The Gunny Sack

  • Home
  • Grilling
  • Dinner
  • Recipe Index
    • All Recipes
    • Air Fryer
    • Appetizer
      • Dip
    • Beverages
      • Coffee
      • Smoothie
    • Breakfast
    • Crock Pot
    • Dessert
      • Bars
      • Cake
      • Candy
      • Cheesecake
      • Chocolate
      • Cookies
      • Fruit Desserts
        • Apple
        • Banana
        • Pumpkin
        • Strawberry
      • Fudge
      • Ice Cream
      • No Bake
      • Peanut Butter
      • peppermint
      • Pie
      • Truffles
    • Dinner
      • Beef
      • Bread
      • Casserole
      • Chicken
      • Grilled
      • Pasta
      • Pizza
      • Pork
      • Salad
      • Sauces and Dressing
      • Side
        • Potatoes
        • Vegetables
      • Soup
    • Snack
    • Holiday
      • Easter
      • Christmas
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
      • Valentine’s Day
  • About
    • About The Team
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Appetizers
  • Desserts
  • Dinners
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Salad » Strawberry Spinach Salad

    Strawberry Spinach Salad

    Published: Jan 4, 2023 · Modified: Apr 4, 2023 by Tonia Larson

    This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

    ↓ JUMP TO RECIPE ↓ JUMP TO VIDEO

    Our Strawberry Spinach Salad recipe is topped with chicken, blueberries, pineapple, strawberries, glazed pecans, and poppy seed dressing!

    We love eating salad for lunch with a bowl of soup or as a dinner side dish with pork chops, steak, or chicken!

    strawberry spinach salad in a bowl with salad tongs.

    The Panera Strawberry Poppyseed Salad is one of our favorites. Unfortunately, it’s only available seasonally, but we decided to make a version you can enjoy all year long!

    In This Post: Everything You Need To Make Strawberry Spinach Salad

    • Ingredients Needed and Substitutions
    • How To Make Strawberry Spinach Salad
    • Variations
      • Very Veggie
      • Fruit Lovers
      • Extra Protein
    • Storage
    • Frequently Asked Questions About This Recipe
    • Want more salad recipes? Try these next
    ingredients in bowls on a marble countertop.

    Ingredients Needed and Substitutions

    The ingredients needed to make a strawberry spinach salad at home are readily available at grocery stores. Bonus tip: Buy presliced fruit, ready-to-eat lettuce, and pre-cooked chicken when short on time!

    • Lettuce: We used a spinach blend lettuce mix for this salad. You can choose your favorite blend or go with all spinach.
    • Fruit: We added sliced strawberries, blueberries, and diced pineapple. The Panera version also includes mandarin oranges.
    • Cheese: This recipe calls for shaved parmesan, but you could also use blue or feta cheese crumbles if you prefer.
    • Chicken: For this recipe, we made chicken in the air fryer, but you can also use rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken, or oven-baked chicken.
    • Dressing: We used homemade poppy seed dressing (find our recipe here), but a store-bought one is a good option if you are short on time.
    • Pecans: The strawberry poppyseed salad is topped with glazed pecans (find our recipe here)! We made ours, but there are also widely available if you want to buy them premade. You can also use walnuts or sliced almonds.
    pouring poppyseed dressing from a small pitcher.

    How To Make Strawberry Spinach Salad

    If you have all the ingredients prepared, making this salad only takes a couple of minutes! Simply assemble the salad, add the toppings and enjoy!

    • Assemble: Put the spinach in a bowl and add the fruit and chicken.
    • Toppings: Top the salad with cheese, poppyseed dressing, and glazed pecans.

    Variations

    Very Veggie

    If you want to include more veggies, try adding grape tomatoes, shredded carrots, diced avocado, and sliced cucumbers.

    Fruit Lovers

    Want more fruit in your salad? Add mandarin oranges, thinly sliced apples, diced mango, and fresh raspberries.

    Extra Protein

    Wondering how to add more protein to salad? You can increase the protein by adding more nuts, sliced hard-boiled eggs, bacon crumbles, and extra chicken.

