Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Friday night we attended a special dinner for members of the Eliza R. Snow Society for the Performing and Visual Arts at BYU-Idaho. It is an amazing organization that supports the arts at our favorite university. We have experienced first hand all of the good they do, providing countless student scholarships, special equipment and needs like costuming, and a new Hamburg Steinway grand piano, just to name a few. It was delightful to see so many of our friends and associates there. Several of our children and grandchildren were able to join us and we all enjoyed fabulous entertainment along with a delicious dinner.
Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
is maybe my favorite, for sure in our top 5 salads. I took it to a potluck luncheon last week and it was enjoyed by all. Friday night this salad was served with chopped apples instead of oranges along with raisins. My girls really loved it and were anxious to get the recipe. I laughed and said, “I barely made it and am ready to post it on my blog!” So here it is for Kirstin and Kim, and all of you that may have never had it. It’s a winner we enjoy all year. Often we grill steak, chicken or shrimp and top it off.
Combine romaine, spinach, Swiss cheese, sliced onion, mushrooms, and bacon. Toss well.
Prepare and cool sugared almonds…
and whirl dressing ingredients till creamy.
Top salad with oranges, (or try your favorites), almonds and drizzle with dressing. Serve with love, a refreshing salad you can enjoy everyday or at your most special occasions.
Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing is in my top 5 recipes of all time. It's just so fresh and colorful and all of the flavors are amazing together.
Author: Renée
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For Salad
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce, (I use romaine)
- 1 bunch of spinach
- ¾ pound Swiss cheese, grated
- ½ red onion, sliced
- ¾ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
- ½ pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 can mandarin oranges, drained
For Sugared Almonds:
- ½ cup slivered or sliced almonds
- 3 tablespoons sugar or stevia
- ¼ cup butter
For Poppy Seed Dressing:
- ¾ tablespoon poppy seeds
- ⅓ cup white vinegar
- ¾ cup oil
- ⅓ cup sugar or stevia
- ¼ cup grated onion
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
Instructions
For Salad
- Mix lettuce, spinach, mushrooms, cheese and onion together.
- Spread bacon and oranges on top of lettuce mixture.
- Add dressing and top with sugared almonds just before serving.
For Sugared Almonds:
- Melt together butter and sugar, then add nuts.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly till nuts are golden brown.
For Poppy Seed Dressing:
- Mix together in a blender, mixer or food processor until creamy.
We're Alison and Renée, and we're so glad you've joined us! Our kitchens are our happy place, where we're whipping up memories. Get comfy and check things out. We hope you find inspiring dishes and ways to better your life. Feeling optimistic, trying new things and sharing with those we love brings joy in all we do. It's time to cook, create and celebrate. CHEERS! 
Gnee,
Your salad looks terrific. I shall do a copy and paste and save it. Glad you had such a lovely evening.
Carol
Looks scrumptious!! Thanks for sharing, it’s a keeper recipe!
Nancy
Wow.. You made me crave salad!!! That’s not easy, trust me. 🙂 This looks delicious!
Thanks for stopping by today!
Have a wonderful week!
xo
Luciane at HomeBunch.com
I LOVE this recipe! I got it at my cousin’s mission farewell in Rexburg about 15 years ago. I actually have it in my recipe folder and we affectionately call it “Rick’s College Salad!” Whenever I take it to a gathering, I am always asked for the recipe. Now I’ll just tell them to come to this blog… 🙂
In reply to Sushi-Mama’s comment, Brigham Young University-Idaho was a Junior College named Ricks College until 2001 when it became a university.
I think they get a lot of credit for making this salad famous. At Ricks it was named, “Marj’s Spinach Salad,” after President Bennion’s wife, Marj who is an amazing cook and friend.
Thanks for your comments ;D
Sounds like a lovely evening and the salad is right up my alley! YUM! ;D
This is my idea of the perfect salad. I’ve already saved it to try as the weather warms up a bit. Thank you!
That organization looks like that would be an excellent one to support. Love the arts! We need more like this throughout our country. I am going to try your spinach salad real soon! Your recipes are always the best! 🙂
A nice colorful salad Gnee, I just know it’s great:@)
A delicious looking salad and I just know it was served with love at your house!
Mmmmmmmm, that is a good salad!
Glad you could come and hang out with the freezing people!
Sounds like a wonderful time!
I love this salad — I have made a version of this for years and it is always great! Joni
I’m home alone already this week, and this would be a perfect and healthy salad for one. I’ve never tried sugared almonds. They’re my favorite nut.
I have a recipe similar to this, but just that bit different that I want to try this one. It’s good to have something a little special to take for potluck.
This look scrumptious! I’d love for you to come share this at the Recipe Exchange I’m hosting. It would be such a wonderful addition! Hope to see you there.
Krista
This would be a HUGE hit at my house.
This sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try it! I like the combination of lettuce and spinach in this one.
Wow, this sounds amazing! I’m pregnant and dying for salads right now. oooh, I wish I had some!
Oh yum! This sounds like lunch to me!
This salad looks wonderful! I’m saving this recipe to make next week for my family. Thanks for sharing it.
I’m stopping by from Tasty Tuesday. I’m so glad I did. I can’t wait to go check out some more of your recent posts!
Jennifer
I love any salad made with spinach! And I’m a total sucker for those little mandarin oranges and poppy seed dressing. This salad looks amazing!
Sues
That looks great! Love the poppy seed dressing! Your photos are beautiful as well!
LOVE THIS! Come on ova’ and link up to my Linky Party! xoxokara
*ENTER LINKY PAR-TAY Here! *
OMGosh that looks YUMMM!!! Come SHARE!
Your salad looks so fresh and delicious!
Just Stopping by from TMTT. that looks so crisp and fresh and healthy all at the same time. I wanted to invite you to check out my Iron Chef Challenge This month’s themed ingredient is canned tomatoes, so link up a recipe using those and you could win a prize. It should be a lot of fun, hope you can join us!!
What a yummy looking salad!! The dressing sounds really good. I love homemade dressings. So glad you shared 🙂
LOVE this salad!!
Thanks for linking up I featured your post in my wrap up! http://tidymom.net/2011/im-lovin-it-wrap-up-3-20-11/ Happy Spring!
This looks so yummy. I saw this featured on TidyMom and had to come comment! I’m hosting a recipe link party tomorrow and would love you to participate!
http://my3littlebirds.blogspot.com/
This salad looks uber yummy! Thanks for the inspiration. Can’t wait to try it~!
That looks AMAZING! I can’t wait to try it. We are big salad eaters. Especially when it is beautiful outside. Thank you for sharing!
Oh this looks just delicious!! I adore spinach salads and will definately make this on!! I came over from Kims!
Come and enter my giveaway for bath & body!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
This salad was sooooo good. Thank you!