LOVE this! I've tried various substitions (pine nuts vs almonds, using different dressings for a short cut) but the original recipe is my favorite. The dressing is one of the best I've ever made - the sesame seeds and poppy seeds add so much flavor. Definitely toast the almonds in the butter, it adds a very special touch. The only variation is I always use a nice extra virgin olive oil (NOT vegetable oil as the recipe says). Last night I also added goat cheese for the first time and I loved it and will include that moving forward. Every party/dinner I serve it at every last drop is gone (and everyone asks for the recipe).
Well all those reviews are not wrong - this is delicious! Even my spinach hating Husband loved it. I only made 1/4 of the recipe as it was just for the 2 of us.
This was outstanding and I had many requests for the recipe....I did add a few ingredients though...in step 2 I added 1/3 C. of crumbled feta cheese...in step 3 I added 1/2 tsp. Lawry Salt and 1/4 tsp. Lawry Garlic Pepper.
Jamie, you're a genius! This salad is so delicious, I could probably eat the whole thing by myself! The only changes I made was to make less dressing. I used about 2oz each white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and olive oil and probably only 3 TBS of sugar. I only changed the portions so it would contain less calories and I could eat more! Thanks for sharing this one, Jamie!
FAbULOUS. This salad is so delicious and tasty. The only think I did wrong was put the dressing on an hour before serving and got a little soggy. I'd recommend having the dressing on the side and pour on right when you are about to eat it.
This salad was great! My husband (a chef) loved it and said it was perfect with our surf & turf dinner with friends. I used both spinach and romaine lettuce!
Delicious! I made it exactly as the recipe states and it was perfect. I did toast the almonds and the sesame seeds (350 for 10 minutes). I will make this often!
Just made this for lunch and it was so good. I left out the poppy seeds and butter and only used 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. Will make this again and again.
I do not understand why some of these people totally changed the recipe it was perfect the way it was! I can see a few tweeks but after that you might as well post your own recipe...
So simple and tastes great. While putting this together for a dinner party I was thinking what is the big deal? It's salad with almonds and cranberries. Once you add the dressing, WOW! Once you try this with the dressing you will be surprised at how delicious it is. Everyone loved it. I mixed field greens with the spinach and used a little less sugar in the dressing, everything else was exactly as the recipe calls for. I will definitely make this again.
Took this to work for food day and everyone loved it, especially the dressing. I made it according to the recipe, using organic baby spinach (didn't chop it up) and substituting extra virgin olive oil for the vegetable oil. It was easy to make the dressing the night before, toast the almonds and put in a baggy after they cooled, then combine the spinach, almonds and dried cranberries right before lunch, shake up the dressing and toss everything together!
i substituted balsamic vinegar instead of white vinegar and it made the dressing SO much better. great recipe!
This is my ultimate favorite salad. It's always a huge hit at gatherings. The only thing I do to change it is add some crumbled Gorgonzola cheese for some protein (and a wonderful flavor).
This salad recipe is great! After making it exactly as written several times I changed it a little bit. I only had walnuts so I put them in a small skillet, cooked for about a minute. I then added 3 Tbsp. of sugar and 2 Tbsp. water. Once the walnuts were well coated I removed them from the heat and allowed to cool completely.
This was great, fast and easy! Toasting the almonds and sesame seeds is definitely crucial. Added mandarins for extra substance like a review suggested, I thought the recipe might need more flavor but it was great as is. Plan on making this again!
Very good, but phaylock was right, it is better with fresh strawberries. A friend made it that way for me last week.
I am a big fan. So fun, and I loved being able to have it for several meals, and it looks so pretty! I was definitely eating this for my 'dessert.'
Ok, after going over a mental list of ingredients and assuring myself I didn't mess anything up, I can cofindently say this salad was not good. I can't imagine why anyone would rate it 5 stars. The spinach, almonds and cranberries are a good start, but I did not care for the dressing. All I tasted was oil & sugar with a hint of vinegar. My boyfriend agreed, which makes me even more curious as to the ratings for this, because he's the salad eater, not me. I'm sorry, but this salade was not good.
