Strawberry Spinach Salad

This is the best strawberry spinach salad with feta and walnuts! Top it with an easy and delicious homemade poppy seed dressing. It’s definitely the perfect salad for a crowd!

📝 Ingredients

• 3/4 cup raw walnuts
• 1/2 small red onion (thinly sliced into half moons)
• 10 ounces fresh baby spinach (washed and dried)
• 1 pound fresh strawberries (hulled and sliced)
• 3/4 cup block feta cheese (crumbled)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 Tablespoon poppy seeds

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. 2Thinly slice the red onion into half moon...: Thinly slice the red onion into half moon slices and then submerge the onion slices in a medium sized bowl of ice cold water. Let the onions soak in the water until it’s time to assemble the rest of the salad (about 20 minutes of soaking is generally the perfect amount of time). Soaking the onions allows the pungent onion flavor to dissipate into the water.
3. 3Roughly chop the walnuts and bake for 6-8...: Roughly chop the walnuts and bake for 6-8 minutes, or until toasted. Be sure to keep an eye on them, because nuts go from toasted to burnt quickly.
4. 4When you remove the nuts from the oven,...: When you remove the nuts from the oven, transfer them to a dish (they’ll keep cooking if you leave them on the hot baking sheet).
5. 5Wash and dry the spinach using a salad...: Wash and dry the spinach using a salad spinner. Place the spinach in an extra large mixing bowl.
6. 6Wash, dry, hull, and slice the strawberries. Add...: Wash, dry, hull, and slice the strawberries. Add to the mixing bowl.
7. 7Add the toasted walnuts, soaked onions, and crumbled...: Add the toasted walnuts, soaked onions, and crumbled feta to the mixing bowl. Top with the poppy seed dressing and toss to combine.
8. 8Combine the sugar, vinegar, salt, mustard, and onion...: Combine the sugar, vinegar, salt, mustard, and onion powder in a blender. Blend until combined.
9. 9Pour the oil in very slowly while the...: Pour the oil in very slowly while the blender is going. Make sure not to add too much oil at once or it won’t emulsify correctly. If you don’t have a blender with an opening in the lid, you’ll have to turn the blender off every time you need to add a little more oil.
10. 10Transfer the dressing to a small bowl or...: Transfer the dressing to a small bowl or storage container. Stir in the poppy seeds.