Sweet and tangy strawberry spinach pasta salad with orange poppyseed dressing with pineapple, cashews, and tart cranberries is the perfect potluck side dish for every get together.
Need to change up your potluck game? Try this Mandarin Pasta Spinach Salad with Teriyaki Dressing, Pesto Chicken Pasta Salad, Strawberry Avocado Chicken Pasta Salad, and Greek Tortellini Pasta Salad.
I’m admitting it here and now, I have a pasta salad obsession.
Maybe it’s the fact that it’s been over a hundred degrees consistently this month and I have a hard time turning on the oven in these kinds of conditions, maybe it’s just that I I like the idea of taking lettuce, adding pasta and fruit or veggies, a handful of goodies like nuts and dried berries or cheese, and calling it a salad.
Whatever it is, I can’t get enough of this side dish/main dish/9pm leftovers snack.
For Memorial Day my family got together for a big barbecue to kick off Summer and my mother’s good friend Penny contributed a pasta salad to the plethora of potluck goodness. It had dried berries and spinach and penne noodles, along with pineapple, strawberries, and some kind of orange poppy seed dressing.
You see where I’m going with this.
I ate it. I love it. I had to recreate it for myself.
So this is my simplified version of that BOMB pasta salad. She actually added shredded chicken to her salad and I thought that was brilliant so if you’ve got some leftover chicken in the fridge or maybe some rotisserie chicken begging to be used up, put it in this salad. You will not regret it.
And feel free to customize this recipe, it’s very forgiving. Swap out the pineapple for mandarin oranges, or add dried blueberries or cherries instead of the cranberries. Don’t limit yourself to cashews if you prefer walnuts or pecans – go where your pantry takes you!
I like to use fresh-squeezed orange juice for the dressing but you can absolutely use that carton of OJ you’ve been reaching for at breakfast each morning.
If you want to make this salad ahead of time (more than one hour ahead) I would recommend waiting to add the dressing until just before serving. Just keep it in a covered jar until ready to serve, then toss and enjoy!
What people are saying about this Strawberry Spinach Pasta Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing
“Made this salad for a family reunion this weekend and it was a huge hit with kids and adults alike. Cool, refreshing with a great combination of flavors.” – Becky
“My favorite salad!!! Love this poppy seed dressing.” – Iona
“Thanks for a great recipe! I made extra of the salad dressing and used it as a marinade for grilled chicken breasts. This is definitely a keeper!!” – Becky
Strawberry Spinach Pasta Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
- 8 ounces penne noodles - cooked according to package directions
- 2 cups packed fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- ¼ cup dried cranberries - or dried blueberries
- ½ cup salted cashews - or other nut like pecans or walnuts
Orange Poppyseed Dressing
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons honey
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- optional: pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar, cover, and shake well. Set aside.
- Combine penne, spinach, strawberries, pineapple, cranberries, and cashews in a large bowl and toss with the prepared dressing.
- Serve immediately or cover and chill for 1 hour before serving.
Could I substitute avocado oil for the extra virgin olive oil?
Hi LaWanda – You could definitely substitute avocado oil – you might have a slight change in the flavor of the dressing however. Let me know how it goes!
Can you list the calories?
If making ahead, should i regrigerate the dressing
Hi JOAnna – Yes, I would recommend refrigerating the dressing if preparing in advance.
Thinking of buying dressing instead… anyone else do That and Still love it?
The brand Annie’s organics makes a really good LIght poppyseed dressing.
perfect potluck side dish!
My favorite salad. Love this poppyseed dressing.
Will definitely add some duced cooked chicken to make acrounded meal too.
Can you double this for a crowd ?
Just by FOllowing the reCipe times two?
Hi Erin – you can definitely double the recipe by doubling each item in the recipe.
Is there a salad dressing with close to the same flavors AS this dressing. I’m allergic to poppy seeds.
If you left out the poppy seeds it would still be super delicious!
Delicious suas receitas
Making this tonight. My husband just came home from the hospital and is low on iron. Thought this would be a tasty way to “sneak” in some spinach as he isn’t a big vegetable lover.
This is a delicious salad!!!! It is now a family favorite!
LOOKS DELICIOUS! WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THIS RECIPE, SO THEN I COULD SHARE IT TO MY FACEBOOK PAGE.
I love your recipe videos ! My only suggestion would be to list the nutritional value after the recipe.
Great salad!! I used the whole box of pasta-16oz instead of just 8oz the recipe calls for. I had plenty of dressing to coat it all. Wonderful flavors! I’m not a fan on nuts in my salads so I left them out and had some goat cheese I really needed to use up so I crumbled that on top.
This recipe’s a keeper for me!
this looks like a great summer salad. Anyone ever tried making it more “fallish” by substituting apples for the strawberries and/or spaghetti squash for the pasta?