I decided to try this recipe because of the thousands of great reviews. I followed the recipe exactly. I split it into two bowls, one I added almonds and the other I put in pine nuts as recommended by other reviewers. It turned out too sweet that I had to get rid of the excess dressing and diluted the remaining with water and kept draining it. I added black pepper, some lemon tuna slices, all in one packet spices and salt. And even after all this, my family and I think its one of the worst salads we ever tried. If you still want to go ahead and try it, I suggest NOT putting a half cup of sugar, other reviewers added 1 table spoon and were happy with the salad, so don't put too much, taste it and then decided if you want to put more.
This is incredible, mostly because of the dressing. It is nutty and rich from the toasted sesame seeds, sweet with the sugar, and just the right amount of balanced tang with the vinegars. I made in a small tupperware container, so I could keep shaking throughout the night for my dinner party of 4. I didn't have cranberries (oops), so I used chopped up dried apricots, which worked quite nicely. Thanks for this awesome and relatively cheap alternative to store bought dressings!
I made this for thanksgiving. I'm southeast asian so I was very very hesitant to try this recipe since it's definitely not the norm but it was a HUGE hit. Everyone loved it! Can't wait to make it again!
This is a wonderful, wonderful salad! I tried it with blueberries instead of cranberries, and it was delicious. I'll definitely be adding it to my 'favorites' list.
I made this for a lunch yesterday. I didn't want to add the poppy seeds since so many reviewers said it wasn't necessary. However, I did toast the almonds AND the sesame seeds. The salad dressing smelled too vinegar-y it was a turn-off at first and I was worried no one would like it. But I mixed it in with the salad anyway and it wasn't so bad. The ladies at the lunch complimented on the salad - they really liked it! :) The host emptied my salad bowl and kept the rest (which wasn't much anyway). Overall, this was great.
BEST SALAD EVER!!! I usually don't like salads that are potentially sweet, so I was hesitant when making this. I was SO happy with the results. It wasnt too sweet; as a matter of fact, it was sweet and salty. This is a recipe that I will make again and again! I am making it for dinner tonight and I am going to add some chopped apple and a bit of shredded cheese. YUM!!!
Dressing is 5 stars! But spinach salad must be made with fresh strawberries, or mandarin oranges if fresh strawberries are way out of season, never with dried fruit. Blech.
One of my faves on this site. Add small can mandarin oranges, drained, and 8 oz crumbled bleu cheese or feta and you will receive marriage proposals ;)
Very "classy" salad and so delicious. Relatives loved it during Thanksgiving dinner. Someone commented they "could eat the whole bowl by themself!" This one is going in my recipe box.
Everyone loved this salad so much at Christmas time! Even picky eaters loved this and asked for the recipe. I used pecans instead of almonds the second time I made it and I use Craisins for an awesome taste. i have to put leftovers in the fridge or I keep eating! I have been looking for a spinach salad dressing and this is the one. The dressing tastes especially yummy if you make up a batch and keep it in the fridge for a couple of days before you use it.
This is delicious! I too toasted the sesame seeds and almonds at 350 for 10 min. w/ no butter, used 1/2 cup light olive oil instead of veg. oil, and kept sugar the same as called for, 1/2 cup, otherwise it was too vinegary. I added feta cheese to the dressing mixture too.
I used some beautiful fall grown spinach, almost a pound and the dressing covered it perfectly. Simple but elegant salad. Definitely a keeper.
Wonderful salad. I made it as written and as everyone else said, I was asked for the recipe over and over again. I did not dress the salad, preferring to keep the dressing to the side. Now I am looking forward to making some for myself to eat this week at work.
we all loved it. used whole raw almonds and chopped up- the extra big crunch was yummy. added blue cheese and used a 10 ounce bag of baby spinach. I don't think you need all that dressing and definitely not all that oil (next time I will use half of the oil and try using half of the sugar). yummy, thanks.
