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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This is an amazing recipe and reminiscent of one I had at a favorite downtown restaurant once upon a time. It’s really perfect, I did hard boiled eggs. The next time I make it will be with soft-boiled eggs. I also followed your egg guide, thanks for the link! My brother introduced me to your site and I have been happily cooking one recipe after another. My family raves over each one. You leveled up my cooking.! I just pre-ordered your new cookbook and am looking forward to see what other magic you’ve got cooking.
💗
First, I acknowledge that you are a serious chef. From your pics, I can see that your stovetop is clearly a Viking, and there are no better appliances for those of us who like to be meticulous about what we eat and how we cook. Second, basically, the recipe is extremely good in terms of overall concept and approach. Third, however, I honestly cannot fathom why you feel that a recipe that includes both bacon as well as bacon fat needs to add additional salt… That makes the recipe not only amazingly unhealthy, but also pretty much unpalatable. I guess “Big Salt” would be proud of you, though your followers will all be dead from heart attacks pretty soon if your recipes are all as dangerous as this one is. Please explain why you tell your fans to add additional salt?
Hi Bruce, sorry to hear you found this unpalatable! Feel free to cut back or omit the added salt if you make this again.
Wow Bruce! Get a life…
somewhere besides this wonderful website!
I made this for dinner tonite and my husband and I loved it. Will definitely make it again!
To the person who criticized the salt…you are rude!! People normally adjust salt in a recipe, but maybe you should just “pound yours”.
Bruce,
You really should read James DiNicolantonio’s book titled “The Salt Fix”, published in 2017. He references all his sources and presents irrefutable evidence that salt is absolutely NOT the enemy.
Don’t just drink the koolaid, research it for yourself.
Ruth on 4 May 2021
If the recipe was called low salt or salt free you may have a case, but it isn’t and if you don’t want added salt don’t add it. This is a free recipe, you can do what you want. You need to save your complaints for for those of us who really care what you think which is nobody.
This is a delicious recipe. Next time I will swap in red wine vinegar, I prefer a tart dressing. Make the soft cooked egg, perfect addition!
You know when you have a craving and make the thing you’re craving but it ends up being a bit of a letdown? THIS was the complete opposite, it exceeded every expectation of a spinach salad I had been imagining for a few days. I made the dressing as-is, only omitting the salt, and it really was incomparable (even though I accidentally browned the shallots). So much flavour. Brava! A new favourite!
This recipe takes me back. My mom used to make this all the time when I was a kid. I made it last night and it was delicious. My hubby even commented how good the dressing was. I used red onion instead of shallots (I didn’t have any on hand) and just poured the dressing on top of everything instead of mixing it all together.
So delicious! I didn’t have any mushrooms, so I added some diced yellow onion and feta cheese, and it was fantastic. This will definitely become part of my regular dinner rotation.
Loved the recipe. It’s classic and delish. I thought that there wasn’t going to be enough dressing but there was the perfect amount. It’s not nice to have a soggy salad…the amount was perfect after tossing it around.
Sadly, I cooked bacon yesterday and didn’t keep the fat, but I do have plenty of leftover bacon… Would it be possible to use olive oil to saute the shallots instead? Or would you recommend waiting and using this recipe when I have the bacon fat?
Sure – that’ll be fine. 🙂
Love this recipe! The dressing is so good. I have tweeked it a bit and here is what I did: I put about 5 TBSP bacon grease (saved from cooking bacon and refrigerated, good to have on hand) and sauteed the onions, and added some finely chopped garlic. (Could use the tubed) Just until soft, not browned, about 1 minute. Poured that mixture into the other dressing ingredients, Yum~! One time didn’t have real bacon so used the bagged bacon bits from Costco, but regular bacon I’m sure would be better! Thanks for sharing, love this salad.
Very, very good! I had some organic spinach in the fridge not getting any younger…….Simple ingredients; I am “that person” though who likes my boiled eggs well-done! I was tempted to add some leftover purple onion but it probably would have been overpowering. Thanks for sharing it : ) Delish!
Absolutely delicious.
I grew up with my grandma making a salad that is just like this one. I made it for dinner tonight & added shrimp. The only thing I did change was lettuce selection. I like the Organic Spring mix from Aldi. Fantastic recipe!!!
I have made or eaten many classic spinach salads with Spinach, boiled egg, bacon, red onion, tomato and blue cheese dressing. Your version was the most flavorful and my wife remarked how much she liked it. She is following a Keto diet. The shallot and bacon fat vinaigrette was killer. You may have saved our marriage with this one….thank you so much.
