Spinach and Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Spinach and Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing is amazing. It’s chocked full of healthy things like spinach, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, mandarin orange segments, cashews, craisins, and Swiss cheese. We love this salad and serve it often.
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I serve it with a wonderful homemade dressing called Maple Poppy Seed Dressing or a vegan salad dressing found here. It’s so hearty it’s wonderful as a main dish. But it’s also good served with homemade bread, or as a side for your favorite soup or main dish recipe.
Nowadays you can get all these fruits pretty much year round. It makes eating this delicious salad a lot easier than in the days where you could only eat salad in the summer or fall after harvest.
Spinach and Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing is so much more than just spinach and strawberries! Actually, it’s a take off on Panera Bread‘s Strawberry & Chicken Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing and another recipe called Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing.
While I usually make it with spinach, any kind of lettuce or greens will work. To make this salad vegan simply eliminate the cheese. To make as a main dish add grilled chicken or steak.
This is a marvelous salad to serve for your family or company dinners. You also ensure they get plenty of healthy veggies and fruits in their diets. I highly recommend adding Spinach and Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing to your repertoire.
It’s healthy, low calorie, gluten free, and has spectacular taste. Our family loves this salad. It’s one of the few salads that I can eat almost every day and not grow tired of it! You can switch around the lettuce, nuts, cheese and dried fruits on occasion to add more variety. Every way works ! Enjoy.
I originally posted this recipe in July 2012, right after I started blogging. I redid the pictures about a year and a half later. I recently remade this recipe (June 2019) for our church’s college group one Sunday night. I decided to make it with the dressing featured here, as well as one I use all the time.
I enjoy both of the dressings, but show them both so you can decide which you prefer. This is still one of our favorite salad recipes. Everyone who tries it digs in and can’t get enough of it. 🙂
Spinach and Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing is one of our family’s favorite salad recipes. Many times I serve it with Maple Poppy Seed Dressing.
I’ve added Maple Poppy Seed Dressing to my salad. It’s made with NO oil, NO sugar and is healthy, low calorie and gluten free.
Every bite of this salad is so delicious. I usually eat large platefuls. This plate has the Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing. It’s a vegan salad dressing.
Here’s what I did.
I used these ingredients for the salad.
Place 16-oz. fresh spinach in a LARGE serving bowl.
Add craisins and cashews.
Add Swiss cheese.
Add blueberries.
Add sliced strawberries.
Add pineapple chunks and drained mandarin orange segments.
I used these ingredients for the Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing.
Place ingredients in a blender.
Puree until ingredients are emulsified – about 30 seconds.
Pour ingredients into a cruet or salad decanter.
The Maple Poppy Seed Dressing is also wonderful. I use the vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing just as often.
Here’s a look at the salad before adding the dressing.
This is such a delightful salad. Everyone who tries it always comes back for more.
To serve: Pour Maple Poppy Seed Dressing over the top as desired.
You will drool over every luscious bite of this amazing salad!
Here’s the recipe.
SPINACH AND FRUIT SALAD WITH POPPY SEED DRESSING
(Recipe inspired from Panera Bread’s Strawberry & Chicken Salad with Poppyseed dressing and Winter Fruit salad with Poppy seed dressing)
Spinach and Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Equipment
- 1 large salad bowl with tongs
- 1 sharp knife to cut vegetables
- 1 blender
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 mason jar with lid to store salad dressing, if desired
Ingredients
SALAD:
- 16 oz. container spinach de-stemmed
- 3/4 cup craisins
- 1 cup cashews you can also use glazed walnuts or pecans, or honey-toasted almonds
- 8 oz. bag Swiss cheese shredded
- 1/2 pt. ctn. fresh blueberries washed and patted dry
- 1/2 a fresh pineapple chunked, and patted dry; probably about a cup or a cup and a half
- 16 oz. container strawberries washed and sliced
- 14 oz. can mandarin orange segments drained and patted dry
- maple poppy seed dressing or poppyseed dressing of your choice
MAPLE POPPY SEED DRESSING:
- 2 cups vanilla yogurt or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp. poppy seeds
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 green onion sliced
Instructions
SALAD:
- Layer all of the ingredients in a salad bowl (except the dressing).