This is so good. I used Splenda instead of sugar and toasted the almonds and the sesame seeds. Just wonderful!
This salad is incredible! I could eat it daily and my whole family loves it. I didn't add the sesame or poppy seeds b/c they were a tad expensive for the small amount I was going to use. I sliced some red onion into the salad instead of adding it to the dressing and I also added bleu cheese as suggested. I love mixed greens and the dressing + blend of flavors was amazing! The only downside is that the salad wilts quickly so leftovers are a little sad looking. We usually just keep the ingredients on hand and add the dressing individually instead of tossing the whole salad - problem solved! SO GOOD!
This is a great salad! Very tasty, except I think next time I will use half the amount of oil in the dressing.
This is a delicious salad, and reasonably easy to make. The dried cranberries and toasted almond slivers were excellent together, and the dressing was very tasty. The only thing we did differently was serve the salad and dressing separately so everyone could dress their salad to their desired taste. Definitely a recipe we'll use again and again.
I'm a single guy who doesn't know how to cook. I impressed all my friends with this salad.
OMG! This was so good. I made it to go with a bowtie pasta and sausage dish that I wanted to try and both were outstanding. Thank you Jamie. Keep 'em coming.
4.5 Stars: I followed other reviews and decreased sugar to a little less than 1/3 cup and it was still quite sweet. I used onion powder instead of onion and think that was a good move. I hate poppyseeds, so those were deleted. I added gorgonzola, which was fabulous. I did not premix, but let everyone mix their own. No one else at my house would try it, but I thought it was delicious.
Wowsers!! This is definitely a family favorite. My husband always gets nervous when I try new salad recipes and he absolutely loved this. I have told all my friends about it. This should definitely be on the top ten list! Thanks so much Jamie!
Made this for a church luncheon for 40 people and everyone loved it! Best salad recipe I have used in a long time.
I need to eat foods which are low-fat and have very little acid (such as vinegar). I used 1/3 of the vegetable oil and 1/3 of the vinegar (used all red (raspberry!) wine vinegar)...and this was STILL the best spinach salad I have ever eaten and a salad I could easily serve company.
this recipe is great with rasberry dressing. I've used Marie's fat free and it's wonderful! Also, every once in a while I'll add rinsed off mandarine oranges. Nice in the warmer months.
I used strawberries and found that everyone really does love it.
I made this salad for our Christmas dinner and it was delicious! I took other user's suggestions and used Craisins, mandarin oranges, and Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinaigrette. Excellent suggestions! Easy to make and yummy to your tummy! Update: I made this again for Christmas dinner 2011 and it was still a big hit! The only change I made this year was that I used a spring mix salad instead of the spinach. Most of my family members are not big spinach eaters.
I made this for Thanksgiving and it definite complimented the meal. The dressing was what really makes this salad. I will surely make this one again.
Truly delicious! I added lightly sauteed mushrooms with a bit of fresh garlic. The dressing was fantastic...has a little kick but the cranberries balance it out! This will become a salad mainstay in our house.
This is by far the best salad I have ever had. I brought it to my book group dinner and everyone had seconds and thirds. Everyone asked for the recipe and their families and friends have raved about it when they made it, too. A REAL winner!
I've used Jamie's recipe for a few years now and just wanted to thank you for all the compliments I receive on this dish. It is extremely elegant and easy. I use whatever vinegars I have on hand...balsamic, malt, red wine, raspberry balsamic...it always turns out delicious.
Loved it. Simple and delicious. Will cut down on the sugar next time to my taste.
This recipe provided the base for the best salad ever. I substituted pine nuts (toasted with the sesame seeds at 350* for 10, no butter) for the almonds, used Craisins instead of cranberries, omitted the poppy seeds, halved the sugar and then added bleu cheese and mandarin oranges. Everyone raved!
I made this salad for my family tonight and they absolutely loved it. Next time I will use splenda in place of the sugar. Make it a little better for you.