I made the salad last night. Everyone liked it. I left out the salt completely, unnecessary. Didn’t put in mushrooms because 2 people don’t like them(imagine that!). Also, simple chopped white onion worked fine instead of shallots. I only used 6 slices bacon, was adequate for garnish and fat to put in dressing. I love salad in general; it’s the best part of a meal to me. Will make this salad again.
I made this for the 2nd time last night, and it was great again! Absolutely delicious!
I thought there wouldn’t be enough dressing, and I almost doubled it, but I’m so happy I didn’t! It would’ve been way too much! The amount of dressing is perfect as written! Thank you, Jenn!
Without a doubt, the absolute best Spinach salad I’ve ever made. A great mixture of flavors and ingredients. Thank you for this. I am a hero tonight.
We halved this recipe and used it on romaine lettuce with some cherry tomatoes to accompany a veggie quiche, and my oh my – I think the salad went over even better than the quiche! 🙂
Thanks for the recipe!
It turned out great!
Absolutely delicious! Bad spinach salad with warm bacon dressing is really bad, and that is all I have ever had ☹️ This recipe, however, is just plain wonderful!
Good morning Jenn – plan to make this salad tonight – question: Can I make the dressing in advance and reheat prior to adding spinach and mushroom? Thanks.
Sure, Annie, that should work. Hope you enjoy!
Hi, Jenn
This is a delicious salad! Thank you for sharing.
I’ve made it with the following additions:
– the bacon is hickory honey smoked
– 1/2 cup of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
– 1/4 c. white wine
– 1 Fuji or Gala apple, w/peel and cubed
– 1/2 c. candied walnut halves (OR, curried walnut halves) – easy recipe from Internet or favorite blogger.
Make the candied or curried walnuts before you make the salad dressing. Set aside.
For the salad dressing:
Saute’ apple chunks and wine with the bacon fat til it foams. But don’t overcook the apples.
Drain and set aside. The bacon fat is to be used to make the salad dressing – keep hot.
Divide spinach on individual plates. (I prefer to remove the stems).
Sprinkle over the salad with the walnut halves, apple pieces, bacon and the Gorgonzola cheese – on each plate.
Add the hot salad dressing on the salad (it will melt the cheese – yummy).
Serve.
I hope readers will make your salad, Jenn.
I’ve enjoyed this at a famous restaurant and made it for myself and friends. I also entered ‘my’ recipe (sans the hard-boiled eggs) in a winery cooking contest. I won a trip for 2 to the winery where 10 if us contestants prepared our salads for the judges.
Although I didn’t win 1st prize, it was an unforgettable experience.
That does sound like an unforgettable experience!! (And glad you enjoyed the salad) 🙂
Lisa, it sounds like a wonderful and a salad I would love to try, but this is nothing like hers. This is a whole different salad.
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.
☺️
for the mushrooms, do u cook them? Thanks.
Hi Stephanie, The mushrooms are not cooked in this recipe. Enjoy!
Delicious! One of my favorite salads that I had once almost 30 years ago and I have never been able to find another that tasted as good until now and I made it myself! Thank you for the recipe. Now I know I can stop searching. Everyone in the family gave rave reviews and there wasn’t any left.
Excellent! This tastes just like my mom used to makes when I was growing up. Hubs even loved this and he’s NOT a veggie/salad lover. He ate every last bite and said this one is a keeper.
Spot on proportions and absolutely delish! I add about 1/2 thinly sliced red onion, just personal preference. For dinner, I like to serve with a baked potato, because this Scot is a carb lover! Thanks so much for a simple and yummy recipe!
Excellent salad! I made this a few nights ago for my husband and a house guest who needed a late dinner. This salad is very satisfying all by itself but not too heavy for eating post-8 pm. Served it with slices of home made multigrain bread and everyone went to bed happy!
Absolutely the BEST Spinach Salad that I have ever made! Jenn, even my husband raved about it – easy and delicious. This is a a keeper.
Awesome! Easy to make!! Will make again
This was great. Dressing and proportions are spot on. I did add a little ricotta salata to mine. I am not sure if it was necessary or not but the finished product was great! I added chicken as well. Going to make it into the the dinner rotation for sure.
Hi Jen,
This is one of my favorite salads, and I can’t even count how many times I’ve made it.. I made it two nights ago, served with potato-leek soup. On a whim, I added a small handful of dried cranberries on top for color. Delicious! Try it and tell me what you think!
I’ve made this a few times and it’s heavenly every time! I cook the mushrooms because we don’t like them raw. I’ve served it with steak and also with a bowl of soup. It’s just delicious and I thank you for another winner. 🙂
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?
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!