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This spinach salad with hot bacon dressing is one of the most flavor-packed healthy salads you’ll ever eat! Add this easy salad recipe to your next meal prep lineup for a filling lunch option. Savory bacon and sweet caramelized shallots make the perfect topping to this nutritious salad.
What Makes This Salad So Good
- The bacon has two purposes in this salad dressing! Crisp up pieces of bacon in a pan and use the bacon itself as a crunchy topping for your salad, and then use the bacon fat as the main ingredient to your delicious salad dressing.
- It really is full of flavor and extremely satisfying! Savory gorgonzola cheese, tangy apple cider vinegar, and a touch of dijon mustard make this spinach salad with hot bacon dressing super flavorful. And protein-packed additions such as hard boiled eggs and avocado will keep you full until your next meal.
- It’s the perfect make-ahead lunch. I like to make the dressing and boil a few eggs at the start of my week and have this ready-to-go healthy lunch option waiting for me in the fridge!
Key Ingredients
Bacon – You can use either standard or thick-cut bacon in this recipe. Standard bacon will cook up a little crispier than thick-cut bacon, making it my personal favorite. Though both cuts of bacon will yield enough fat for your dressing, so go with whichever you like best!
Maple Syrup – The hot bacon dressing needs a little sweetness to curb all of it savory components, and that’s where maple syrup comes in. I find the flavors of maple syrup and dijon mustard to compliment each other perfectly! Though you can use honey in place of the maple syrup in this recipe.
Gorgonzola Cheese – Gorgonzola cheese is the perfect crumbly, creamy cheese for this spinach salad with hot bacon dressing. Gorgonzola cheese is a product of blue cheese, so you can definitely swap out the gorgonzola cheese for any cheese in this same family. You can even leave the cheese out entirely, as a dairy-free option!
Chef’s Tips
- When eating leftover spinach salad with hot bacon dressing, remove the dressing from the fridge at least 30 minutes before using. The bacon fat will solidify in the fridge and needs to be brought back to room temperature before it’s liquid enough to serve again.
- For perfect hard boiled eggs every time, drop two eggs in a small saucepan of boiling water. Then cover the saucepan and maintain a gentle boil for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water before peeling and using in this recipe.
- Once your bacon is done cooking, transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate while you work on the rest of the spinach salad with hot bacon dressing. The paper towel will help to soak up the grease that cooked bacon releases while it cools.
More Easy and Healthy Salad Recipes
- Kale Caesar Salad
- Pittsburgh Chicken Salad
- Mexican Chicken Salad (Ensalada de Pollo)
- Cucumber Tomato Salad
- Avocado Salad
- Easy 7 Layer Salad with Homemade Dressing
- Heirloom Tomato Salad
- Keto Broccoli Salad
- Nicoise Salad
- The Best Spinach Salad with Apples, Cranberries, and Maple Vinaigrette
- Steak Salad with Creamy Balsamic Dressing
- Crisp Apple Salad with Raisins and Pecans
Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing
Equipment
- Skillet
- Small saucepan
- Large bowl
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon chopped
- ¼ cup shallots chopped
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar see Notes
- 2 teaspoon maple syrup see Notes
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounces baby spinach
- ½ cup gorgonzola cheese
- 2 hard boiled eggs sliced
- 2 avocados sliced
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat for 8-10 minutes.
- Transfer ¼ cup of rendered bacon fat to a small saucepan over medium heat along with the shallots. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until shallots are soft.
- Reduce heat to low and add in the apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, salt and black pepper. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the baby spinach, gorgonzola cheese, boiled eggs, and avocado to a large bowl and top with hot bacon dressing.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: You can use white vinegar or lemon juice in place of the apple cider vinegar in this recipe.
- Maple Syrup: You can use honey instead of maple syrup in this recipe.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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