Spinach Strawberry Salad with Shrimp

This Spinach Strawberry Salad is topped with shrimp, avocado, almond, onions, and a lite poppyseed dressing. Hearty and filling salad that can be served as a complete meal for lunch or dinner.

Spinach Strawberry salad on a white plate ready to eat.

Spinach Strawberry Salad Recipe

It’s too bad the comic Popeye ate his spinach out of a can. He totally missed out!! Have you eaten canned spinach? It’s not very appealing to look at, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you passed.

Canned spinach turns dark from the processing, and comes out mashed together. It looks nothing like the vibrant green fresh leaves you get from a farmer’s market or grocery store.

Raw spinach has a mild, slightly sweet taste that is rich in vitamins and minerals. So refreshing in salads. I love me some spinach!! Paired with strawberries and and all the other tasty ingredients in this salad makes one scrumptious and nutritious salad.

My other favorite fresh spinach recipe is this spinach artichoke dip and this spinach egg bake for brunch!

Close view of spinach salad with shrimp and strawberries.

Ingredients needed

Once you gather your ingredients, then you will just need to dice and slice the add-ins. For the dressing, keep in a covered jar. You will need to shake the ingredients together to mix the oil and water when pouring over the salad.

For the salad you will need the following ingredients:

  • Baby spinach – Fresh, remove poky stems
  • Strawberries – Fresh cleaned, and sliced
  • Red onion – Thinly sliced.
  • Avocado – Sliced or diced. Pick an avocado that holds its shape and not too soft. You don’t want mushy avocado in your salad.
  • Cheese – Crumbled feta or gorgonzola is my favorite, but I have also added blue cheese or goat cheese in this salad.
  • Almonds – Slivered or sliced and lightly toasted brings out the flavor in almonds.

For the shrimp

  • Clean shrimp – size matters! I used medium shrimp. Check this bacon wrapped shrimp recipe for a guideline on which shrimp to purchase.
  • Old Bay Seasoning – Add as much or as little as you want. Sometimes we load up to get that heat in the spice. It cools down with each bite from the strawberries, avocados and poppyseed dressing.

Ingredients for the Poppyseed Salad Dressing:

  • Olive oil – Extra virgin is best for salad dressing.
  • Water – This lightens up the dressing, and helps distribute the flavor of the dressing instead of weighing down the salad causing the spinach to wilt right away.
  • Apple Cider Vinegar – a tart light flavor common in salad dressings.
  • Greek yogurt – Plain adds some body to the dressing.
  • Honey – Adds a little sweetness to tone down the tart flavors. You can use your favorite sugar alternative like monk fruit, but make sure you pulverize to a powder like confectioners sugar first so that the texture is smooth like honey.
  • Dry mustard – For flavor.
  • Shallot – Finely grated. This mild tasting onion is a flavorful addition to lite salad dressings or vinaigrettes.
  • Poppyseeds – rich in fiber, magnesium, and other good for you nutrients. Just be warned that these little seeds can plant themselves between teeth. Worth it, though, so don’t skip adding the poppyseeds.
Ingredients for spinach avocado salad.

How To Clean The Shrimp

It’s important to prepare the shrimp in advance for this spinach strawberry salad recipe. Once cooked, the shrimp needs a few minutes to cool before adding it to the spinach. So do this first. In fact, a day in advance is great too!

Cooking shrimp is very quick and easy. The toughest part is to clean and devein the shrimp!

First, wash the shrimp in cold water in a colander. Remove the heads if they are still intact. Then with your fingers remove the legs. Next, the shell can come off.

With a paring knife cut into the rounded side of the shrimp to remove the vein.

Do a final cold water rinse and pat dry with a paper towel.

Shrimp in a clear bowl with spices.

Cook The Shrimp

Now the shrimp is ready to be seasoned and cooked. After seasoning the shrimp place in an greased large skillet over medium heat.

