BERRY SPINACH SALAD

Berry Spinach Salad with homemade poppy seed dressing is the perfect side dish for any meal, especially during the summertime! This easy spinach salad recipe is packed with amazing strawberries, raspberries and candied almonds or pecans.

Make this spinach strawberry salad on warm summer nights, no need to heat up the house to enjoy a delicious dish. The homemade raspberry poppy seed dressing for spinach salad is especially yummy!

Summer Berry Spinach Salad

Berry Spinach Salad is one of my all time favorite summer salads. I love the warmer temperatures, but today it was almost 100 degrees here, and that was a little too high for me. When temperatures reach that high, all I want to eat is fruit and salads, and this spinach and berry salad is one of my favorite go-to recipes.

While this salad is a wonderful addition to any table, spinach and raspberry salad is great any time of the year. Whenever you find a ripe raspberry bush or your grocery store has a sale, buy some berries and enjoy the taste of summer, even in the winter. This salad could be a great way to brighten up your day!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s quick and easy! It’s very simple, so you can easily throw it together in just a few minutes. Whip up this refreshing side dish any time of day too.
• You can use store bought dressing instead. Although I love this homemade Raspberry Poppy Seed Dressing, I have used a store-bought version as well. Either option tastes great!
• It is healthy! With iron, vitamins, protein, fruits, and veggies in every bite, this salad is a wonderful and healthy addition to your diet!

Berry Spinach Salad Ingredients

For the salad, you will need the following:

Spinach: You will need 8 cups of spinach as the base of the salad. You can also add in some romaine or other types of lettuce for variety if you’d like.

Raspberries: Using 1 cup of raspberries is great, but feel free to use more if desired.

Strawberries: You’ll want at least 1 cup of fresh sliced strawberries for this salad, but more is okay too!

Almonds: For added crunch, we like to use 1 cup of candied almonds, but pecans or walnuts also work well too.

For the Raspberry Poppy Seed Dressing, you will need the following:

Rice vinegar: The base of this dressing is ½ cup of rice vinegar. This will give it an acidic taste like a typical vinaigrette.

Oil: Use ½ cup of oil (like olive oil) to make the dressing more palatable.

Sugar: You will need ½ cup of granulated sugar. This will cut down on the acidic tanginess but leave the flavor.

Poppy seeds: Adding in 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds will ensure there is plenty to enjoy.

Raspberry jam: For a raspberry taste, adding in 2 teaspoons of raspberry jam really works perfectly.

How to make Berry Spinach Salad

Candied Almonds (if not purchased this way)

To candy the almonds, just place 1 cup of sliced almonds and 6 tablespoons of sugar in a medium saucepan.

Stir over medium-high heat just until the sugar has completely dissolved, and then immediately remove from heat.

Then place the almonds in a single layer on wax paper to cool for 30-40 minutes.

Make Dressing

To make the dressing, combine the rice vinegar, oil, sugar, poppy seeds and raspberry jam, stir well to combine. If you have a blender bottle, this is a great tool to use as you can shake it all together and pour from it as well.

Place the dressing in the refrigerator to chill, until ready to serve.

Assemble Salad

In a large bowl, assemble and combine the salad ingredients. If needed, wash and pat dry the spinach leaves. Then, rinse the raspberries and add to the bowl.

Next, wash and dice the strawberries into quarters, transfer them to the salad bowl as well.

Now, add the candied nuts on top and toss salad a bit to combine.

I like to serve my dressing on the side so that you can add as much as you like, but you could go ahead and add to the salad right before serving if desired.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

What other fruits work well with berry spinach salad?

This salad is very versatile and could work great with just about any fruit or berries. We love to switch it up or add in fruits like mandarin oranges, blackberries, blueberries, and even kiwi! The more fruit, the better!

How long is berry spinach salad good for?

This salad can be prepped up to 2 days in advance in the fridge if you keep the salad dressing off. Instead, store the salad dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 or 5 days. Add it to your salad just before serving to prevent the salad from wilting or getting soggy before it’s eaten.

Check out these other great salad recipes!

• RASPBERRY POPPY SEED BACON CHICKEN SALAD
• GARDEN VEGETABLE CAPRESE SALAD
• STRAWBERRY FLUFF SALADEASY MANGO FRUIT SALAD
• GREEK QUINOA SALAD
• COLD CHICKEN PASTA SALAD WITH MAYO
• BLT PASTA SALAD
• EASY SUMMER CORN SALAD
• LEMON CAESAR SALAD
• MANDARIN ORANGE SALAD
• FRITO CORN SALAD
• SPINACH CHICKEN PASTA SALAD

Berry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed dressing is an incredible dish to serve with any meal, especially during the summertime! This easy spinach salad recipe is loaded with wonderful flavors, the almonds and berries are a fantastic texture combination.