Get ready to fall in love with this strawberry kale salad combination. The recipe combines two types of dark leafy greens – kale and spinach, plus juicy strawberries, buttery avocado, walnuts for crunch, and salty feta cheese. It’s all drizzled with a creamy (and healthy!) poppyseed dressing for ultimate salad satisfaction.

large salad bowl with spinach, kale, strawberry salad topped with feta, red onion, and pecans

If there’s one killer salad combo, it’s this one.

There’s not much better than adding sweet, juicy strawberries to a bed of kale and spinach. Because let’s be real, kale and spinach need some dressing up! Like my kale, quinoa & chickpea salad, this strawberry kale salad checks *almost* all of my boxes for a healthy and balanced salad recipe. It’s got a variety of veggies and a fruit (bonus!), plus healthy fats, and most importantly: flavour, texture, and crunch!

The only thing missing is a protein. I left this out purposely so you can serve this salad as a healthy side dish, or choose your own protein to add if you’re enjoying it as your meal.

large salad bowl with spinach, kale, strawberry salad topped with feta, red onion, and pecans

A true superfood salad:

Being a Registered Dietitian, it’s impossible for me not to highlight some of the awesome nutrition benefits in this salad. The strawberries not only add juicy sweetness and vitamin C, they help make the salad fibre-rich. As a cruciferous vegetable, the kale is also rich in fibre. And as a leafy green (along with the spinach), it is such a good way to get important nutrients like folate, vitamin K, iron, and calcium.

And our salad add-ins aren’t just there for flavour and texture. There’s no “empty calories” here! The walnuts provide crunch, but they’re also giving you a healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids, extra fibre, and a plant protein boost. Our other healthy fat source is avocado – providing heart-healthy monounsaturated fats (and even more fibre!) to this dreamy salad.

ingredients for spinach kale and strawberry salad

Hot tip: massage that kale!

Sometimes kale salads can be…tough. Kale is naturally fibrous and firm, so to soften it up a bit (and make this salad much more enjoyable), we’ll give the kale a massage with a bit of lemon juice to break it down and make it more tender.

kale leaves on a chopping board removed from stems
Remove kale leaves from the stems and chop to similar size as baby spinach.
hand massaging kale in a salad bowl
Add kale leaves to a bowl with lemon juice and massage for 1-2 minutes.
massaged kale and baby spinach in a salad bowl
Add baby spinach to the bowl with kale and toss together.
kale and spinach salad topped with strawberries, avocado, red onion, pecans, and feta
Top kale and spinach with the remaining salad ingredients!

A moment for the poppyseed dressing:

The dressing is a simple, creamy, and slightly sweet healthy poppyseed dressing made more nutritious and high-protein with Greek yogurt. And don’t fret, it’ll only take you 5 minutes to whip up.

Dressing mixture in a bowl with poppyseeds.
spoon dripping with poppyseed dressing over a jar of the dressing
spinach kale and strawberry salad beside a jar of poppyseed dressing
hand pouring poppyseed dressing onto a salad

Serve the salad alongside grilled chicken, your favourite steak, juicy chicken burgers, shrimp, herb-crusted baked haddock, and more!

kale spinach strawberry salad topped with creamy poppyseed dressing

Connect with Hannah Magee, RD!

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do. If you try it, let me know what you think by leaving a rating and a review in the comments below.

Oh, and be sure to take a photo and tag me at @hannahmagee_rd so I can re-share on my stories!

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large salad bowl with spinach, kale, strawberry salad topped with feta, red onion, and pecans

Strawberry Kale and Spinach Salad with Feta & Poppyseed Dressing

Servings: 6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Get ready to fall in love with this Strawberry Kale Salad combination. The recipe combines two types of dark leafy greens – kale and spinach, plus juicy strawberries, buttery avocado, walnuts for crunch, and salty feta cheese. It's all drizzled with a creamy (and healthy!) poppyseed dressing for ultimate salad satisfaction.
5 from 1 rating
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Ingredients

For the Dressing:

For the Salad:

  • 3 cups kale, chopped, stems removed
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice, to massage kale with
  • 3 cups baby spinach
  • 2 cups strawberries, sliced
  • 1 medium avocado, sliced or diced
  • 1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
  • 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Instructions 

  • First prepare the Greek Yogurt Poppyseed Dressing and set aside.
    spoon dripping with poppyseed dressing over a jar of the dressing
  • Add the chopped kale to a large salad bowl. Squeeze the lemon juice on top, then with clean hands massage the kale leaves for 2-3 minutes.
    hand massaging kale in a salad bowl
  • Add in the baby spinach and toss together with the massaged kale leaves.
    massaged kale and baby spinach in a salad bowl
  • Finally, add in the strawberries, avocado, red onion, chopped pecans, and feta cheese.
    kale and spinach salad topped with strawberries, avocado, red onion, pecans, and feta
  • Drizzle salad with the poppyseed dressing and toss, or portion out the salad and pass around the dressing to serve.
    hand pouring poppyseed dressing onto a salad
Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Vegetarian
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Author: Hannah Magee, RD
Did you make this recipe?Be sure to take a photo and tag me at @hannahmagee_rd so I can see!