This tasty Blueberry Broccoli Spinach Salad with Poppyseed Ranch is the perfect blend of savory sweetness and one of my favorite salads of all time!
Sit back folks, I’m feeling chatty!
I have a little chickpea-centric story for y’all today, and I 110% understand if you want to scroll right on down to the recipe.
In fact, I’ll make things easy peasy and slap the recipe right here at the top of the post, and if you want to partake in our daily dose of craziness, scroll down for the goods.
MWAH!
Blueberry Broccoli Spinach Salad
Though it looks like it’s straight out of a gourmet bistro, this simple (and speedy) salad is easily thrown together with just a few flavorful ingredients at home! Snag your go to pre-made dressing or try my homemade poppyseed ranch!
Oh and I’m totally awarding bonus points to anyone who adds extra veggies to their bowl. Scratch and sniff cupcake stickers for all of you!
Blueberry Broccoli Spinach Salad
Ingredients
- 4 oz fresh baby spinach
- ½ cup chopped broccoli
- ½ a ripe avocado
- ¼ cup blueberries
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2-4 TBSP dried cranberries
- 2-4 TBSP roasted sunflower seeds (I used unsalted)
- black pepper to taste (optional)
POPPY SEED RANCH DRESSING:
- ½ cup of plain greek yogurt or sour cream
- ¼ cup of buttermilk extra if desired
- ¼ cup good quality mayonnaise homemade or store bought
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ tsp lemon juice or white vinegar
- 1 tsp poppy seeds
- ½ tsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp dried dill
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp paprika
- 1/8-1/4 tsp garlic powder to taste
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Start with the dressing (skip if using premade)
- Ranch dressing always tastes it’s absolute best made ahead of time. Whisk and chill for a few hours before serving or make things simple by tossing it together the night before.
- Peel 1 clove of garlic, then smash and mince it into a paste.
- Season with salt.
- Combine salted garlic paste with remaining dressing ingredients and whisk well.
- Pop in the fridge to chill for a few hours for flavors to set.
- Wash + dry spinach.
- Combine with broccoli, blueberries, dried cranberries, avocado, feta cheese, and sunflower seeds.
- Toss with dressing and serve.
- Season with black pepper, to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
special diets and swaps
- I used a feta made of goat and sheep’s milk, but you can also use straight up goat cheese or cow’s milk feta.
- Need to make this dairy-free? I gotcha! Skip the cheese, sub your favorite dairy-free dressing (this fruity blueberry balsamic is amazing!) and treat yourself with some tasty candied walnuts in place of the cheese.
- No blueberries? Try strawberries, raspberries, or even chopped apple as a fruity sub.
- I adore sunflowers in this salad, but pepitas would be great too!
Feel free to customize this Blueberry Broccoli Spinach Salad with all your favorite salad mix-ins and I’d love it if you stopped by and told me what tasty extras rocked your socks!
Not surprisingly, recipes are a hot topic of conversation around here.
Whether I’m brainstorming for a week’s worth of meals with the pilot, recipe developing for the blog, testing said recipes, jotting down random ideas in my handy dandy notebook, or writing up my completed masterpieces for the blog… recipes are kind of my thing.
As a result, Mia has become OBSESSED with the idea of recipes.
This kid LOVES creating recipes. Her version of a recipe, is a little list of what she can expect from the day. Her “recipes” typically include things like meals, naps, play dates, outings + activities, baths, story time, and sleep.
Let us pause why I laugh maniacally over the inclusion of naps in her lists. Right. We should add unicorn riding to the recipe while we’re at it ?
Also, I just shouted “Where’s my unicorn emoji?!” to Paul and Mia legit just handed me a stuffed unicorn. Well played, chickpea.
Each day around here is drastically different, thanks to my erratic schedule and the craziness that comes with having a flight instructor for a daddy. His work/home schedule changes daily and will flip flop from working all night and sleeping all day to extra-long day shifts that often result in a certain tot staying up past her bedtime to catch a glimpse of her marine.
To help us make each day feel a bit more routine for our nugget, started doing a little morning game plan for the day, based on the location of our favorite pilot, my work/play schedule, and rotating errands, playdates and such. She’s taken to calling them her recipes and it wasn’t long before she began creating her own for the day.
I think they’re her way of and finding her calm making sense of our inability to grasp a set routine… It wholeheartedly kicks me in the feels. I love that crazy kid and all the recipes we create together.
This concludes my hormone-induced cheesiness for the day.
Oh look! More salad!
I flipping LOVE this salad!
Loving this sassy spinach salad?
Try my Almond Crusted Goat Cheese Salad with Strawberries and Kiwi or Spring Mix Salad with Blueberry Balsamic Dressing next!
loved all the ingredients, but was not a fan of the dressing with this type of salad. In my opinion, it is much more suited for a balsamic vin or sweet poppyseed vin. Will make again, just switch out dressings.
I’m confused about something in this salad. Are the broccoli cooked first? Or do you chop up the raw broccoli?