Place the shrimp in a single layer. Depending on the size of your skillet, you may need to cook in batches. Be sure to not overcrowd the pan. Once the shrimp begins to turn pink, gently turn.

Shrimp will cook in just a couple of minutes so watch them closely.

Pan cooked shrimp.

How will this salad taste without shrimp?

This salad will still taste delicious without the shrimp if you decide not to add it. Feel free to leave it out completely or you may also consider replacing the shrimp for leftover chicken skewers or air fryer chicken breasts.

Top view of spinach strawberry salad topped with shrimp.

Poppyseed Dressing For Spinach Strawberry Salad

The poppyseed dressing is delicious over greens. Extra fabulous when strawberries, avocado, and shrimp are added.

This recipe was passed on to me from a co-worker who served this at a dinner party that we were invited to. I couldn’t wait to share this with you. It’s delicious!

The dressing was modified slightly by reducing the oil and replacing it with plain water. In addition, for the creamy texture I added Greek yogurt. Make several days in advance and just give it a good shake before using as the water and oil will seperate.

Assemble the salad

When you have completed chopping, dicing, cooking the shrimp and whisking up the salad dressing you are ready to put the salad together.

I like to lightly dress the spinach first, the fold in half of the the ingredient. Serve on a salad plate, then add additional toppings and finish with more almonds. Top with a drizzle of more poppyseed salad dressing.

Spinach avocado salad with shrimp on a white salad dish.

“I’m strong to the finish, ’cause I eats me Spinach, I’m Popeye the sailor man! (toot, toot)” – Popeye

Hope you love this spinach strawberry salad!

Close view of spinach salad with shrimp and strawberries.

Spinach Strawberry Salad with Shrimp

A summer salad with spinach, strawberries, avocados, and shrimp. A light poppyseed dressing tops the greens.
4.86 from 14 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Poppyseed dressing, salad, spinach salad, spinach strawberry salad
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 716kcal
Author: Sandra Shaffer

Ingredients

  • SHRIMP
  • 1 1/2 lbs. shrimp cleaned and patted dried
  • Old Bay Seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil for Sautéing
  • SALAD
  • 6 oz. of baby spinach about 6 cups
  • 1 pint strawberries sliced
  • 1 avocado diced
  • 4 ounces gorgonzola or feta cheese crumbled
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds toasted
  • 1/2 cup red onion thinly sliced
  • DRESSING
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 Tablespoons Greek yogurt plain
  • 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 3 Tablespoons honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 2 teaspoons shallot finely grated
  • 1 Tablespoon poppyseed

Instructions

  • Generoulsy sprinkle Old Bay Seasoning over shrimp. Saute shrimp in skillet with 1 teaspoon of oil over medium heat. Put aside.
  • Toss salad ingredients together.
  • Whisk dressing ingredients together until combined.
  • Add desired amount of dressing to salad and gently toss or plate salads and add dressing to taste.

Notes

Macronutrients include all dressing, which you may not use for four servings.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 716kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 52g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 28g | Cholesterol: 391mg | Sodium: 2170mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 21g

Disclaimer

Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.

This recipe was first shared July, 2013. It has been updated with new photos and helpful information, July, 2021.

Spinach Strawberry Salad with Shrimp
Photo July 2013
Spinach strawberry salad with avocado and shrimp. This hearty salad is lightly dressed with a poppyseed vinaigrette. #salad #spinach #shrimp #EasyRecipe
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4.86 from 14 votes (14 ratings without comment)

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16 Comments

  1. This is one of our most favorite salad recipes!! Every time my sister visits, she requests it! Thank you.

  2. I made this today, twice. Once for dear friends to take home and again for us for our quick dinner. This salad and dressing was awesome. A keeper.
    We have fresh shrimp here in South Carolina and strawberries are from ? But was yummy. Thanks

  3. What a gorgeous looking salad. I must have been an unusual child because I always loved my spinach. Mum grew it in the backyard so it featured regularly on my dinner plate xx