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This fresh strawberry spinach salad recipe is tossed with creamy avocado, toasted almonds, your choice of cheese and a honey-sweetened poppyseed dressing.
Forever and always one of my favorite salads to make this time of year. ♡
I first shared this strawberry spinach salad recipe here on Gimme Some Oven nearly a decade ago, but it’s one of those classics that I’m certain I will be making for decades and decades to come. Made with loads of fresh strawberries, tender baby spinach, creamy avocado, toasted almonds, paper-thin red onions, crumbled blue cheese (or goat or feta), and my favorite lightly-sweetened honey poppyseed dressing, this salad is always the first recipe I want to make each spring when juicy ripe red strawberries come back in season. And it always tastes like such a treat.
Feel free, of course, to sub in your preferred kind of greens, nuts (or seeds), and cheese. And if you want to add in some protein, grilled chicken, shrimp or bacon are always delicious options.
So grab a pint of the ripe strawberries while they’re in season, and let’s make this gorgeous salad together!
Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Strawberry Salad and Poppyseed Dressing Ingredients
Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few notes about the ingredients you will need to make this strawberry salad recipe and poppyseed dressing…
Greens: I typically use baby spinach or a spring green mix for this strawberry salad, but feel free to use whatever salad greens you love best.
Strawberries: Look for fresh strawberries that are as ripe as possible.
Avocado: Sliced or diced avocado add a delicious extra bit of creaminess to this salad.
Crumbled cheese: We’re partial to using crumbled blue cheese or goat cheese in this salad, but feta or burrata would be delicious options too.
Sliced almonds: Definitely recommend lightly toasting the almonds before adding them to the salad, to bring out their best flavor.
Red onion: I recommend slicing the onion paper-thin. If you prefer a milder onion flavor, just rinse the sliced onion briefly in cold water before adding it to the salad.
Poppyseed dressing: My favorite poppyseed dressing recipe is made simply with avocado oil (or olive oil), red wine vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, Dijon, salt and pepper.
Recipe Variations
Here are a few ideas for different ways to customize this strawberry salad if you’d like…
Use different fruit: This salad also tastes wonderful using fresh blueberries, cherries, peaches, pears or pomegranate arils in place of (or mixed with) the strawberries.
Use different nuts/seeds: Pistachios, walnuts, pecans (or candied pecans), pepitas or sunflower seeds would all be delicious alternatives to almonds.
Add fennel: I also love adding some super-thinly sliced fennel to this salad.
Make it vegan: Use your favorite vegan cheese or omit the cheese entirely to make this a vegan strawberry salad.
More Green Salad Recipes
Looking for more fruit-forward green salad recipes to try? Here are a few of my faves!
This delicious Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad is quick and easy to make, full of great fresh flavors, and tossed with a simple poppyseed dressing.
Ingredients
Scale
Salad Ingredients:
6 cups fresh baby spinach
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese (or goat cheese or feta)
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
half a small red onion, thinly sliced
Poppyseed Dressing Ingredients:
1/3 cup avocado oil (or olive oil)
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
Instructions
Make the dressing. Whisk all ingredients together vigorously in a small bowl (or shake in a covered jar) until emulsified. Taste and season with a pinch of salt and a few twists of pepper, as needed.
Toss the salad. Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle evenly with the dressing then gently toss until combined.
The blue cheese and roasted almonds really embellish this dish – everyone loved it! Thanks For such a nice post.
Kat —
I only had sherry vinegar, and it was delightful. If the measuring container for the honey is wiped with oil first all of the honey will slid out easily.
It’s best to serve this in individual salad plates placing the spinach first and then layering the rest of the ingredients on top instead of tossing the salad. If tossed the strawberries and avocado fall to the bottom and are hard to distribute. Also if there are leftovers everything becomes soggy.
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This type of salad was very in vogue in the 90s – glad to see it back. My aunt made a similar one but with canned drained mandarins instead of strawberries, using some of the oranges’ juice in the dressing. Yum!
Hi, Ali! This salad is more of a treat for me than a simple meal. I’m a sweet tooth so I added more honey into the dressing. I also wanted to make it heavy, so I added some walnuts and lightly seasoned shrimp. Thank you for sharing this!
I love this recipe so much. I’ve made it a few times since I’ve found it, and I’ve switched it up in a few ways as well. I’ve sent it to friends, if a major hit. And I’m not usually someone who follows a recipe. Way to go!
Delicious salad! I made this for a bbq on the 4th, and it was the first salad gone. I used goat cheese instead for feta/blue, and candied walnuts in place of the almonds. Making again for dinner tonight! Thanks for another great recipe!
I love this recipe so much! I made this for a “friend’s thanksgiving” potluck, and someone made fun of me when I took out tubs of spinach to make the salad – WHO BRINGS SPINACH to a party with all this good food – HA! Not a bit of the salad left!!! Whenever I ask my family what to bring to a special dinner – this is what they request.
I make it with an older version of the salad dressing (Apple Cider Vinegar and mustard powder) also delicious!
