Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
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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!
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
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.
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.
When the bacon is done, use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel–lined plate.
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.
Add the bacon fat and shallots from the skillet to the vinegar mixture and whisk to combine.
Add the spinach and mushrooms.
Toss to coat evenly, then 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.
YOu may also like
- Cobb Salad
- Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese, Walnuts and Honey-Dijon Vinaigrette
- BLT Salad with Chicken
- Baby Kale Salad with Lemon, Parmesan and Crispy Roasted Chickpeas
- Spinach Salad with Berries, Pecans, and Goat Cheese in Raspberry Vinaigrette
- Peaches, Burrata, and Prosciutto with White Balsamic Vinaigrette
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!
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
- Place the bacon in a medium nonstick skillet and fry over medium heat, 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.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel–lined plate.
- 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.
- 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
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- 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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Best spinach salad and dressing EVER!!!
I just want to say that this was FANTASTIC. The dressing smelled pretty strongly of the ACV but I literally said “I trust Jenn” aloud and poured it all over the salad. And it was sooooooo good. This will be in our regular salad rotation. I loved it with added avocado too.
Thank you for another winner Jenn!
This is a fantastic and easy recipe! My only changes were cooking the mushrooms and adding some red bell pepper.
A question: my husband cannot abide vinegar; do you think it would be possible to replace the vinegar with lemon juice?
So glad you like this salad, Anna! Yes, you could use lemon juice in place of the vinegar. 🙂
Outstanding! My husband and I love this salad! Cool crisp and filling, we didn’t change a thing it’s a great meal all on it’s own. Thanks Jenn, we continue to go to your salad recipes, yummy!
This salad and salad dressing is delicious! My first time making a warm bacon dressing and it won’t be my last. As someone else already noted, the dressing keeps well in the refrigerator and can easily be warmed to use again. I made another salad today using spinach, mushrooms, minneola tangelo segments and walnuts. Very tasty lunch and definitely a keeper! Thanks again, Jenn!
The dressing sounds amazing, but neither my fiancé nor I like mushrooms or boiled eggs (I truly wish I did!) Would there be any other vegetables you could recommend for this salad? Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes!
Hi Kathryn, this is really flexible; you could add what ever your favorite fresh vegetables are. A couple of things that come to mind are bell peppers or snap peas. Hope you enjoy if you try it!
This recipe brought back memories from the 80’s when I first tried a warm bacon spinach salad. I was a little wary at first because the ones I remember were pretty greasy. This one was not at all and I’ve since made it several times for a perfect quick dinner. I love the dressing on this salad. It goes perfectly with the spinach and mushrooms. Thanks Jen!
Crazy good salad. From the first time we tasted it it became a staple and family favorite. Serving it at a dinner party gains rave reviews and requests for the recipe. Thanks for making me look good Jenn with another amazing recipe. You’re my go to chef!!
This is my absolute favorite spinach salad. Perfect! Just what I was looking for. Thanks Jenn.
I made this for Christmas dinner and I had to triple the recipe. It was a hit! I can also report that you absolutely CAN make the dressing ahead. I made the dressing about 48 hours ahead, placed the cooked bacon in the fridge and put the finished dressing in a jar. When it was time to make the salad, I put the bacon in the microwave for just a minute or two to crisp it back up and then I heated the dressing up until it was warm. PERFECT. I also had a little leftover dressing and I put it back in the fridge and used again later in the week on regular tossed salad also warmed it back up just enough to re-liquify the grease. Great stuff! Only change I made was adding just a little extra honey. I liked it a little less sour. I’m definately adding this to my personal recipe collection.
This was a big hit with the family. The dijon/honey/cider vinegar was a great combination with the bacon fat. Your recipes are always a success. I enjoy sharing my food photos and your recipes with my daughter who lives in Europe. Great recipes for a new bride. The stepwise instructions paired with your photos maks it easy for her to learn. Thanks again.
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