This Summer Salad with Roasted Strawberry Poppyseed Vinaigrette is a light and fresh salad for warmer days! It’s filled with fresh strawberries, toasted almonds, feta, red onion, avocado, basil, and to top it all off, a roasted strawberry vinaigrette! The roasted strawberries get super sweet and delicious, and they give a wonderful depth to the vinaigrette!
What’s better than summer salads filled with all of the colorful ingredients?! I’m a salad-lover all year round, but in the summer, I love them even more. All of the gorgeous berries, basil, and fresh veggies just make me SO happy. And this roasted strawberry poppyseed vinaigrette?!?! It’s ah-mazing.
I’m a huge fan pf putting a combination of roasted and raw veggies in my salads. And a little fruit, especially during the summertime! I loooove all of the combinations of flavors and textures, and I’m a huge proponent of #nosadsalads. This is another fave summer salad of mine!
We basically have everything you could ever want here.
And it starts with a roasted strawberry poppyseed vinaigrette!
How gorgeous are they?! If you’ve never roasted strawberries before, you’re in for a real treat. Think of the sweetest summer strawberries, tossed in olive oil and honey, and then roasted in the oven until they’re soooo juicy and even SWEETER.
They’re amazing over ice cream and oatmeal, and in this case, puréed into the silkiest summer dressing.
For the dressing, we’ve got:
- the roasted strawberries
- white wine vinegar
- honey
- shallot
- olive oil
- poppyseeds
- and salt!
It’s so simple, but so good. And just sweet enough! It’s incredible with the creamy avocado, salty feta, toasted almonds, red onion, and roasted sweet potatoes. And more strawberries of course!
Plus, who doesn’t want their salad dressing to be pink?!
The other great thing about this, is that the salad dressing keeps really well.
You’d think it wouldn’t with the fruit in it, but since it’s roasted, it really does keep well for 5 days or so!
I’ve also prepped all of the ingredients and kept them separate, so I can have lunches alllll week long.
I’ve gotten back to prepping my lunches for the week like I used to when I worked corporate, and it’s been such a game changer. Working from home can often mean eating a few handfuls of things here and there, and the next thing you know you’ve eaten a whole container of hummus, a million pita chips, a few handfuls of chocolate covered pretzels, half a bag of granola, and a few bites of whatever I was shooting and/or testing that day. And you end up just feeling….not-so-great.
So this is definitely one of those salads that you can prep ahead of time, and dress when you’re ready to eat!
If you want to bulk this up to make it more of a meal, it would be delicious with grilled chicken, crispy chickpeas, or even some quinoa!
New favorite summer salad.
Summer Salad with Roasted Strawberry Poppyseed Vinaigrette
This Summer Salad with Roasted Strawberry Poppyseed Vinaigrette is a light and fresh salad for warmer days! It's filled with fresh strawberries, toasted almonds, feta, red onion, avocado, basil, and to top it all off, a roasted strawberry vinaigrette! The roasted strawberries get super sweet and delicious, and they give a wonderful depth to the vinaigrette!
Ingredients
For the roasted strawberries
- 1 cup quartered strawberries (about 7 medium strawberries)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- pinch of salt and pepper
For the roasted strawberry poppyseed vinaigrette
- the roasted strawberries
- 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 tablespoons finely diced shallot
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon poppyseeds
For the salad
- 5-6 cups spring mix or greens of your choice
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1/3 cup toasted almonds
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta
- 1/4 of a red onion, very thinly sliced
- 1 avocado, sliced
- diced roasted sweet potato (optional)
- a handful of fresh basil leaves, torn, plus extra for serving
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place strawberries on the sheet and toss with olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper. Roast for 10-12 minutes, or until strawberries are soft and juicy. Let cool.
Once strawberries have cooled, make the vinaigrette. Add cooled roasted strawberries to a food processor or blender along with the white wine vinegar, honey, shallot, salt, and olive oil. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add the poppyseeds and pulse until combined. Season to taste with additional salt if needed. Set aside.
To assemble the salad, place greens in a large bowl. Add the strawberries, toasted almonds, crumbled feta, red onion, avocado, torn basil, and sweet potato if using. Season with a few pinches of salt and a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper. Add desired amount of vinaigrette and toss. Garnish with extra basil leaves and serve with extra dressing.
Recipe Notes
*Vinaigrette keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days.
[…] sharing another summer salad today because I just can’t get enough of them! I love a good grain salad with tons of crunchy […]