Summer Salad with Creamy Strawberry Salad Dressing

by Carrie Forrest, MPH in Nutrition | May 7, 2020 (updated: 3/14/22)

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This easy Summer Salad with Creamy Strawberry Salad Dressing is so refreshing and delicious. This recipe can easily be made dairy-free and vegan.

Summer Salad with Creamy Strawberry Salad Dressing in a bowl with berries, greens and fennel.

I can’t believe it’s only May, but we’ve already have several heat waves here in California. The warm weather has got me making lots of summery food, including this delicious salad with strawberry dressing.

Strawberries are actually a spring food, coming into season around March. But, if you’re like me, you can usually find fresh strawberries at the market almost all year round. Sometimes I find myself with too many fresh strawberries, so this recipe is perfect when you want to use them up and not let them go to waste.

The highlight of this salad is the creamy Strawberry Yogurt Dressing that I made using dairy-free yogurt (you can use regular yogurt if you aren’t dairy-free).

Contents hide

1 Why You Need This Recipe

2 Recipe Steps

3 Recipe FAQs

4 Other Summery Recipes You Might Like

5 Summer Salad with Creamy Strawberry Salad Dressing

Why You Need This Recipe

You can use frozen or fresh strawberries to make this creamy dressing.
Adapt this recipe to use dairy yogurt or dairy-free yogurt.
Try this Creamy Strawberry Dressing to help change up your normal salad dressings.

Recipe Steps

Step One

First, you have to gather up all of your ingredients to make this recipe. Please feel free to use whatever berries on top of the salad that you love the most. You can even use frozen strawberries for the dressing. I would suggest defrosting them in the fridge overnight before making this recipe.

The other important part of the salad dressing is finding a dairy-free yogurt at the market. If you aren’t dairy-free, then you can use regular unsweetened Greek yogurt. My first choice is coconut yogurt because it is mild in flavor and thick like a traditional yogurt. I also like cashew yogurt a lot. Look for it in the refrigerated section of your health food store.

bowl of strawberries with coconut yogurt

Step Two

I like to assemble the salad before making the dressing. My preference is to use romaine or baby greens, and then toss them with fresh berries and sliced fennel.

Step Three

To make the salad dressing, you just have to combine strawberries with the yogurt, honey (or dates if you are vegan), vinegar, and olive oil. How easy is that? And, what a pretty dressing, too.

As always, please see the recipe card at the end of this post with the exact measurements and directions.

I used to make all my dairy-free salad dressings with hemp seeds or cashews, but using coconut yogurt might just become my favorite trick to get a creamy texture.

Step Four

After you make the dressing in the blender, I suggest you simply pour it over the salad, toss it, and serve.

Would it be cliche to say this tastes like summer? It does to me!

salad with strawberry dressing and patriotic napkin

Recipe FAQs

What does fennel taste like?

It is delicious! It tastes like a mild licorice flavor, but with the texture of an apple. You can find it in a bulb in the produce section of most grocery stores. To use it, just peel off the outer layer of the bulb, wash it, and slice or chop it. You can eat fennel raw or you can cook with it.

Can I use regular dairy yogurt for this recipe?

Yes, you can. I would recommend using full-fat regular or Greek yogurt if you can eat dairy.

Other Summery Recipes You Might Like

I hope you make this recipe! If you do, please leave a comment and a starred review below.

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