I recently attended my niece Kayla’s wedding. Everything was just perfect including this amazing strawberry spinach salad with a strawberry vinaigrette that was served at her reception. I couldn’t wait to try and recreate it. In addition to the flavor, I was so impressed by the presentation. The dish showcased each ingredient so you knew exactly what was in this Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette.
This salad would be another great salad to take to a get-together or a ladies brunch because it can be assembled easily at the last minute. The dressing is best made ahead of time so the flavors can mingle and get to know each other. For this reason, I made the vinaigrette first so it could chill while I constructed the salad.
I have determined that I am a strawberry snob. I am not proud of this, but it’s the truth. I had two pounds of strawberries, and I put the pretty ones on one side of my cutting board for slicing, and the large or very ripe berries on the other side for my vinaigrette.
I purposely left my strawberry huller in this picture. It does a great job removing the hull from strawberries. I also use it to remove the seeds and ribs from jalapenos.
In a blender, add one pound of the berries, 1/2 cup of canola oil, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/3 cup of honey, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, juice from 1/2 lemon (approximately 1 tablespoon), 1 tablespoon poppy seeds, and 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard. I added my oil first and used the same measuring cup for my honey so the honey would slide right out. Blend until completely combined. Refrigerate until serving. Shake lightly prior to use. You could use another oil or vinegar, but I really wanted to keep this light.
For the salad, I washed and spun dry one bag of organic baby spinach. You can use a lot more than one bag (I used a 6 oz bag) because the dressing recipe makes quite a bit. Just increase the other salad ingredients as well. I removed the stems if they were thick or too long. Even if the salad I buy says it’s triple washed and ready to eat, I wash it anyway. I am very careful when it comes to food and hygiene.
Construct the salad by laying down the baby spinach on a platter or in a large bowl. Add 1 cup of crumbled feta, 1 cup of candied pecans, roughly chopped, and 1 pound of strawberries sliced into thirds. You can mix it all together or build it out visually like I did. I don’t pre-dress this salad prior to serving. I have made candied nuts before, but I took the easy way out and bought a package at Trader Joes.
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
Notes
1 cup feta, crumbled
1 cup candied pecans, roughly chopped
1 lb of strawberries, sliced in thirds Salad can be tossed all together or built on a platter showcasing each ingredient. Dress salads individually. Recipe provided by HostessAtHeart
Strawberry Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Canola Oil
- 1/3 cup Honey
- 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/2 Lemon Juiced
- 1 lb Strawberries
Notes
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 lb fresh strawberries
1/2 lemon juiced Instructions:
Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend until thoroughly mixed. Refrigerate until serving. Shake prior to use. Recipe provided by HostessAtHeart
Nutrition
Linked to Fiesta Friday at The Novice Gardner
Oh WOW I can not wait to make this dressing. Looks so …YUMMY!!! Please check out my blog, I post a new recipe on Tuesdays.
Yum – love the vinaigrette!! Never thought of adding fresh fruits to a vinaigrette, I would usually use the special fruit vinegars to make fruity vinaigrettes – I bet this tastes much better too! Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe!
Thank you so much for visiting Sylvia! It doesn’t last as long as a traditional vinaigrette, but delicious!
Looks delicious, I love fruit dressings, perfect salad for the summer, thanks for sharing your recipe:)
Thank you Lily!
This is always a good salad with strawberries, spinach and candied nuts. I like your vinaigrette 🙂
Thank you! It makes enough to feed a small army!
I wish I were having this for lunch today, this looks wonderful!
Thank you so much for visiting! I hope you will let me know how you like it if you give it a try.
Strawberry and do nach salad looks so refreshing
Thank you so much for visiting! I look forward to visiting your blog as well!
I love fruit in salad. Funnily enough, I photographed a salad a couple of days ago and it includes pecan nuts too. Delicious!
Happy Fiesta Friday.
What a delightful salad! All the flavours would be good individually, but I can also imagine how well they go together with the strawberry vinaigrette. I’m saving this recipe for picnics and summer dinner parties!! I can see this week’s FF crowd loved this salad as well, I hope you are enjoying the party!!
Thank you so much for hosting and your kind comments! I am loving FF! I’ve seen recipes that are so amazing, and met some of the greatest people!
happy Fiesta Friday:-)..
i loved the salad & vinaigrette…thanks for bringing it to the party…
really happy to meet you…so yummy blog..
Thank you so much for visiting!
You are welcome
Beautiful shot, Julie! Your salad is perfect for summer and the 106 degree weather here in CA! 🙂
Thanks! 106 yikes! It’s been a cool summer here. I have yet to get a ripe tomato 🙁
This is such an elegant summer salad Julie! Perfect for a wedding or a Fiesta! I love how the salad ingredients are arranged (reminiscent of an Old Master’s still life painting) and your pretty dressing in the decanter looks divine – the way of tying it all in together. Thanks so very much for bringing such a beautiful dish to Fiesta Friday this week – it’s much appreciated! Cheers, Margot
I am also a painter and thought it looked like a still life. Thank you for such kind comments!
strawberry’s and spinach? now THAT is new to me! Cool!
So good for a summer day! Thank you for visiting!
Strawberry spinach salad is one of my favorites! (I’d just have to leave out the feta- not a fan lol) Happy Fiesta Friday 🙂
I will leave it off once in a while so I can lighten it up even more! Thanks Jess!
Thank you so much Patti! I appreciate the visit and the comment!
That’s a beautiful salad. Nicely photographed, too.
Oh how nice, I am in the process of posting my spinach and strawberry salad right now, almost similar except for the vinaigrette. The salad looks amazing!
That’s great Liz! I know when I get ready to make something that sounds good I will read several versions of a similar dish and put them together the way I want. I am sure that our friends will do the same thing. Plus, there will be people that see yours and not mine and vice versa, so please put it out there.
Thank you for the compliment! It was delicious even messed up in a salad bowl 🙂
OK, that is a healthy winner. I love spinach and fruit on salads.
Yep! And I have a couple more up my sleeve. They taste so good that it doesn’t feel like your missing a thing!
The salad looks wonderful, and so does that vinaigrette!
Thank you Nancy! It really did turn out well!
It all looks amazing! Now, let’s see who dares to ruin your masterpiece! 🙂
I DID! I’ve eaten it everyday this week lol!
Oh, noooo……. 🙂
..and a rosé from Navarre?!
Perfect! Thank you for the suggestion!