Since there are so many ingredients in the salad dressing, is there a simpler ready=to=serve salad dressing that can be substituted?
Hi Sharon! For this salad I use raw broccoli. The crunch of raw broccoli with the creamy ranch dressing is a favorite of mine! You can absolutely use a pre-made ranch here in place of making a homemade dressing if preferred. When I’m not using homemade I usually enjoy the kinds of ranch you can find in glass jars in the cold/chilled section near the bagged salads instead of plastic bottled shelf stable ones. Hope this helps!
I’m wondering if the serving portion is correct. I did a calculation on the calories based on the amounts listed on the USDA site (https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/st) and I came up with 1025 calories total, so divided by 2 servings is 512 calories not 265.
Hi Cleo! I didn’t know they had a calculator on their site – that is awesome news! I have one provided by my recipe card that gives a general calculation. Since so many of my readers use different dressings here, and since the recipe yields 1 cup of dressing (some for the salad plus some extra for other salads later) I provided the values without the salad dressing (and noted it in the recipe) so that could account for the difference. According to my recipe card calculations the dressing is about 33 calories per tablespoon. The salad itself will also vary based on amount of cranberries and sunflower seeds chosen to add, as I provide a range for customization. The recipe card calculated it with 2 TBSP of each. Hoping this helps! xoxo
Great!! Loved it!!
So happy to hear it! Thanks Maria!
Made the dressing earlier today; used organic plain yogurt (a little more than a 1/2 cup) chia seeds instead of poppyseed (it’s what I had). Made it this time white vinegar (next try the lemon juice) . Added in the salad prawns, white onions and roasted pumpkin seeds. I prefer goat feta in brine it’s not a salty as some crumbled feta.
Planning to make this beautiful looking salad for the first time this weekend and have a couple of questions… if using pre made dressing, how much do I use? And how far in advance can this be made? Thank you!
Thank you Skye! The veggie portion of the salad can be prepped the day before minus the cheese, dressing, and avocado. Simply add those when you’re ready to enjoy it! I’d add 3-4 TBSP of dressing, toss, and then add extra to taste.
Nutrition facts below are an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. Values calculated for the salad pre-dressing. Add dressing to taste and adjust as needed.
Jenn, i think this salad is wonderful, but it was not clear starting out that the calories didnt include the considerable wallop of the dressing!
Thanks for providing this recipe!
Don
Hi Don! I’m glad you enjoyed the salad! It will vary based on swaps and brands used for the dressing ingredients but it should be considerably lighter than a traditional Ranch dressing. According to MyFitnessPal.com it should be around 64 calories for a standard 2 TBSP of dressing, which is a typical serving of dressing.
Made this tonight and absolutely loved it. The salad was great, but the dressing is amazing. It’s milder than a ranch, but still has great flavor and really lets the salad ingredients shine through. This might become our staple salad dressing. Thank you!
Thank you Caroline!! I’m so honored that the dressing is such a hit!
Beautiful salad and adaptable with ingredients on hand. Love the way you write recipes, all the options are so helpful.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe, Jenn! I made this salad yesterday and it turned out absolutely delicious! All my family loved this! I added strawberries in the dressing, and it was so good! How long do you think the dressing will last?
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear it Ann, thanks! I usually keep mine to drizzle over salads for 3-5 days. Any longer and my fridge gets packed and I forget it’s there haha!
Made this for family get together over the weekend and loved it! Rave reviews from friends and family. Definitely making this again!
Yay!!! So happy y’all enjoyed it!
I made this salad and dressing last night and added crab—it was restaurant worthy and the dressing is great as a dip for crackers and veggies! *****
Ohmygoooosh I want to live in your kitchen! That sounds awesome Robin, thanks!
Has anyone tried substituting plain Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise?
Hi thanks for great salad ideas! Do u think grated parmesan instead of feta would work with the blueberry broccoli spinach salad ?
Hey Angela! I think grated parmesan might be odd with the dressing and broccoli. I like parmesan with cooked broccoli but crunchy raw broccoli salads with a mayo based dressing would have me leaning towards feta or maybe even coarsely grated or cubed white cheddar cheese. If you only have parm handy maybe just go cheese free? Or try it on just a forkful and see what you think! Hope this helps and that you get a chance to try the salad!
We are going blueberry picking – for the first time – this coming weekend and I will be making this for sure. Delicious!
I love the blueberries in this! I would have never thought to add them to a broccoli salad!
Wow does this look fabulous! I’m pretty sure I’ve never had blueberries in salad before but it’s a great idea! Putting this on my menu for the week.
I love that you give us dairy free options too. We are lucky we can have goat cheese as you suggest. Can’t wait to try this salad.
So excited for you to try it! xoxo
I love blueberries (and strawberries, for that matter) in salads! In fact, this salad makes me really long even more than I already was for blueberry season. Beautiful – and the feta makes it even more yummy sounding!
Ohmygosh I am counting the days til blueberry season starts here! SO CLOSE!!! Thanks Ali!
