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Home Recipe Index Sides & Salads Salads

Strawberry Fields Spinach Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

★★★★★ 5 /5
Jump to Recipe Rate Recipe
Rachel Tiemeyer
By: Rachel TiemeyerPosted: 2/13/23Updated: 5/30/23

This post may contain affiliate or sponsored links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Perfect for a holiday table or weeknight meal, this colorful strawberry spinach salad packs a flavor punch with every bite!

 “This was so simple & amazing!” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ –Shawna

About This Salad

Spinach, strawberries, bacon, feta, red onion, and more are topped with a mild, lemony, sweet dressing that’s sure to please all ages.

We created this Strawberry Fields Salad to be the perfect spinach salad for your Easter lunch, but it’s versatile enough to work anytime!

The vibrant colors of strawberries, spinach, and red onions and the bright golden dressing make this salad part of the lively table decorations.

It would also be a delicious side to grilling recipes.

Strawberry Spinach Salad in a glass bowl

Ingredients Needed

Here is what you need to make this spinach salad:

For the Vinaigrette:

  • Fresh lemon juice – Fresh lemons are best.
  • Lemon zest – Just zest the lemons before you juice them.
  • Honey – local is always best
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Olive Oil – Avocado oil also works.

For the Salad:

  • Spinach – Organic is best. Spinach is one of the dirty dozen meaning it has a lot of pesticides if not organic.
  • Bacon – Uncured is healthier. Here is where we get our uncured bacon.
  • Sliced Almonds – See notes on toasting almonds in the notes.
  • Sliced Red Onion
  • Fresh Strawberries – Again, organic is best.
  • Goat cheese or feta cheese – I prefer goat cheese!
Butcherbox bacon

Tip: Bake Your Bacon

Here is an easy step-by-step guide on how to cook bacon in the oven. It makes less mess and makes better bacon!

Show Me How!
Close up of strawberry spinach salad

About the 3-Ingredient Salad Dressing

Let’s chat about this golden goodness in the form of dressing, shall we?

The Lemon Vinaigrette for this spinach salad only requires THREE main ingredients!

  1. Lemons
  2. Oil
  3. Honey
spinach salad on table and dressing

This simple, elegant dressing provides a little extra sweetness (thanks to the honey) and tartness (thanks to the lemon juice and zest) to balance out the saltiness of the bacon and bite of the red onion.

It’s a mild, lighter dressing that anyone will like and complements, rather than masks, the flavors of the different ingredients in the salad.

Why Make Your Own Salad Dressing?

Making healthy homemade salad dressings is easier than you think. They are cheaper, healthier, and tastier, too.

Why would you not!? Here are 10+ easy salad dressing recipes to start with when making your own salad dressing at home.

To make it even easier, we made a printable cheat sheet of homemade salad dressings. Download it through the form below!

Polly conner holding clipboard

Salad Dressing Cheat Sheet

Our best homemade salad dressings all in one place!

  1. Download it.
  2. Print it.
  3. Use it over and over again!

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Can You Make This Salad in Advance?

Yes! You can prep the salad a few hours in advance. (Probably not much longer if you want the ingredients to taste nice and fresh.)

Just don’t add the dressing until you are ready to serve it.

To store the salad, cover it and store in the fridge for a few hours.

spinach salad on table

Recipes to Serve with Strawberry Spinach Salad

fried catfish nuggets on a platter with lemons and remoulade sauce

Catfish Nuggets

Italian Baked Chicken Thighs on a white platter

Italian Baked Chicken Thighs

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

whole wheat mac and cheese in the instant pot

6-Ingredient Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!

strawberry spinach salad
★★★★★ 5 from 4 reviews

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

This colorful spring-inspired salad packs a flavor punch with every bite! Spinach, strawberries, bacon, feta, red onion, and more are topped with a mild, lemony, sweet dressing that’s sure to please all ages.

Yield: 8 side salads 1x
Prep: 10 minutesCook: 0 minutesTotal: 10 minutes
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Ingredients

For the Vinaigrette:

  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about juice of 3 large lemons)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 cup Extra Virgin olive oil

For the Salad:

  • 8 cups baby spinach, loosely packed
  • 1/2 pound bacon, cooked and chopped
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted*
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
  • 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
  • 4 ounces crumbled goat cheese or feta cheese

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions

  1. Make the Vinaigrette: Add all the ingredients to a mason jar with lid. Seal tightly and shake until combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your preference. This dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
  2. Assemble the Salad: On a serving platter, add the spinach. Top with the bacon, toasted almonds, red onion, strawberries, and cheese.
  3. Serve: Shake up the dressing and serve alongside the salad.

Equipment

Citrus Juicer

Buy Now →

Zester

Buy Now →

baking sheet

Buy Now →

Chefs Knife

Buy Now →

Notes/Tips

*To Toast the Almonds: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 4 minutes. Give them a shake, and bake another 3-5 minutes until they begin to smell toasted and are starting to turn golden. Keep a close eye on them, so they don’t burn! Remove from the oven and immediately transfer to a plate or parchment paper to cool.

Where We Get Our Bacon:  We get delicious, uncured bacon and other meat from ButcherBox. We highly recommend this doorstep service to source healthy meat–like organic chicken, wild salmon, and grass-fed beef–and have used it for years ourselves. Read my honest ButcherBox Review here.

© Author: Rachel Tiemeyer
Cuisine: American Method: Mix

Did you make this?

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Rachel Tiemeyer

Rachel Tiemeyer

As co-founder of Thriving Home, Rachel dreams about creating recipes (literally) and uses her husband, her 3 kids, and even the neighbors as guinea pigs several nights a week. She believes that good food has the power to bring families and friends closer together and continues to wake up excited about her job each day, even after 10+ years!

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  1. AvatarDianna says

    Posted on 4/24/23 at 3:42 pm

    Hello, Rachel, I made your lovely lemon vinaigrette today to go atop my own rendition of a spinach salad. I used gorgeous Meyer lemons from a friend’s tree. Your recipe for this dressing is perfectly flavored. We have many salads this vinaigrette will be perfect for! Best, Dianna

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Rachel TiemeyerRachel Tiemeyer says

      Posted on 4/25/23 at 11:24 am

      What a treat to use fresh Meyer lemons from your friend! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Dianna. Thanks for the review!

      Reply
  2. AvatarAmy B says

    Posted on 4/9/23 at 3:20 pm

    I made for an Easter side dish. This was so good! I’ll definitely be making this again.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 4/10/23 at 8:05 am

      So glad to hear this Amy!

      Reply
  3. AvatarElizabeth says

    Posted on 3/22/23 at 9:44 am

    How long will the salad dressing last in the fridge?

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 3/22/23 at 10:56 am

      Hi Elizabeth! The dressing can be stored in the fridge up to two weeks.

      Reply
  4. AvatarJordan says

    Posted on 2/27/23 at 9:57 pm

    Family loved it!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Carla from Thriving HomeCarla from Thriving Home says

      Posted on 2/28/23 at 9:57 am

      Wonderful. Thanks for leaving a review Jordan!

      Reply
  5. AvatarShawna says

    Posted on 3/7/21 at 5:45 pm

    This was so simple & amazing! I had no almonds, so I used pepitas & as well as blueberry chèvre! Definitely a keeper!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Rachel TiemeyerRachel Tiemeyer says

      Posted on 3/8/21 at 8:01 am

      Yum! Love your swap-out ideas!

      Reply

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