Strawberry Cucumber Salad with Poppy Seed Yogurt Dressing

This Strawberry Cucumber Salad with Poppy Seed Yogurt Dressing will become your new favorite summer salad.

Juicy berries, crisp cucumber, crunchy pecans, fresh dill and peppery arugula are coated in a creamy dressing. It’s great on its own or you can add protein to make it even more satisfying.

Plus, it’s naturally low carb and can be dairy-free, vegan, Paleo and Whole30 friendly!

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Strawberry cucumber salad

I love a salad with a lot of different colors and textures. But sometimes you don’t need a lot of ingredients to achieve that.

That’s why as soon as I tasted a version of this strawberry and cucumber salad at a Chicago restaurant I knew I had to make my own version.

It’s great for potlucks, picnics, parties and even events that don’t start with the letter ‘p.’

It has a lot going on, and all the elements are perfectly balanced: sweet strawberries, crisp cucumber, crunchy pecans, grassy dill and peppery arugula.

And then it’s all coated in a creamy poppy seed dressing. And by choosing the yogurt that works best for you, this salad becomes dairy-free, vegan, Paleo and/or Whole30 friendly.

 

What you need

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh strawberries
• 1 cucumber
• 5 oz. baby arugula (about 4 packed cups)
• 1/2 cup pecan halves
• 1 small bunch fresh dill
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more for the salad
• Freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup plain unsweetened yogurt of your choice (see options below)
• 1.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon poppy seeds

Equipment:

• a chef’s knife
• A paring knife
• an 8″ skillet
• a cutting board
• a serving bowl
• serving utensils
• Salad tongs
• Something to make the dressing in like a mixing bowl, a mason jar, a blender (this is my favorite not-crazy-expensive one) or a stick blender

How to make this Strawberry Cucumber Salad

For the dressing:

1. Add the yogurt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, poppy seeds and 3/4 teaspoon salt to a mason jar and shake until combined, or whisk in a bowl.
2. Taste it – does it need more salt? Want it more tangy by adding more vinegar? Want it thicker by adding more yogurt? Adjust if necessary. Makes about 1 cup.

For the salad

1. Add the pecan halves to a cold, dry 8″ skillet. Put it over medium heat and toast for 7-8 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the pecans are darker and aromatic. Pour onto a plate to cool to room temperature. Coarsely chop.
2. Trim the green ends off the strawberries. Halve if medium or quarter if very large.
3. Slice the cucumber in half crosswise, then halve both pieces lengthwise. With the pieces cut-side down, slice crosswise into 1/2″ thick chunks.
4. Add the arugula to a large bowl. Add in the pecans, strawberries and cucumbers. Rip off small sprigs of most of the dill (reserving the rest) and add to the bowl. Season with salt and, if desired, black pepper. Toss gently.
5. Shake or whisk the dressing again if necessary and pour about 3/4 of it over the salad and toss until coated. Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle more dressing and the remaining dill over the top, if desired.

Done! See? Nothing to it.

FAQs

Can I make this Strawberry Cucumber Salad ahead of time?

You can toast and chop the pecans up to 2 weeks advance. Keep covered at room temperature or in the fridge.

You can make the dressing up to a week in advance and keep it in the fridge. Give it a good whisk before serving if necessary.

Do not dress the salad until you want to serve it.

 

Can you eat cucumbers and strawberries together?

Yep! They’re actually a great combination. Strawberries are juicy, plump and sweet. Cucumbers have a juicy, crispy crunch. Their textures and flavors balance each other very well.

 

How do you keep cucumbers from getting soggy in a salad?

You have to cut up the cucumbers right before you want to serve the salad. It also helps to use a creamy dressing like the one here. If the dressing has too much acid (like from a lot of lemon juice or vinegar), the acid will break down the cucumber and make it get soggy faster.

Also, if chopped too far in advance, the cucumber will get too mushy.

 

Can I make substitutions?

Get ready for ideas. This salad is a great template for a ton of other ingredients.

• Raspberries would work, or chopped peaches, nectarines or apricots.
• You could add 1 cup blueberries to the strawberries for a red, white and blue 4th of July salad! Or use blueberries in place of the strawberries.
• If you don’t like fruit in a salad, swap out the strawberries for cherry tomatoes.
• You can use spinach instead of arugula. You could also go with kale (the baby variety or use this trick if you want to tenderize tougher kale leaves), butter lettuce, mixed greens or dandelion greens.
• If you want to make sure this a Whole30 strawberry salad, you have to find compliant yogurt. I used Kite Hill Plain Unsweetened Almond Milk Yogurt here and found its thickness to be just right.
• For a vegan strawberry salad, use an unsweetened dairy-free yogurt. The I mentioned above, Kite Hill, would work well.
• If you don’t need this to be Whole30 compliant or even dairy-free, any plain, unsweetened yogurt will do. If you want a really thick dressing, use full-fat Greek yogurt.
• You could add feta, goat cheese or blue cheese.
• Instead of dill, you could use basil or mint.
• Instead of pecans, you could really use any toasted nut or seed you like.
• To make this a full meal, top with chicken, shrimp or hard-boiled eggs.

 

Other recipes you might like:

• Rainbow Crunch Salad with Almond Butter Dressing
• Peach, Burrata and Prosciutto Salad
• Citrus, Avocado and Feta Salad
• Kale Salad with Granola Croutons
• Tomato Salad with Deconstructed Pesto

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