With tomatoes, mushrooms, red onions and pieces of bacon, classic spinach salad is topped with a warm bacon vinaigrette and garnished with hard-boiled eggs.
Recipe overview
Why you will love it: Spinach salad is hearty enough for lunch or a light dinner. It’s healthy and filling.
How long does it take: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: frying pan
Servings: 4
What’s more tempting than a classic spinach salad with warm bacon dressing? The dressing is so good you could eat it with a spoon: spicy, salty, smoky, sweet, savory. It hits all taste bases.
A classic spinach salad is somewhat unique. It’s a warm salad. Most salads are prepared with a cold dressing, in part to keep the delicate leafy greens crisp. A warm salad is made with vegetables that are firmer, maybe even a bit chewy. The greens are tenderized with a warm dressing.
I love how the heat from the bacon dressing only wilts the spinach slightly, not much but just enough. Lightly cooked spinach has so much more flavor than raw spinach.
This has always been one of my favorite salads. It seems a little indulgent with eggs and bacon. Instead of olive oil, the warm vinaigrette dressing has the rendered bacon fat that’s so flavorful.
I hope you don’t get the idea that this salad isn’t good for you. It’s a very appealing way to include healthy dark leafy greens in your diet, as well as tomatoes, mushrooms and onions, all of which are good for you too.
Enjoy this salad for lunch or dinner. I like to serve spinach salad as an entree with warm crust bread, like beer bread or Dutch oven bread. Spinach salad is perfect as an accompaniment to creamy soups, such as smoked tomato soup or creamy carrot soup.
About this recipe
This salad comes together pretty quickly. You will need about half an hour to pull it together.
To save time, purchase a pack of pre-washed, ready-to-serve spinach and mushrooms already cleaned and sliced. It doesn’t take long to slice the tomatoes and onions. The eggs can be made a day or two in advance (we love making hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot!).
I’ll go through the guides here to get you started.
The recipe card at the end of the post has full directions, measurements, and nutritional information.
what you will need
- baby spinach: Baby spinach leaves are smaller and more tender than larger spinach leaves. If using ripe spinach, first remove the tough stems and tear or chop the spinach into smaller pieces.
- Cherry or Grape Tomatoes: These bite-sized tomatoes are often sweeter than a larger greenhouse tomato. Cut them in half to make it easier for them to absorb the dressing.
- Fresh Mushrooms: A classic spinach salad usually includes mushrooms. They offer a beautiful color and structure contrast. If you’re not a fan, feel free to omit them.
- Red onion: Thin slivers of red onion add a savory balance to the salad.
- Hard Boiled Eggs: The eggs can be prepared in advance. Use the stovetop method or cook them in your Instant Pot. Instant Pot are hard-boiled eggs always easy to peel.
- Thick-cut bacon: The bacon is cut into pieces and fried. You use the crunchy bits to garnish the salad and reserve the drippings for the dressing. I prefer thick cuts because the pieces are more substantial and hold up better in the salad. While we usually love to bake bacon, you’ll want to pan fry it since you’ll be using the drippings for the dressing.
- shallot: Thinly sliced shallots are soaked in bacon fat and added to the dressing.
- Garlic: A small clove of garlic is simmered in the dressing to add a very mild garlic flavor.
- red wine vinegar: Fermented red wine vinegar is slightly tart with a hint of sweetness.
- Maple Syrup, Worcestershire Sauce, Dijon Mustard: These three ingredients are flavor enhancers. You don’t need much, just a touch of all three, along with salt and pepper.
How to do it
Start by hard-boiling the eggs if you haven’t prepared them beforehand. It will take you 15 to 20 minutes to cook the eggs if you’re using the hot plate method, or 10 minutes if you’re using your Instant Pot.
Next, prepare the salad ingredients and place them in a large bowl. Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl or measuring cup.
Cut the bacon into 1 inch pieces and fry the pieces until crisp.
Place the pieces on a paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving most of the rendered fat (bacon fat).
Add the shallot and sauté briefly until soft; Add the garlic and cook for a short minute or until fragrant. Don’t burn the garlic or it may taste bitter.
Give the dressing ingredients a quick stir and pour into the hot skillet. Stir and cook for a few minutes until the vinaigrette is steaming hot. If you are not ready to serve the salad yet, turn the heat down and keep the dressing warm.
Pour the dressing over the spinach mixture and toss lightly until coated.
Garnish the salad with the bacon and hard-boiled egg slices. Stir again if you like. Serve immediately.
Make it your own
- Instead of spinach, serve the salad on top of a hearty green salad, such as romaine lettuce or baby cabbage, dandelion greens, or arugula.
- Add crispy homemade croutons or toasted sunflower seeds to the salad. Spinach salad also tastes great with feta cheese.
- Apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar can replace the red wine vinegar. Each has unique flavors that will transform the salad in exciting ways.
Make Ahead Ideas
To start the salad ahead of time, boil the eggs, peel and chill in the refrigerator up to 3 days in advance. Prepare the spinach in good time: wash and spin dry. The dressing can be made in advance and refrigerated. When ready to serve the salad, heat the dressing in a small skillet until steaming hot.
storage tips
After dousing the salad with the warm dressing, it is best served immediately. If you don’t want to serve it right away, store the salad and dressing separately in the fridge. Reheat the dressing just before serving.
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With tomatoes, mushrooms, red onions and bacon bits, the classic spinach salad is topped with a warm bacon vinaigrette and garnished with hard-boiled eggs.
instructions
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Hard boil eggs if you haven’t already. See notes below for stovetop method or use your preferred method. Slice or chop the eggs and set aside.
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In a large bowl, combine the spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, and red onions.
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Whisk together the red wine vinegar, maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl or measuring cup.
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In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, fry the chopped bacon until crispy. Place on a plate lined with kitchen paper to cool. Reserve 3 tablespoons of pan juices in the pan.
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Sauté shallot over medium heat until tender, 1 to 2 minutes; add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing quickly, then add to the pan. Continue cooking until the dressing is steaming hot, about 1 to 2 minutes.
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Pour warm dressing over the salad. Toss until coated. Garnish with sliced hard boiled eggs and bacon. Serve immediately.
Remarks
- Hard boil eggs (stove method): Lay the eggs in a single layer at the bottom of a saucepan. Cover with cold water at least 1 inch above the eggs. To prevent cracking and make the eggs easier to peel, add ½ teaspoon of salt or baking soda when the water begins to boil.
Bring the water and eggs to a boil over high heat, uncovered. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the eggs sit for 10 to 12 minutes.
Drain the eggs and immediately place them in a bowl of ice water for 4 to 5 minutes or until completely cool.
Peel the eggs carefully under running water); pat the eggs dry with paper towels.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 224kcal, Carbohydrates: 8thG, Protein: 10G, Fat: 17G, Saturated Fatty Acids: 6G, Polyunsaturated fat: 3G, Monounsaturated fatty acids: 7G, Trans fats: 0.1G, Cholesterol: 117mg, Sodium: 479mg, Potassium: 530mg, Fiber: 2G, Sugar: 4G, Vitamin A: 3784ie, Vitamin C: 17mg, Calcium: 67mg, Iron: 2mg
This website provides approximate nutritional information for convenience and courtesy only. Nutritional data is collected primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, where available, or other online calculators.