Jamie's recipe is wonderful! I've been making a similar recipe for years. Some fun alternations we have done are using cashews instead of almonds, using black sesame seeds instead of poppy seeds/sesame seeds. Just use what you like! We have used fresh strawberries/blackberries/raspberries when in season. The only thing different is we do not use onion in the dressing. Have fun with this recipe and thank you for sharing this, Jamie!
The best ever!!! The only thing that I can possibly add is that make sure you use baby spinich as the other spinich has somewhat of a bitter taste (mine did anyway).
As good as everyone says. I made it as written. It went over well for Thanksgiving and totally seemed to work as a fall salad. I made it again but added a chicken breast, a bit of gorgonzoloa cheese, and a few pine nuts and had it for lunch. Great!
This is a go-to potluck recipe for me! I reduce the sugar by half, toast the almonds on a baking sheet instead of sauteeing them in a skillet, and substitute 1/4 c. olive oil for the 1/2 c. vegetable oil.
Looks interesting. I'll try it out.
As everyone says, this salad is amazing. I'm allergic to nuts, so I substituted sunflower seeds for almonds. They take a while to roast, but it was delicious!
This spinach salad is even better than the SEVEN SPINACH SALAD, also offered here - and the difference is the toasted almond slivers. Toasting the almonds makes all the difference, as it brings out the flavor soooo much more than just serving them raw. Be careful not to burn these - it's easy to do. These salads are just wonderful. The combination of flavors is what makes them so outstanding. In this recipe, it's the complementary flavors of cranberries, toasted almonds and spinach. I threw in a little mixed salad greens - about a cup - with baby spinach leaves. The dressing pulls it all together. This salad is killer. I feel healthier already!
Yum! I was short on time and used paul newmans balsamic vinaigrette and it was great!
This is excellent, especially during fall/holiday/winterseason!!! Dried cranberries make it sweet and nuts give it crunch. Dressing is great and can be made ahead, only I cut the sugar just a little. I also do my almonds ahead. I usually use romaine and spring mix (mesclun) instead of all spinach, and add more greens as we LOVE salad, as this dressing makes alot. I have shared this w/ alot of my friends, and they just love it! I'm making it for Tgiving, for something "green" and different! Try it, you will LOVE IT! Thanks for a keeper, Jamie!!!!
I tried this recipe today, and my husband and I just love it. Thanks for sharing. It's a keeper.
I can't help but laugh at the reviews of this incredible recipe. People change it all around their way and even use bottled dressing. The author goes to all trouble to put her recipe up here and no one follows it. THIS RECIPE ROCKS! Every time I make it to the letter everyone wants the recipe!
I serve this at holidays and everyone loves it! I do serve the dressing in a saucer so it's up to you how much you want on your salad since it's the only thing that's unhealthy.
This recipe is fantastic. I agree with cutting down on the sugar by at least half (I used 1/4 cup and it was more than fine) and I also used dried cherries. This is a very simple and tasty dressing. I will definitely be making this again several times this summer!
Instead of buying all the nuts, seeds, and berries, I just used two bags of 'berry almond trail mix' by Planters from Safeway. So much easier, cheaper, and this salad still tasted amazing!
Incredible dressing! Don't buy dressing, make this it is so easy and soooooo delicious. Like the other reviews say don't use butter, just toast the almonds and sesame seeds and sub the craisins for the cranberries. This salad is GGGGGRRRREAAT!!
This is a family favorite, especially at the holidays (Christmas and Thanksgiving). I keep trying other salads and they just can't hold a candle to this one. LOVE IT!!
Fantastic! Everyone I make this for loves it. I did a few changes, I switched the almonds for pine nuts and toasted them and I omitted the poppy seeds and sesame seeds. I also used splenda instead of plain sugar. If you don't like your salad swimming in dressing, I would recommend halving the recipe.
a truly wonderful salad... the only changes I made were to add some feta cheese.With the dressing I used olive oil and only about half the recommended amount, splenda for the sugar, dry toasted the almonds ( less fat), fresh finely chopped red onion and for the paprika, I used a mixture of sweet and hot paprika... makes a great salad just that little bit healthier.
