Spring Spinach Strawberry Pasta Salad (Printable)

A vibrant salad with bow-tie pasta, baby spinach, fresh strawberries, and tangy poppy seed dressing.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 8 oz bow-tie (farfalle) pasta

→ Salad Components

02 - 3.5 oz baby spinach, washed and dried
03 - 7 oz fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
04 - 1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
05 - 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)
06 - 2 tbsp fresh basil, thinly sliced (optional)

→ Poppy Seed Dressing

07 - 3 tbsp olive oil
08 - 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
09 - 1 tbsp honey
10 - 1 tsp Dijon mustard
11 - 1 tbsp poppy seeds
12 - 1/2 tsp salt
13 - 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

# How To Make It:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add bow-tie pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain thoroughly, rinse under cold water to stop cooking, and cool completely.
02 - In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, poppy seeds, salt, and black pepper until fully emulsified.
03 - Place cooled pasta, baby spinach, sliced strawberries, and toasted almonds in a large salad bowl.
04 - Pour poppy seed dressing over salad and toss gently until all ingredients are evenly coated.
05 - Top with crumbled feta cheese and fresh basil slices if desired. Serve immediately for optimal texture.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The strawberries release just enough juice as they sit, creating this natural syrup that clings to every bowtie
  • You can assemble it ahead and it actually gets better after an hour in the fridge
  • That poppy seed dressing works on literally everything else in your fridge all week long
02 -
  • Rinse your pasta until it's actually cold, not just lukewarm, or your spinach will wilt before anyone takes a bite
  • Don't dress this more than an hour before serving or the pasta starts to soak up all that lovely vinaigrette
  • Strawberries continue to release juice once cut, so slice them last if you're making this ahead
03 -
  • Buy extra strawberries because someone will definitely eat half the container while you're slicing
  • Make double the dressing and keep it in your fridge—it's that good on everything
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