Sweet and tangy strawberry spinach pasta salad with orange poppyseed dressing with pineapple, cashews, and tart cranberries is the perfect potluck side dish for every get together.
Need to change up your potluck game? Try this Mandarin Pasta Spinach Salad with Teriyaki Dressing, Pesto Chicken Pasta Salad, Strawberry Avocado Chicken Pasta Salad, and Greek Tortellini Pasta Salad.
I’m admitting it here and now, I have a pasta salad obsession.
Maybe it’s the fact that it’s been over a hundred degrees consistently this month and I have a hard time turning on the oven in these kinds of conditions, maybe it’s just that I I like the idea of taking lettuce, adding pasta and fruit or veggies, a handful of goodies like nuts and dried berries or cheese, and calling it a salad.
Whatever it is, I can’t get enough of this side dish/main dish/9pm leftovers snack.
For Memorial Day my family got together for a big barbecue to kick off Summer and my mother’s good friend Penny contributed a pasta salad to the plethora of potluck goodness. It had dried berries and spinach and penne noodles, along with pineapple, strawberries, and some kind of orange poppy seed dressing.
You see where I’m going with this.
I ate it. I love it. I had to recreate it for myself.
So this is my simplified version of that BOMB pasta salad. She actually added shredded chicken to her salad and I thought that was brilliant so if you’ve got some leftover chicken in the fridge or maybe some rotisserie chicken begging to be used up, put it in this salad. You will not regret it.
And feel free to customize this recipe, it’s very forgiving. Swap out the pineapple for mandarin oranges, or add dried blueberries or cherries instead of the cranberries. Don’t limit yourself to cashews if you prefer walnuts or pecans – go where your pantry takes you!
I like to use fresh-squeezed orange juice for the dressing but you can absolutely use that carton of OJ you’ve been reaching for at breakfast each morning.
If you want to make this salad ahead of time (more than one hour ahead) I would recommend waiting to add the dressing until just before serving. Just keep it in a covered jar until ready to serve, then toss and enjoy!
What people are saying about this Strawberry Spinach Pasta Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing
“Made this salad for a family reunion this weekend and it was a huge hit with kids and adults alike. Cool, refreshing with a great combination of flavors.” – Becky
“My favorite salad!!! Love this poppy seed dressing.” – Iona
“Thanks for a great recipe! I made extra of the salad dressing and used it as a marinade for grilled chicken breasts. This is definitely a keeper!!” – Becky
Strawberry Spinach Pasta Salad with Orange Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
- 8 ounces penne noodles - cooked according to package directions
- 2 cups packed fresh baby spinach leaves
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1 cup pineapple chunks
- ¼ cup dried cranberries - or dried blueberries
- ½ cup salted cashews - or other nut like pecans or walnuts
Orange Poppyseed Dressing
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons honey
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- optional: pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
- Combine all dressing ingredients in a jar, cover, and shake well. Set aside.
- Combine penne, spinach, strawberries, pineapple, cranberries, and cashews in a large bowl and toss with the prepared dressing.
- Serve immediately or cover and chill for 1 hour before serving.
Love that rec and i will def try it. I also was inInterested on the asparag one!
I hope that you love it!! 🙂
SuggestioN, tell how many days a recipe might keep in refrig,, also, Refrigerate with or without dressingthen add when serving or shortly before
Hi Patty- I definitely suggest that you refrigerate without the dressing on. Keep it fresh and put it on right before serving! The dressing will last a couple days in the fridge, you will just need to shake it up really good before using.
Really loved this salad, Tiffany! How long would the dressing last in frig? Becky’s idea to use dressing as a marinade for chicken breasts is brilliant!
Hi Jill- I am so happy to hear you loved this salad recipe so much! The dressing will last a couple of days in the refrigerator. Just make sure to shake it really well when you go to use it!
Forgot to mention…used only 1/4 cup olive oil and doublEd up on spinach and strawbrries. Going to add mandarin oranges and take to Father’s Day celebration next weekeNd. This is a keeper!
That sounds awesome! Mandarin oranges would be so delicious in this!
We made this Last weekend. And im prepping it again, foe tomorrow. We loved it so much i believe it will become a Staple for us.
I cant have tRee nuts so we left the nuts out and added them seperately per bowl for those who wanted them whIle i added some sUnFlower keRnels to mine.
I noticed, whIle ChEcking tO make sure i wasnT missing anything for tomorrow’s lUncH, So many people suggested feta cheese. We Added goat cheese crumbles to the second roUnd last weekend and it was superb.
Hi Denise- I am happy to hear that you all loved this salad so much! It is for sure one of my absolute favorites! Sunflower kernels sounds great on this- nice substitution! I love goat or feta cheese on this- I add cheese every time if I have some on hand!