Strawberry Poppyseed Salad

I meant to get this recipe posted earlier in the summer, but there’s no reason not to enjoy it now! It’s the perfect recipe for the end of summer when it’s just warm enough to eat outside but you can feel a chill in the air at night. Take advantage of late season berries to enjoy this poppyseed salad! It’s a great side dish to bring to a Labor Day weekend BBQ as a side dish and topped with grilled chicken it’s a delicious meal all by itself. The dressing for this recipe is just a little sweet and the poppyseeds give the perfect texture. With toasted pecans and creamy goat cheese, every bite of this salad will be delicious.

Ingredients for Strawberry Poppyseed Salad

• Berries: Even though this is called strawberry poppyseed salad, we are using both strawberries and blueberries in this recipe, yum!
• Romaine: You just can’t beat the crispy crunch of romaine lettuce. But it’s a salad, which means we can be flexible and choose our own adventure. A few handfuls of arugula, spinach, or green or red leaf lettuce would also all be great.
• Pecans: I like to toss my pecans with a little olive oil, salt, and brown sugar for a touch of sweetness. You can toast yours however you want! A pinch of cinnamon for warmth or cayenne for heat also work well.
• Goat cheese: I do feel that this type of salad screams for some crumbled goat cheese. Feta, gorgonzola, or blue cheese all work too, but my personal preference is goat cheese.
• Cucumber: I put an English cucumber in just about every salad. I love that I don’t need to peel them and that their water content is lower than traditional cucumbers, so they don’t water down the dressing.
• Dressing ingredients: olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, poppyseeds, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and plain Greek yogurt or sour cream. A little bit of this, a little bit of that come together for a truly delicious creamy dressing.
• Optional ingredients: For extra protein, grilled chicken would be excellent on this salad. I didn’t have any avocado on hand, but that would also be a tasty addition.

How to Make Strawberry Poppyseed Salad

• Prepping this salad is pretty simple. Wash and chop your lettuce, cucumber, and strawberries and add them to a large bowl, and wash the blueberries as well.
• Preheat your oven and toss the pecans with olive oil, salt, and brown sugar. Toast for about ten minutes until fragrant but keep a close eye on them because they can burn easily. Add them to the bowl!
• In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Taste and add more salt if needed! Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Serve topped with goat cheese and enjoy!

This salad is the perfect way to enjoy the end of summer berries for a fresh and delicious side dish or light meal. If you are going to make it in advance, hold off on adding the dressing until ready to serve. Add some warm grilled chicken and a glass of crisp rose and eat this outside while you can before fall weather creeps in!