Strawberry Spinach Salad

5 from 17 votes

Do yourself a favor and make this strawberry spinach salad the next time youre in the mood for a delicious, nutritious, flavorful, easy salad with fresh strawberries, spinach, red onions, feta, bacon, and candied nuts then is drizzled with a homemade poppy seed dressing.

Prep Time15

Cook Time0

Total Time15

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Author: Tiffany Azure

Ingredients

6 cups baby spinach leaves
1 pound strawberries sliced
¼ red onion thinly sliced
6 bacon strips cooked til crisp and chopped - see note!
⅓ cup feta cheese crumbles

Candied nuts

½ cup pecans or walnuts roughly chopped
¼ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Poppy seed dressing

⅔ cup mayo
½ cup milk see note
6 tablespoons sugar
2 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon oil
4 teaspoons poppy seeds
pinch of salt

Instructions

Prepare the dressing

Combine all dressing ingredients and shake (if in a sealed jar) or whisk vigorously.

Prepare the candied nuts

Place a skillet over medium heat. Add sugar to the pan and stir 3-5 minutes until sugar starts to dissolve. Once dissolved, stir in the chopped nuts til coated. Transfer to a plate to cool and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Assemble salad

In a large bowl or serving platter, combine spinach, strawberries, onions, bacon, and cheese.
Serve salad with prepared dressing. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

For the bacon: If you're like me and love the added crunch and flavor of bacon in your salad but dread the bacon mess and smell in your kitchen, I've got you covered. Spread out 1/3 cup of real bacon bits on a plate lined with a paper towel. Microwave for 20-30 seconds til sizzling. Allow to cool slightly and add to your salad!

The dressing: Higher fat content milk will result in a richer, creamier dressing. You can swap out some of the mayo for Greek Yogurt for higher protein/lower calories - the result will be slightly less rich with a little more tang, still very delicious!

Nutrition