    Storage

    This salad doesn’t save well, so only make as much as you plan to eat. If you want to prep the salad ahead of time, cut up the fruit and chicken and store them in containers in the refrigerator. Then, when you want to have a salad, everything is ready to go!

    strawberry spinach salad in a bowl with salad tongs.

    Frequently Asked Questions About This Recipe

    Is the strawberry poppyseed salad back at Panera?

    It’s a seasonal salad typically available from the beginning of April through the end of summer. We made this copycat recipe to enjoy it all year long!

    What is on a strawberry spinach salad?

    The toppings vary by restaurant, but it typically includes spinach, strawberries, poppyseed dressing, and nuts. Other popular toppings are diced fruit, chopped veggies, chicken, and cheese.

    Can this salad be made ahead of time?

    You can make all of the ingredients can be made ahead of time, but the salad should be assembled right before serving.

    close up of strawberry spinach salad with chicken.

    Want more salad recipes? Try these next

    • A flavorful Chipotle Chicken Salad includes chicken, veggies, beans, corn, hot honey, and chipotle ranch dressing.
    • This creamy Broccoli Salad recipe has chopped broccoli, diced onions, crumbled bacon, and craisins in a tasty dressing.
    • Our Cobb Salad includes cubed chicken, sliced hard-boiled eggs, bacon crumbles, tomatoes, sliced avocado, cheese, croutons, and homemade ranch dressing!
    • Our crowd-friendly Taco Salad has tomatoes, corn, beans, taco meat, onions, cheese, and homemade creamy salsa ranch dressing on top.
    strawberry spinach salad in a bowl with salad tongs.

    Strawberry Spinach Salad

    Our Strawberry Spinach Salad recipe is topped with chicken, blueberries, pineapple, strawberries, glazed pecans, and poppy seed dressing!
    No ratings yet
    ↑ Click stars to rate!
    Print Review SaveSaved! Add to Shopping ListGo to Shopping List
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Servings: 8 people
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    Mini Creamer Pitcher
    Black Serving Utensils
    Oval Serving Platters

    Ingredients

    • 8 cups spinach blend lettuce mix
    • 1 cup sliced strawberries
    • 1 cup blueberries
    • 1 cup diced pineapple
    • ¼ cup shaved parmesan
    • 1 cup cooked, sliced chicken
    • 4 tablespoon glazed pecans
    • ½ cup poppy seed dressing

    Instructions

    • Put the spinach blend lettuce mix in a bowl.
      spinach in a bowl.
    • Add the sliced strawberries, blueberries, and diced pineapple.
      add blueberries, strawberries, and pineapple to salad.
    • Top with the cubed chicken, shaved parmesan, and glazed pecans.
      strawberry spinach salad with toppings in a bowl.
    • Drizzle with poppyseed dressing.
      add poppyseed dressing.

    Video

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1/8 of salad | Calories: 131kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 137mg | Potassium: 321mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 2875IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 1mg
    Course: Salad
    Cuisine: American
    Author: Tonia Larson

    More Salad

    • Watermelon salsa in a watermelon bowl.
      Watermelon Salsa Recipe
    • a bowl of brocolli salad on a counter
      Broccoli Salad
    • Fruit salad in a glass bowl with a wooden spoon.
      Fruit Salad Recipe Lemon Vanilla Glaze
    • a bowl of Italian salad.
      Italian Salad

    About Tonia Larson

    Hi! I’m Tonia, the owner and recipe creator at The Gunny Sack, where I’ve shared easy recipes for busy people for 12+ years! My family-friendly meals, easy side dishes, and delicious desserts include mouthwatering photos, dynamic videos, and step-by-step instructions to help you cook at home.

    « Poppy Seed Dressing
    Glazed Pecans »

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Tonia Larson and Brian LarsonHi, We are Brian and Tonia Larson! We hope you enjoy our family-friendly meals, easy side dishes, and tasty desserts!
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    sign up for emails button
    Disclosure | Privacy Policy | Nutrition Disclaimer

    Copyright © 2023 · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress · Log in