Spinach Bacon Salad

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I have a new favorite salad. Ever, ever. I’ve made this spinach bacon salad probably half a dozen times over the past couple of weeks and am still not sick of it. This spinach salad with hot bacon dressing has all sorts of flavors, a variety of colors and textures, and it looks pretty! We’ve got layers of crunchy and healthy spinach, a creamy bacon-laced dressing (YES!) and delicious toppings like cheddar crisps and hard boiled eggs. Yes, it has a lot going for it.

Most dressings for salads like this are loaded with sugar, so I came up with the perfect swap: Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend! It tastes and measures like sugar, and dissolves just like sugar, without any sugar or sugar crash. It adds the perfect touch of sweetness to the bacon-y dressing! (But, if this doesn’t matter to you, you can make this salad with regular sugar.)

Get Besti For This Recipe Here

Ingredients You’ll Need

This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for spinach salad with bacon, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

For The Salad:

• Cheddar Parmesan Crisps – Move over croutons, these cheese crisps are way more flavorful and protein-packed. You’ll need 1/2 of the recipe for the salad — snack on the rest.
• Hard Boiled Eggs – I prefer to use organic eggs, but you can use whatever large eggs you prefer. I like to hard-boil them for this recipe, but soft boiled eggs would also be delicious.
• Baby Spinach – I recommend baby spinach over regular, as the spinach leaf is more tender in the baby version.
• Red Onion – The red onion gives great flavor and crunch to this bacon spinach salad, but if it’s too strong for you, soak them in cold water for 5 minutes after slicing to mellow them out.
• Grape Tomatoes – Use any small tomato. Cherry tomatoes will also work.

Other Ingredients You Can Add:

I think the above is already a great combo, but feel free to experiment with other additions:

• Other Veggies – Sliced mushrooms or bell peppers make nice additions.
• Nuts – Such as pecans or sliced almonds.
• Balsamic Glaze – This recipe for balsamic glaze adds an instant flavor boost to the salad!

For The Warm Bacon Dressing:

• Bacon – We’ll cook the bacon to make crispy bacon crumbles, then reserve the bacon fat to use in the warm bacon dressing.
• Apple Cider Vinegar – Apple cider vinegar gives a tangy flavor to the dressing. You could also use white or red wine vinegar.
• Mayonnaise – Make your own homemade mayo, or use store-bought, it’s up to you.
• Sweetener Of Your Choice – I used Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend, which is the closest alternative to powdered sugar (without the sugar and carbs of course). For those that don’t care about the added sugar, regular powdered sugar or maple syrup would also work.
• Dijon Mustard – Adds a nice flavor to the warm bacon dressing, and also helps emulsify the dressing so it doesn’t separate.
• Olive Oil – This is optional and only needed if you don’t have 1/2 cup of bacon drippings. See below.

How To Make Spinach Salad With Hot Bacon Dressing

This section shows how to make spinach salad with warm bacon dressing, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

1. Make cheddar crisps. You can find the instructions for making cheese crisps here. Once they cool, break them up into bite-sized pieces.
2. Boil eggs. Try my oven baked hard boiled eggs or perfect hard boiled eggs for easy peeling. Cool, peel and slice thinly or cut into quarters.
3. Cook bacon. Cook bacon in a fry pan until crispy and let cool on a paper towel. (I love air fryer bacon, but we need to save the grease for the hot bacon dressing!)

4. Mix bacon dressing. While bacon is cooking, whisk together mayonnaise, mustard, and vinegar in a medium bowl. Once bacon is done, pour 1/2 cup of the bacon drippings into mayonnaise mixture and whisk until smooth. Typically, the salt from the bacon and mayo is enough for the dressing, but you can add sea salt (or kosher salt) and black pepper to taste if you like.

TIP: Don’t have 1/2 cup of bacon drippings?

Add olive oil or avocado oil to bacon grease to reach 1/2 cup.

5. Assemble salad. In a large bowl, combine spinach leaves, red onion, and tomatoes.

6. Dress and serve. Drizzle with warm dressing, toss to coat, and top with eggs, bacon, and cheese crisps.

Storage Instructions

Keep salad components (not dressed) in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. The parmesan crisps can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days. The bacon dressing can be stored separately; it will solidify in the fridge, so just reheat when ready to serve.

What To Serve With Spinach Bacon Salad

This spinach salad with warm bacon dressing makes a great side dish to virtually any main dish! Try one of these for a healthy meal:

• Chicken – Chicken recipes such as air fryer chicken breast, crispy chicken thighs, or pan seared chicken pair very well with spinach salad with hot bacon dressing. You can also slice up some baked chicken breast and serve on top of the salad for a full meal.
• Beef or Pork – Serve the salad with air fryer filet mignon, baked pork chops, or slow cooker pork loin.
• Seafood – Try spinach and bacon salad with seafood recipes like grilled shrimp skewers, baked salmon, or baked cod.

More Easy Salad Recipes

If you like this recipe for spinach salad with hot bacon dressing, you might also like some of these other easy salad recipes:

Kale Avocado Salad

Taco Salad

Green Goddess Salad

Strawberry Spinach Salad

5 from 23 votes

Spinach Bacon Salad Recipe

This delicious spinach bacon salad is brimming with crunchy cheese crisps, crisp spinach, juicy tomatoes, and a hot bacon dressing.

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 25 minutes

Total: 35 minutes

Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings: 6 (adjust to scale recipe)

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Ingredients

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Salad:

• 1/2 recipe Cheddar Parmesan crisps ▢
• 3 large Hard boiled eggs ▢
• 5 oz Baby spinach ▢
• 1/4 large Red onion (sliced) ▢
• 2 cups Grape tomatoes (halved) ▢

Bacon Dijon Dressing:

• 8 slices Bacon ▢
• 3 tbsp Apple cider vinegar ▢
• 2 tbsp Mayonnaise ▢
• 2 tbsp Sweetener of choice (I used Besti Powdered) ▢
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard ▢
• Olive oil (optional, only if needed – see step 6) ▢

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C).

2. Make the cheddar crisps according to instructions here. Once they have cooled, break them up into bite-sized pieces.

3. Boil eggs according to instructions here. When eggs are done, slice thinly (I like to use an egg slicer) or cut into quarters.

4. Meanwhile, place the bacon slices onto a cold large skillet in a single layer. (Cook in batches if needed.) Fry for 10-12 minutes over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crispy. Remove the bacon with tongs, drain on paper towels, and then chop into small pieces.

5. While the bacon cooks, combine the mayo, mustard, and vinegar in a medium bowl.

6. When the bacon is done, pour 1/2 cup of bacon drippings into the bowl and whisk together. (If you don’t have enough bacon drippings to get 1/2 cup, you can add avocado oil or olive oil to reach 1/2 cup before adding to the other ingredients.)

7. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, red onion, and tomatoes. Add dressing and toss to coat. Top with hard boiled eggs, cheese crisps, and crumbled bacon.

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Recipe Notes

Serving size: 1 1/2 cups salad + about 2 tablespoons dressing

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 264

Fat 21.9g

Protein 11.8g

Total Carbs 4.4g

Net Carbs 3.1g

Fiber 1.3g

Sugar 2g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keywords: spinach bacon salad, spinach salad with bacon dressing, spinach salad with hot bacon dressing

Calories: 264 kcal

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