Spinach Salad with Maple Bacon Dressing
This Spinach Salad with Maple Bacon Dressing is my at home recipe copycat attempt at recreating a restaurant dish.
Many years ago when I was a teenager (so yes, a REALLY long time ago), my parents took my sister and I to what we called a “fancy” restaurant and we LOVED this salad.
How to make Spinach Salad with Maple Bacon Dressing
A warm bacon dressing with just a hint of sweetness from maple syrup was the best part.
So all the cooking involved is boiling some eggs (easy peasy) and frying up some bacon (simple enough).
You’ll need to save some of the bacon drippings for the dressing.
Most salad dressings are made with olive oil, this one swaps out the oil for warm bacon drippings.
So that’s bacon drippings, real maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and some dijon mustard all whisked together with a little kosher salt and pepper.
Time to make the salad!
Chop 10 ounces of fresh spinach and place in a large bowl.
Then dice a small red onion and some mushrooms.
A trick I love if you don’t prefer raw onion…soak the chopped onion in some ice water for ten minutes.
It draws out that strong raw onion flavor, but still leaves them crunchy and delicious.
All that’s left now is throwing everything in a large bowl.
Toss together until evenly mixed.
And toss with the warm maple bacon dressing.
If the dressing comes to room temp just microwave it for a few seconds.
Spinach Salad with Maple Bacon Dressing is also good leftover as long as the dressing is on the side 🙂
More salad recipes just as good as this Spinach Salad with Maple Dressing
Roasted Beet and Crispy Goat Cheese Salad
And try Grilled Peach and Blueberry Salad!
Steak and Avocado Salad
Grilled BBQ Chicken Salad with Avocado Ranch
.
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Spinach Salad with Maple Bacon Dressing
A chopped spinach salad with lots of yumminess and a homemade dressing
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 12 slices bacon
- 10 ounces fresh spinach
- 1 small red onion diced
- 5 ounces mushrooms diced
- 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- 1/4 cup bacon drippings
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- kosher salt, pepper
Instructions
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Gently place eggs in a large pot. Cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for exactly 10 minutes. Turn the burner off and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 45 minutes.
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Place a few ice cubes in the water to cool it slightly. Start peeling the eggs, which should still be slightly warm. Dice and set aside.
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Using kitchen scissors, cut the bacon into bite size pieces directly into a skillet over medium heat. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the bacon onto paper towels to drain excess grease. Save 1/4 cup of the bacon drippings for the dressing.
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Chop the spinach and place in a large bowl. Add the cooked egg and bacon, onion, mushrooms, and feta cheese.
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In a separate bowl whisk together the warm bacon drippings, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, dijon mustard, and kosher salt and pepper to taste.
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Right before serving, toss the salad with some of the dressing and add more dressing as needed.
Note: If dressing comes to room temp warm in the microwave for a few seconds before serving.
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2 Comments
popsiclesociety
Beautiful, colorful, healthy and delicious 🙂
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