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Toss before serving.
- Add dressing as desired.
MAPLE POPPY SEED DRESSING:
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until well mixed.
- Drizzle over individual salad plates.
- Makes 3 cups salad dressing.
Notes
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
Nutrition
- 16-oz. container spinach, de-stemmed, if desired
- 3/4 cup craisins
- 1 cup cashews (you can also use glazed walnuts or pecans, or honey-toasted almonds)
- 8-oz. bag Swiss cheese, shredded
- ½ pt. container blueberries, washed and patted dry
- 1/2 of a fresh pineapple, chunked, and patted dry (probably about a cup or a cup and a half)
- 16-oz. container strawberries, washed, sliced and patted dry
- 1 14-oz. can mandarin orange segments, drained and patted dry
- [url href=”http://cantstayoutofthekitchen.com/2013/10/15/maple-poppy-seed-dressing/” target=”_blank” title=”maple poppy seed dressing”]Maple Poppy Seed Dressing[/url] (or poppyseed dressing of your choice)
- Layer all of the ingredients in a salad bowl (except the dressing).
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Toss before serving.
- Add dressing as desired.
- 2 cups [url href=”http://www.chobani.com/” target=”_blank” title=”chobani”]Chobani[/url] vanilla or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp. poppyseeds
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 green onion, sliced
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until well mixed.
- Drizzle over individual salad plates.
- Makes 3 cups salad dressing.
Maple Poppy Seed Dressing wonderfully enhances this salad. Plus, it’s a healthy alternative to Ranch, and other popular dressings filled with preservatives, sugar, high fructose corn syrup and MSG.
This salad is so festive and beautiful. It tastes just as delicious as it looks!
Doesn’t this Spinach and Fruit Salad look fantastic?
I’m ready to dig into this salad right now! What about you?
You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!
Winter Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Spinach, Apple and Bacon Salad with Sugar-Glazed Walnuts
Fruity Spinach Salad with Peachy Balsamic Vinaigrette
Spinach and Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Equipment
- 1 large salad bowl with tongs
- 1 sharp knife to cut vegetables
- 1 blender
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 mason jar with lid to store salad dressing, if desired
Ingredients
SALAD:
- 16 oz. container spinach de-stemmed
- 3/4 cup craisins
- 1 cup cashews you can also use glazed walnuts or pecans, or honey-toasted almonds
- 8 oz. bag Swiss cheese shredded
- 1/2 pt. ctn. fresh blueberries washed and patted dry
- 1/2 a fresh pineapple chunked, and patted dry; probably about a cup or a cup and a half
- 16 oz. container strawberries washed and sliced
- 14 oz. can mandarin orange segments drained and patted dry
- maple poppy seed dressing or poppyseed dressing of your choice
MAPLE POPPY SEED DRESSING:
- 2 cups vanilla yogurt or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp. poppy seeds
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 green onion sliced
Instructions
SALAD:
- Layer all of the ingredients in a salad bowl (except the dressing).
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Toss before serving.
- Add dressing as desired.
MAPLE POPPY SEED DRESSING:
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until well mixed.
- Drizzle over individual salad plates.
- Makes 3 cups salad dressing.
Notes
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
Nutrition
Spinach and Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
SALAD:
- 16 oz. container spinach de-stemmed
- 3/4 cup craisins
- 1 cup cashews you can also use glazed walnuts or pecans, or honey-toasted almonds
- 8 oz. bag Swiss cheese shredded
- 1/2 pt. ctn. fresh blueberries washed and patted dry
- 1/2 a fresh pineapple chunked, and patted dry; probably about a cup or a cup and a half
- 16 oz. container strawberries washed and sliced
- 14 oz. can mandarin orange segments drained and patted dry
- maple poppy seed dressing or poppyseed dressing of your choice
MAPLE POPPY SEED DRESSING:
- 2 cups vanilla or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp. dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp. poppyseeds
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 green onion sliced
Instructions
SALAD:
- Layer all of the ingredients in a salad bowl (except the dressing).
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Toss before serving.
- Add dressing as desired.
MAPLE POPPY SEED DRESSING:
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until well mixed.
- Drizzle over individual salad plates.
- Makes 3 cups salad dressing.