Strawberry Poppyseed Salad with Chicken

Strawberry chicken salad with poppy seed dressing, fresh berries, toasted pecans, and feta. It’s so filling and healthy!

If you love berry salads, try our Berry Spinach Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette. 

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Strawberry Poppyseed Salad

The weather is finally breaking and that means it’s time for more salads. This strawberry poppyseed salad was inspired by Panera’s Strawberry Poppyseed and Chicken Salad. It’s a seasonal favorite on their menu.

With the perfect balance of savory chicken, crunchy romaine and fresh berries tossed in homemade Poppy Seed Dressing. The combination of flavors is refreshing, light, and fulfilling at the same time.

This salad serves well for dinner as a meal and makes two big plates. Or you can easily split it into four servings to serve as a light lunch. 

Strawberry Poppyseed Salad Ingredients

What I love about this recipe is that it uses so many good for you fresh ingredients and you only need a handful of things to make this salad. 

• Romaine lettuce 
• Chicken 
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Red onion
• Pecans
• Feta cheese

You’ll also need Poppy Seed Dressing. I highly recommend making your own with only 5-ingredients. It tastes so much better than anything from the store and keeps in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Easy Salad Variations

• Use your favorite berries. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries would all work in this salad.
• Instead of romaine, try tender greens like spinach, arugula, or spring mix lettuce.
• Change up the nuts. Walnuts, sunflower seeds, or sliced almonds are some of my favorites. Make sure to buy roasted nuts or roast them yourself for even more flavor.
• Don’t like feta? No problem. Goat cheese is a great swap for feta cheese. 
• Protein. I love baked chicken breast in this salad, whether cubed or shredded. But you can also use grilled chicken, pan-fried chicken, or rotisserie chicken.

You can also use shrimp or bacon in place of chicken.

How to Make Strawberry Poppyseed Salad

Make poppy seed dressing and chicken ahead of time. It’ll make salad prep so much faster. 

Depending on how you’re planning on serving the salad, you can either assemble everything in one large bowl/platter or individual serving bowls.

You basically start with a bed of lettuce, add the chicken, and then everything else. Spoon some of the dressing over the salad and serve immediately.

LEFTOVERS: Leftover salad does well in the fridge for a few days as long as the salad and dressing is kept separate. Add the dressing to the salad right before serving.

Make poppyseed salad into a complete meal by serving it alongside a veggie soup such as Ina Garten’s Roasted Tomato Basil Soup or Fresh Corn and Zucchini Chowder.

Love berry salads? Try our Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad or Strawberry Spinach Salad with Chicken. 

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Recipe originally published in August 2015, updated March 2020 with new photos, rewritten post, and additional information. No change to the recipe.