I loved this recipe and so did everyone at my table. My mother who is a okay eater asked for seconds. Not a usual thing to happen buy does every now and then. Will be making it more often.
Hey Girl! That was SOOOO good!! I “veganized” it with some vegan feta & I didn’t have red wine vinegar so I used about 1 1/2 Tbls rice wine vinegar…but, dang, that was so yummy! Definitely going to go into the regular circulation and is qualified to be served to guests. Many thanks!
This is the very first recipe I made from this blog, and I was instantly hooked. I have made it at least a dozen times and just made it for tonight’s dinner. Sometimes when I don’t have avocado on hand I toss in grilled pieces of chicken. Delish! It is because of this recipe I got hooked on Ali’s blog and I check it regularly for new recipes.
Just wow. This is a showstopper salad. I blended the avocado into the dressing so that it would last longer stored separate from the rest of the salad. Mine is a bit on the sweet side, but it’s my fault cause I only had honey Dijon and honey roasted almonds. Still, it’s incredible.
We (quite literally) obsess over this salad! If I can find a salad that my husband, not only returns for seconds but also talks about the next day (!!) it’s a WINNER. It’s now a staple in our Spring/Summer menu rotation.
The blue cheese and roasted almonds really embellish this dish – everyone loved it! Thanks For such a nice post.
I only had sherry vinegar, and it was delightful. If the measuring container for the honey is wiped with oil first all of the honey will slid out easily.
It’s best to serve this in individual salad plates placing the spinach first and then layering the rest of the ingredients on top instead of tossing the salad. If tossed the strawberries and avocado fall to the bottom and are hard to distribute. Also if there are leftovers everything becomes soggy.
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Absolutely delicious! I love a good salad recipe. Thanks so much! I’ll definitely make this one again.
Easy, cheap, and yummy. Thanks
Can I use walnuts or pecans?
This is one of my favorite salad recipes.
We are very close to local strawberries.
So refreshing!!!
Love it
Do you know how many calories a serving of this salad with dressing would amount to?
This recipe was delicious! I used goat cheese, honey roasted sliced almonds and bottled dressing to save time.
This type of salad was very in vogue in the 90s – glad to see it back. My aunt made a similar one but with canned drained mandarins instead of strawberries, using some of the oranges’ juice in the dressing. Yum!
Absolutely delicious! I could eat this everyday. Made without blue cheese or avocado for a lighter option and it was still amazing. 5 stars for sure!
Hi, Ali! This salad is more of a treat for me than a simple meal. I’m a sweet tooth so I added more honey into the dressing. I also wanted to make it heavy, so I added some walnuts and lightly seasoned shrimp. Thank you for sharing this!
Wow. This was amazing. I could eat this every day!! And my fruits and veggie loving kids loved it too!
I love this recipe so much. I’ve made it a few times since I’ve found it, and I’ve switched it up in a few ways as well. I’ve sent it to friends, if a major hit. And I’m not usually someone who follows a recipe. Way to go!
Delicious salad! I made this for a bbq on the 4th, and it was the first salad gone. I used goat cheese instead for feta/blue, and candied walnuts in place of the almonds. Making again for dinner tonight! Thanks for another great recipe!
I love this recipe so much! I made this for a “friend’s thanksgiving” potluck, and someone made fun of me when I took out tubs of spinach to make the salad – WHO BRINGS SPINACH to a party with all this good food – HA! Not a bit of the salad left!!! Whenever I ask my family what to bring to a special dinner – this is what they request.
I make it with an older version of the salad dressing (Apple Cider Vinegar and mustard powder) also delicious!
Made this for my family to go along with Cod. Everyone loved it and went back for seconds.
I loved this recipe and so did everyone at my table. My mother who is a okay eater asked for seconds. Not a usual thing to happen buy does every now and then. Will be making it more often.
My husband and I devoured the whole (4-serving) salad! My husband said, I wish all salads were this delicious!
Thank you for the 2x and 3x portion options to print. That is so helpful!
Also loooove this salad.
Hey Girl! That was SOOOO good!! I “veganized” it with some vegan feta & I didn’t have red wine vinegar so I used about 1 1/2 Tbls rice wine vinegar…but, dang, that was so yummy! Definitely going to go into the regular circulation and is qualified to be served to guests. Many thanks!
This is the very first recipe I made from this blog, and I was instantly hooked. I have made it at least a dozen times and just made it for tonight’s dinner. Sometimes when I don’t have avocado on hand I toss in grilled pieces of chicken. Delish! It is because of this recipe I got hooked on Ali’s blog and I check it regularly for new recipes.
Very good
Just wow. This is a showstopper salad. I blended the avocado into the dressing so that it would last longer stored separate from the rest of the salad. Mine is a bit on the sweet side, but it’s my fault cause I only had honey Dijon and honey roasted almonds. Still, it’s incredible.
We (quite literally) obsess over this salad! If I can find a salad that my husband, not only returns for seconds but also talks about the next day (!!) it’s a WINNER. It’s now a staple in our Spring/Summer menu rotation.