Description
This spinach salad with warm bacon dressing is incredibly flavorful! Ready in 30 min with crispy bacon, tender spinach, and a tangy dressing.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 12 oz. Jones Dairy Farm Bacon
- 1 medium shallot (about 1/2 cup diced)
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- 12 oz. baby spinach
- 6 oz. mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 2 cups sliced)
- 1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup sliced)
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until browned and crispy, about 5-8 minutes, flipping frequently. (Be careful to not let bacon or oil burn, turn down heat if necessary.) Transfer cooked bacon on paper towel to cool and reserve bacon grease in skillet. Lower heat to low and add minced shallot to the bacon grease in skillet and cook for about 1-2 minutes, until softened. Remove from heat, let cool slightly, and transfer to blender.
- While bacon is cooking, prep salad. Thinly slice mushrooms and red onion. Soak onions in cold water for 5-10 minutes to mellow them out a bit if desired. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to let them dry. Roughly chop or crumble bacon.
- Blend dressing. To the bacon and shallot mixture in blender, add olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and honey. Blend until smooth. (Makes a little over 1 cup, may have a few small pieces left which is ok.)
- Assemble salad. Add baby spinach to a large salad bowl, and toss with 1/3 of the warm dressing. (Gently warm in microwave if necessary in 15-20 second increments, we do want it to be hot so it can wilt the spinach a bit.) Top with sliced mushrooms red onions and another ⅓ of the dressing and toss together. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon, cranberries, and pumpkin seeds. Top with freshly cracked black pepper and serve the remaining dressing on the side for additional dressing as desired.
Notes
- Storage: Store prepped ingredients separately and assemble just before serving to maintain freshness and crispness.
- Ingredient notes: Baby spinach works best for salads as it’s more tender than mature spinach leaves.
- Prep ahead: Cook bacon and make dressing up to two days in advance. Store dressing in the refrigerator and take it out a few hours to come to room temperature. Reheat in microwave gently for 15-20 second increments until warmed through. Reheat bacon quickly in a hot skillet or wrapped in a paper towel in the microwave for 15-30 second increments until heated through. Let it crisp up and assemble the salad.
- Helpful tools: My mini chopper effortlessly blends up the bacon dressing so it’s nice and smooth.
- Serve with: This salad is a great side for holiday main dishes like turkey, chicken, and ham.