Absolutely LOVED this salad. I used mixed greens instead of just the spinach - which I highly recommend. I also added crumbled gorgonzola, which gave a nice balance of salt to the sweetness of the dresssing & dried cranberries. The dressing is wonderful. I left out the poppyseeds, because I didn't have any on hand - but didn't miss them at all. I will definatley be making this one again and again.
With so many rave reviews, can you stand one more? Incredible salad...I have made many times since discovering and it is marvelous. Made it exactly as recipe instructs and it is an alltime favorite with family and friends. Thanks for sharing.
This is absolutely deee-licious!!!The only thing I did different was to buy slivered almonds and toasted them myself in the toaster oven, thus omitting the butter and saute time. We have already had this several times and company just raves over it. Simple, yet so good.
Excellent! I added a can of mandarin oranges (drained) and sprinkled on some feta cheese just for color and variety. Dressing was divine- certainly a keeper.
Now my go-to salad. We love it! I find that we only need about 1/8 of the dressing per salad we make, which is great because I can save it in the fridge and just whip the salad up in no time. Thank you!
Excellent as written. However, I am not a big fan of vinegar, so I decrease it to just 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar.
This is a really easy, tasty salad to make exactly as the recipe states or use as a starting point to make your own substitutions. I know I will keep coming back to this recipe substituting different lettuces, fruits, and nuts. I've made it twice now...once using half baby spinach, half spring mix. The second time I used all spring mix. Others enjoyed this as well, except for those who don't really like sweetness in their salad.
What can I say that hasn't already been said? This salad is to die for! My bowl is always empty ... whether I serve it at home or carry it in. Delicious!
This salad is fantastic! I didn't have white wine vinegar so I used salad vinegar instead. It was delicious. It also makes a great looking presentation. Elegant and delicious.
I love this salad. The dressing is AMAZING! I put it on every salad I make and always have it in the frig ready to go!!!
I really enjoyed this recipe. I have eaten one very similar that had apples, cheese chunks and cashews. The dressing was also similiar except instead of the paprika it had dried mustard powder. I followed the recipe for the dressing except that I substituted olive oil for the vegetable oil. The dressing was a little strong in the vinegar flavor and sweetness. I think next time I'll reduce the sugar and increase the olive oil. I liked it so much that I wanted to finish off my bag of spinach so I used some extra dried cranberries(from the bag I bought) and added sunflower seeds because I ran out of the almonds. I have found myself thinking about this recipe several times since I made it and I'm eager to make it again.
Easy to make. Great. Made it for a cocktail party. Everyone loved it. I toasted the almonds in the oven w/o butter. They don't need it. Followed the suggestion of the gorgonzola and thin red onion slices instead of minced onion. For the dressing, I used 1/3 c oil, and used half sugar , half Splenda.
Served it for the first time at a dinner party and it was a huge hit. No changes made.
have made this several times for dinner guests and is always a hit. i never mix in the dressing, but instead let guests drizzle it themselves. i find the dressing is better after it has refrigerated for at least an hour.
Brought this to Thanksgiving last year and everyone loved it! I've made it a few times since and I always get requests for the recipe. The dressing is so fresh and the dried cranberries add just the right touch!
This is an excellent salad. I have made it many times with spinach or mixed greens, or a combination. All are great!
This recipe truly is fantastic. I adapted it a little based on other reviews and my personal preferences. I used brown sugar instead of white, and a little less sugar than the recipe called for. I was short of white vinegar, so I added a little lime juice. I used pine nuts instead of almonds and left out the poppy seeds. I also used Craisins. People LOVED it. I'm going to take this to my next potluck this Sunday. The dressing does make much more than you need, so I have enough left over for this Sunday that I don't have to make any more. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Loved it - also toasted almonds and sesame seeds in oven. I didn't use poppy seeds and it was still fantastic. THANK YOU - great recipe. Restaurant worthy.
