ingredients doing their job.
02 -
  • If you dress this salad more than five minutes before eating, the spinach will wilt and the strawberries will weep juice—do yourself a favor and dress it right before the bowl hits the table.
  • Toasting pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat is the move that separates this from every other salad you've made; they'll go from bland to nutty and almost sweet in just a few minutes.
03 -
  • The dressing comes together faster and smoother if you whisk the vinegar and mustard together first, then slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking constantly—it's the old emulsion trick that actually works.
  • Dry your spinach thoroughly after washing; wet greens will dilute the dressing and make everything taste watered down instead of vibrant.
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