Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

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Spinach Salad with Bacon

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This spinach salad combines crispy thick-cut bacon, mushrooms, and soft-boiled eggs with a warm bacon vinaigrette. Pair with a rotisserie chicken and dinner is done!

spinach salad with warm bacon dressing

If there’s one thing that gets everyone in my family circling the kitchen like sharks at dinnertime, asking “Whatcha makin’?” it’s the smell of bacon sizzling on the stovetop. This spinach salad with crispy thick-cut bacon, boiled eggs, mushrooms, and warm bacon vinaigrette pairs well with a store-bought rotisserie chicken or pan-seared salmon. It’s also wonderful with potato leek soup. To save time, use pre-washed baby spinach, pre-sliced mushrooms, and even pre-cooked boiled eggs, if you like — and pick up a fresh baguette to round out the meal.

What you’ll need to Make Spinach Salad with warm Bacon dressing

Salad ingredients including eggs, honey, and apple cider vinegar.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Before making the salad, you’ll need to boil the eggs. I especially love runny soft-boiled eggs for this salad, but hard-boiled eggs are also delicious.

how to make spinach salad with warm bacon dressing

Begin by frying the bacon in a nonstick skillet, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. While the bacon cooks, start the dressing: in a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Whisk in a bowl with a vinegar and honey mixture.

When the bacon is done, use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel–lined plate.

how to make spinach salad with warm bacon dressing

Pour the bacon fat into a heatproof bowl, then return 4 tablespoons of the bacon fat to the skillet. Add the shallots to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Do not brown.

Shallots cooking in bacon fat.

Add the bacon fat and shallots from the skillet to the vinegar mixture and whisk to combine.

how to make spinach salad with warm bacon dressing

Add the spinach and mushrooms.

Bowl of spinach and mushrooms.

Toss to coat evenly, then taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary.

Spinach and mushrooms being tossed with a warm bacon dressing.

Divide the salad between 4 plates or bowls; evenly divide the egg and cooked bacon among them. Serve immediately.

spinach salad with warm bacon dressing

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Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

This spinach salad combines crispy thick-cut bacon, mushrooms, and soft-boiled eggs with a warm bacon vinaigrette. Pair with a rotisserie chicken and dinner is done!

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 8 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
  • ¼ cup finely chopped shallots, from 1 to 2 shallots
  • 2½ tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1½ tablespoons honey
  • 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Several grinds fresh black pepper
  • 6 oz (about 8 cups) baby spinach
  • 8 oz white button or baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
  • 3 hard or soft boiled eggs, thinly sliced or cut into wedges

Instructions

  1. Place the bacon in a medium nonstick skillet and fry over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.
  2. While the bacon cooks, start the dressing: in a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
  3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel–lined plate.
  4. Pour the bacon fat into a heatproof bowl, then return 4 tablespoons of the bacon fat to the skillet. (You can discard the remaining bacon fat or save it if you'd like it for cooking.) Add the shallots to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Do not brown.
  5. Add the bacon fat and shallots from the skillet to the vinegar mixture and whisk to combine. Add the spinach and mushrooms and toss to coat evenly. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary. Divide the salad between 4 plates or bowls; evenly divide the egg and cooked bacon among them. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Per serving (4 servings)
  • Calories: 338
  • Fat: 26 g
  • Saturated fat: 9 g
  • Carbohydrates: 13 g
  • Sugar: 9 g
  • Fiber: 2 g
  • Protein: 14 g
  • Sodium: 505 mg
  • Cholesterol: 157 mg

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Comments

  • Slightly sweet, slightly salty and ever so delicious!

  • This salad is excellent! My entire family and guests loved the dressing!

  • My whole family loved this salad!! The dressing was so delicious. I served it with salmon and it was a great meal. A total keeper.

  • This salad reminds me of my dad. He loved spinach and bacon salad with hot dressing made with the bacon drippings. My mom wouldn’t make it often so it was a special occasion dish. This recipe is very close to what my mom made but much better. The mushrooms were a great addition. So many flavors and textures….I love this recipe.

  • I made the Spinach Salad for my son’s birthday dinner. Not only was it delicious, it was beautiful! The eggs were perfect with it and the dressing was out of this world! Every salad recipe here is the bomb!

  • Can the dressing be made ahead and re-warmed?

    • — Jennifer Ottolini
    • Reply
    • Sure, Jennifer, I think that would be fine. Enjoy!

  • Jen, good morning, just to double check… no need to cook mushrooms, correct???

    Thank you
    Elena

    • Correct — hope you enjoy!

  • Another winner. I have made it twice and everyone loved it. Our new favorite spinach salad.

  • I made this for a quick Friday night dinner. Using locally grown spinach from the farm stand down the street, it came together quickly. My husband helped out and cooked the bacon and shallots while I prepped the rest of the ingredients. Delicious – this will go in the family cookbook!

  • Is there a worthy substitute for bacon fat for those of us who don’t eat pork?

    • Hi Adele, if you plan to use turkey bacon, I’d suggest using vegetable oil in place of the bacon fat. If you plan to omit the bacon completely, I’d honestly suggest a different salad (as the lack of any kind of bacon would make the salad significantly less appealing). Hope that helps!

    • This salad recipe is a keeper, recipe as is. My husband told me to send it to him and he’s pretty picky! We made it alongside of pan seared chicken. We will make this with grilled chicken or rotisserie for a simple meal too!

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