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Today we’re sharing a recipe for one of my all-time favorite salads – Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing. This is a recipe that my husband Jack has perfected over the years and it was served often at many of the catered events he managed.
Fresh baby spinach is combined with slices of hard-boiled eggs, fresh mushrooms, red onion and crumbled bacon. But the dressing – oh the hot bacon dressing! – is really the best part of this fabulous salad! It’s warm, rich, sweet, tart and salty all at the same time and is the perfect complement to the fresh spinach and other ingredients. (We’ve also used a maple-flavored bacon in the warm bacon dressing which adds an extra boost of sweetness and flavor.)
This spinach salad with warm bacon dressing is a versatile salad in that it can be served many different ways. We’ve made individual salads for our photos, however this salad is also great served as a large mixed salad or even as a layered salad. If serving it as a layered salad, select a clear, deep sided bowl (such as a trifle bowl
) and layer the ingredients along the outer edge so your guests can see the different ingredients, and then serve with the warm bacon dressing on the side.
Regardless of how you serve this spinach salad, just make sure the bacon dressing is nice and hot (it will cool fairly quickly), and well-mixed when served. If you are serving this as a large tossed salad, pour the dressing over the salad and toss just before serving, or dress the individual salad portions and serve immediately.
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Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
Ingredients
- 6 uncooked eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 pound maple-flavored bacon
- 10 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 8 ounce package of button mushrooms, sliced very thin
- 1 small red onion (half chopped and half thinly sliced, divided)
- 1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- In a medium to large sauce pan, fill ¾ full with water and add the one tablespoon of white vinegar. Bring to a boil and gently spoon in the six room temperature raw eggs in shells, being careful not to break the shells. When the water comes back to a boil, time five minutes and shut off burner. Leave the eggs in the hot water for 15 more minutes. Pour off water, shake pan to crack shells and under cool running water, peel the shells from eggs. Slice cooled eggs into about 4-5 slices per egg.
- In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove to paper towels and crumble or rough chop and set aside. Reserve two tablespoons of the bacon fat and discard the rest.
- Heat the bacon fat over medium heat and sauté the chopped red onion until translucent, about five minutes. Add the white balsamic vinegar and scrape down pan of any brown bits. Add sugar, mustard and water and stir to combine. Remove from heat until ready to serve.
- In one large bowl layer all ingredients or in six individual serving bowls, divide ingredients between each. (Spinach, sliced red onion, sliced mushroom, sliced cooked eggs and crisp crumpled bacon)
- To serve, heat dressing to hot and serve over salad or on the side.
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Cooked mushrooms with bacon and grease. Used apple cider vinegar and added honey. Awesome!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed the salad Kim!
Would this salad work well with the addition of dried cherries? I have some I’m trying to use up.
I’m not sure Melanie – I’d probably swap the dried cherries in a salad that has dried cranberries in the ingredients list. Here are a few:
https://www.afamilyfeast.com/broccoli-carrot-salad/
https://www.afamilyfeast.com/mixed-greens-with-pears-goat-cheese-dried-cranberries-and-spiced-pecans/
We also have a granola recipe you might like: https://www.afamilyfeast.com/cherry-granola/
Hope this helps!
Love love love this recipe! How long do you think the dressing will keep if we have extra?
★★★★★
Hi Kate – The dressing you last a few days – up to a week in the refrigerator. Glad you liked the salad!
This was a tasty treat!I added fried mushrooms and it was delicious. I really loved the dressing.
★★★★★
Thanks LaKisha – so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Martha I am sorry I see now this is all about the SSpinach salad with warm bacon dressing. I mistakenly thought there were two different recipes being discussed. I do have the recipe and ingredient list!! duh!
Glad you found what you needed Diane! Hope you enjoy the recipe.
Why can I not find the dressing recipe nor the ingredient list. I almost never found where to type this comment.
I must have done something wrong. I used half of the sugar and it was way too sweet. I loved the combination of ingredients.
I’m sorry you were disappointed with the recipe Mashelle – thanks for your feedback.
Thank you so much for this hot bacon dressing. I have been looking a long time for a great one and now I found it. Love all your recipes.
You’re very welcome Carol! So glad you found us! 🙂
I really wanted to try this until I saw it calls for mustard……absolutely do not like mustard of any kind. DARN!
I have been looking for a Spinach Salad with bacon dressing. We lived in Indio California for a short time and while we were there we found a place that had the best Spinach Salad we had ever had. After we moved to Oregon we longed for the Spinach Salad but nothing was the same UNTIL we found you (yea) we LOVE it so much. Thank you Thank You so much for your posting….happy face:)
Aww…so glad you enjoyed the recipe Diane! And that it is a close substitute for the salad you’ve been missing! Thanks for taking the time to write to us!