I make so many spinach salads but I’ve never thought of adding broccoli before – love it! Will definitely make this next time!
Doooooooo it!
Love the idea of putting blueberries in a salad. It sounds delicious. I’m pretty sure my little guy would pinch all the blueberries though!
LOL! Thanks Cristie – hope you get a chance to try it!
Love the cuteness and the “recipe making”! So adorable! I also really like the idea of a blueberry and spinach salad, always see strawberries and spinach, but this sounds even better!
Thanks Sarah! Strawberry salads are also a favorite here too but oh man these blueberries! Love them so!
I guess I was hoping this salad would be more like the pre-made broccoli, cran, nut, poppyseed salads you can pick up at the store. I think it’s too rich with a ranch/milk based dressing. Not making again.
Hey Julie! I haven’t tried the store variety you speak of but I’m sorry my dressing pairing wasn’t what you were used to! Many fruit and spinach salads like this tend to have a sugar based poppy seed dressing and I was craving something a little different. I personally adore the ranch here but I completely understand that we all have different taste preferences.
I absolutely loved it. Didn’t think I would and was surprised by how much I loved it. Didn’t have sunflower seeds so I substituted walnuts. Amazing.
This looks like the best ever combination of healthy and tastefull dish!
Everything you added to this salad I have right now. That is rare and exciting. LOl , Thank you for posting. After all the holiday foods I am ready to be healthy again. Funny how it sneaks up on us.
It was meant to be! Hope you adore the salad – it’s one of our favorites! 🙂
Love the salad. Love the dressing. I just don’t love them together. But I’d make them both again, separately.
Hey Lauren! 🙂 So sorry they weren’t pure magic together for ya but I’m super glad you loved both the dressing and the salad respectively! For sure give my blueberry balsamic dressing a try next time you whip up the salad or even try a super basic citrus vinaigrette maybe if you prefer? Hope you find a pairing for each that rocks your socks off!
My boyfriend and I really enjoyed this salad. I make salads 5 nights a week, this was a nice change. Delicious! Thanks for the recipe
Thank you Cathy! I’m thrilled y’all enjoyed it! 🙂 5 salads a week is an awesome habit – so impressive!
This recipe is delicious. My son requests it often!
I’d like to adapt the recipe to serve 6 or 8. Do I just triple the recipe. Thank You
Hi Kathleen! Tripling the recipe should feed a crowd of 6-8 perfectly! 🙂
Any suggestions for substituting something else for the avocado?
Hey Michelle! You can skip it entirely and it will still be an awesome salad! I don’t always have avocado handy so I’ll make it without when that happens 🙂
I think, sometimes, the objection to avocado is the mouth-feel. If this is the case, Michelle could move the avocado to the dressing and process in a blender or food processor. That way she still gets the healthy benefit of the avocado. BTW, I made this salad for dinner and loved it.
Beth, that’s a great idea! So glad you loved the salad – thank you! 🙂
I made this salad for a baby shower and it was a huge hit. So fresh and light tasting. I served it in addition to Chicken Salad on Croissants, a pasta salad, fruit salad and Sparkling Peach Punch. Before the end of the shower I was sharing the recipe. Thank you!
Ahhh yay!!! Thank you Jan! That baby shower spread sounds like a dreamy combo and I’m so thrilled the recipe was a hit 🙂
I made this salad for my client. ..she loved it! Thank you so much!
I made this last night and used a lemon poppy seed vinaigrette instead of ranch. It was fabulous!!! I am going to make this a meal by adding chicken for a weekday meal. It’s a keeper!
Ahhh lemon! Yes! That dressing sounds like a fantastic pairing Lori, and I’m so stoked you enjoyed the salad! 🙂
This looks amazing – gonna try it tonight – thinking Kiwi and apple – this looks so versatile – Thanks
Kiwi and apple sounds AMAZING Donna! Let me know what you think 🙂 xoxo
I made this as directed. In my opinion, this salad would be much better served with a vinegrette dressing.
Hi Jill! I’m such a sucker for broccoli and ranch that I love it with the creamy dressing, but a vinaigrette would be super amazing! I typically serve my salads with a lighter dressing like this Cranberry Kale Quinoa Salad. Let me know if there’s something in particular you’ve been jonesin’ for dressing/salad-wise and I’ll try to point you in the right direction 🙂
Is there any way to make the dressing heart healthy? The veggies and blueberries are perfect
Absolutely Kay, thank you! You can make a greek yogurt based ranch dressing for the salad with a little lowfat buttermilk to thin it or give it an entirely new spin by using your favorite healthy oil/vinegar-based salad dressing. Here’s a little round-up I did with all my favorite dressing recipes — there are some super heart healthy ones in there to try: http://peasandcrayons.com/2015/04/14-homemade-dressing-recipes-to-shake-up-your-salad-game.html
YES! I love adding fruit to my salads. Specifically apples or any type of berries. This looks great. And your little one’s recipes 🙂 SO cute.
Thanks girly! I die when she lists out all her activities on her fingers and squeals “a recipe, momma!”