This dairy free spinach strawberry salad is sprinkled with candied pecans and drizzled with poppy seed dressing.
This salad is perfect as both a summer and winter salad.
Its delicate, sweet flavor is perfect for hot summer days.
On the other hand, strawberries and spinach are in season during the winter, making them ideal to eat then.
I would love to tell you the history of strawberry salad and how this recipe was significant in its heyday. However, I can’t find anything on it.
In fact, the first time I had this salad was when I ran the early childhood program at a camp.
(Don’t worry, it was for the kids of staff members.)
As you can imagine, overall, the camp food was bad.
“Bad” isn’t really the right word for it… it was terrible.
Even their fried chicken wasn’t good, and the more people came, the worse the food got.
Generally, I stuck to the salad bar and eating the fresh berries. However, there were a few things I did enjoy that they made.
I loved their ice cream sandwiches given for dessert, the rosemary chicken served Friday nights, and their strawberry salad, which was served as an appetizer to the chicken.
I enjoyed this salad so much, I decided to recreate it for you.
It was served on baby spinach and had a sweet, creamy poppy seed dressing just like this one.
My one variation are the candied pecans (it was a nut free camp), which I think are a nice addition.
Come to think of it, this salad isn’t all that different from my apple spinach salad, which is my go to fall salad.
They are both on a bed of baby spinach and have candied pecans.
However, the strawberries are traded out for apple and cranberries.
Also, instead of poppy seed dressing, there is an apple cider vinaigrette.
Dairy Free Spinach Strawberry Salad
This strawberry salad is served on a bed of baby spinach, sprinkled with candied pecans, and drizzled with poppy seed dressing.
Ingredients
Salad
- 10 ounces fresh baby spinach, washed
- 1 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced (500 grams)
- 3/4 cup candied pecans, roughly chopped
Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Instructions
- Place strawberries on a bed of spinach.
- Put mayonnaise, sugar, water, and apple cider vinegar in a blender. Blend until well incorporated. Mix in poppy seeds.
- Drizzle 1/4 of the dressing over the salad. Toss until evenly coated.
- Sprinkle candied pecans and drizzle about another 1/4 of the dressing onto the salad.
- Serve and set the remaining dressing on the side to add to taste.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 249Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 189mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 3gSugar: 15gProtein: 3g