Fresh berries are the star of this chopped salad that is topped with a homemade poppy seed dressing and sugared almonds.
I have always liked salads. But I’ve usually been the “bring me a side salad before my meal” kind of person. Sometime in the last couple of years, though, that has changed. I don’t eat salads for dinner as often as I should, but I have definitely gained an appreciation – and love – for a good salad for dinner. And more recently, I have had a little chopped salad addiction.
It all started with the Thai Chopped Chicken Salad. And then there was the Chinese Chopped Salad. And even then, I warned you that this might be the year of the chopped salad.
So of course, I had to deliver on that promise, and I’m back with another chopped salad. And this one is perfect for the summertime.
I was actually looking through the fridge one day, and there were oodles of berries sitting there – staring at me. And all of a sudden, all I could think about was my very favorite salad at Cafe Zupas. And I couldn’t get it out of my head. I could honestly eat their Nuts About Berries Salad every single day.
Well, I didn’t want to hop in the car to go out and buy a salad, so I decided to make something myself.
Now, this isn’t a true copycat of that salad. The dressing is different, and their nuts are different. But I didn’t even care, because this was so good. So good, in fact, that I pretty much ate half of it myself.
This will definitely be my go-to salad for the rest of the summer!!
- ¼ cup white balsamic raspberry blush vinegar
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon grated onion
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1½ teaspoons poppy seeds
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 3 cups mixed berries (sliced strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
- In a blender or food processor, combine the vinegar, sugar, mayonnaise, onion, salt and dry mustard. Process until combined. Slowly stream in the vegetable oil. Stir in the poppy seeds.
- Place the almonds in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Sprinkle the sugar over the almonds. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar starts to melt and coat the almonds. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the lettuce and berries. Pour the poppy seed dressing over the top and toss to combine. Stir in the almonds and serve.
More Chopped Salads:
Around the Web:
Portillo’s Chopped Salad from The Girl Who Ate Everything
Southwest Chicken Chopped Salad from Lauren’s Latest
BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad from Iowa Girl Eats
This salad is definitely perfect for summer! Love all those berries!
bursting with berries! love it. 🙂
Love how summery this is! And I also love that you made your own poppyseed dressing. It sounds wonderful!
This is so pretty and so right up my alley! I cannot stop eating berries!
I LOVE chopped salads! Yours is so pretty. I need to try your poppy seed dressing, for sure!
So perfect!
I am berry addict, so this salad is scheduled tomorrow for lunch! Even if berries right now are a tad expensive…
This looks delicious! I love poppy seed dressing, too, but I’ve never made it myself. Great looking salad.
This is my favorite Zupas salad too! Yummm. I can almost taste that candy-like dressing. 🙂
Summer perfection! Love all the berries!
love these kind of salads! Berries are awesome in salads! Yum!
I wish summer berries would never ever go out of season! I love adding them to my salads!
What a beautiful/romantic looking salad. I love salads with berries.
I love summer berries and this is such a perfect salad for them!
What a gorgeous salad – I just the pop of color the berries add! I’ve never made a chopped salad at home, but they’re one of my favorite things to order out 🙂
This looks amazing. I love poppy seed dressing with fresh berries.
Whatever it takes, I MUST get this berry salad in before the end of the summer! I can’t get excited about salads unless there’s a sweet note in them and this is perfect!
What a beautiful salad, Deb! The berries, nuts and poppy seed dressing sound like the perfect combination.
What a gorgeous salad! And I LOVE all the berries in this!
Beautiful salad 🙂 it looks like it is bursting with flavor!