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Strawberry Pecan Salad

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This incredibly refreshing Strawberry Pecan Salad is insanely delicious. Every bite is filled with fresh, juicy strawberries, blueberries, cucumbers, red onions, arugula, spinach, goat cheese, pecans, and is perfect drizzled in homemade strawberry poppy seed dressing.

summer strawberry salad in a white bowl

Strawberry Pecan Salad

This strawberry salad with poppyseed dressing is a go-to fresh recipe. You won’t believe how amazing all the fresh ingredients are. You can feel great about munching on this summer strawberry salad.

There is something that always makes my heart skip a beat when I eat anything with strawberries and goat cheese. The combination is sweet and tangy all at the same time. If you have never eaten goat cheese before, don’t worry, it’s amazing! Give it a try.

Craving more recipes with fresh produce? Try my Zesty Italian Pasta Salad, Broccoli Salad, and Pineapple Jalapeno Salsa.

Why You’ll Love Strawberry Pecan Salad

  • 10 Minute Recipe
  • Made with fresh produce
  • Healthy
  • Delicious
  • Super Simple
  • Great for parties and entertaining
ingredients to make strawberry pecan salad

How To Make Summer Strawberry Salad

Step 1: Prepare strawberry poppy seed dressing

Start by preparing the dressing. Add the strawberries, freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest, apple cider vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and poppy seeds to a blender.

ingredients to make strawberry poppy seed dressing

Step 2: Assemble salad

Place the spring mix lettuce and place it in a large bowl. Add the chopped strawberries, blueberries, thinly sliced onions, cucumber, and pecans on top of the lettuce and stir. Sprinkle the goat cheese on top of the entire salad.

strawberry poppy seed dressing dripping off of spoon

Step 3: Add dressing

Drizzle with the homemade strawberry poppy seed dressing. Dig in and enjoy!

white bowl with strawberry salad

Is This Salad Healthy?

Of course! This is one of the most healthy quick and easy salads ever. The only portion of the salad that is questionable is the sugar in the salad dressing. I will discuss this a little bit more later.

Let’s talk about the nutrients you get in this incredible salad. Vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, manganese, potassium, riboflavin, calcium, iron, zinc can all be found. I could go on and on about the nutrients, but I won’t bore you!

What Can I Substitute For Sugar In The Salad Dressing?

This homemade strawberry salad dressing is really sweet and delightful. I used 1/4 cup of sugar in this dressing. Because the strawberries are naturally sweet, you can omit the sugar completely if you want. This will give you a lovely taste and will still be slightly sweet. And if you don’t want to omit it completely, you could add one tablespoon instead, and it will add some more sweetness without being too much.

If you have a sweet tooth as I do, then you can always use your favorite sugar substitute. I recommend playing around with the summer dressing until it’s the flavor you enjoy. Once you are happy, that’s all that matters.

Variations

As with many of my recipes, you can swap out ingredients or comletely omit some of them. It’s versatile and easy to adjust. Here are a few of my favorite ideas that we do from time to time.

  • Feta Cheese – If you don’t have goat cheese or just don’t prefer it, you can swap it for feta. Feta is a great option and is delicious too.
  • Balsamic Dressing – While I greatly enjoy strawberry dressing, you could exchange it for your favorite balsamic dressing. It’s mouthwatering both ways!
  • White Vinegar – I use apple cider vinegar for all sorts of recipes and love it in this dressing recipe. However, you could use white vinegar if you wanted. They both give you a zesty flavor.
  • Lime – Sometimes, when I am feeling a little playful, I will exchange the lemon juice and lemon zest for lime instead. I am a huge fan of strawberries and lime together.
  • Spinach – You can use baby spinach for the base of the salad if you want to. I use the spring mix because I adore the vibrant color and textures it provides.

More Delicious Recipes

strawberry pecan salad in a white bowl

Strawberry Pecan Salad

This incredibly refreshing Strawberry Pecan Salad is insanely delicious. Every bite is filled with fresh, juicy strawberries, blueberries, cucumbers, red onions, arugula, spinach, goat cheese, pecans, and is perfect drizzled in homemade strawberry poppy seed dressing.
Print Pin
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: strawberry pecan salad, strawberry salad dressing
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 219kcal

Ingredients

Strawberry Pecan Salad

  • 6 ounces lettuce spring mix or spinach
  • 2 cups strawberries sliced or chopped
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1/2 cup red onion chopped
  • 1 medium cucumber chopped
  • 1/3 cup goat cheese
  • 1/2 cup pecans regular or candied

Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing

  • 1 cup strawberries diced
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice fresh
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Instructions

  • Start by preparing the dressing. Add the strawberries, freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest, apple cider vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and poppy seeds to a blender.
  • Place the spring mix lettuce and place it in a large bowl. Add the chopped strawberries, blueberries, thinly sliced onions, cucumber, and pecans on top of the lettuce and stir. Sprinkle the goat cheese on top of the entire salad.
  • Drizzle with the homemade strawberry poppyseed dressing. Dig in and enjoy!

Notes

 
  • Add extra fruit as desired. 
  • It’s fine to mix in other veggies like broccoli or bell peppers. 

Nutrition

Calories: 219kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 52mg | Potassium: 284mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 324IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 1mg

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