Spinach Bacon Salad

Made with tender spinach, hard-boiled eggs, crispy bacon, and a warm bacon dressing, this Spinach Bacon Salad is an easy, yet impressive salad recipe.

Nothing gets people excited over eating salad as much as the addition of bacon. Whether serving a BLT Salad or Spinach Bacon Salad, adding crispy, salty bacon to greens has a way of making salads irresistible--even to people who don't classically care for salad!

While I personally love salad of any shape, size, or variety, I must admit, Bacon Spinach Salad is one of my personal favorites as well. 

From the fresh, vibrant spinach to the creamy, rich eggs, to the sharp pickled onions, to the sweet tangy, warm dressing, this Spinach Bacon Salad is full of flavor, texture, and temperatures.

Notes on Ingredients

• Spinach: Spinach is the perfect base for this hearty, flavorful salad as it can stand up to other ingredients in the salad. Baby spinach is best, as it is already bite size, however, you can use regular spinach, just be sure to remove the stems if large and woody, and give the spinach a rough chop.
• Hard-Boiled Eggs: Hard-boiled eggs are a key component for a Bacon Spinach Salad, as the richness and creaminess of the eggs will balance out the salad. I rely on my Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs to make perfect hard-boiled eggs every time. If you don't have an Instant Pot, I have included directions for preparing hard-boiled eggs on the stove as well.
• Bacon: This is one recipe that it is best to use pork bacon, not turkey or chicken bacon, as traditional bacon will render the fat needed to prepare the warm bacon dressing. You can bake bacon and reserve the grease, or pan-fry the bacon if desired.
• Warm Bacon Dressing: Instead of oil, this dressing uses bacon drippings. The drippings add saltiness and richness to the dressing. It is paired with apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and mustard to make a balanced dressing.
• Red Onions: To add sharpness that helps cut through the richness of the salad, I love adding slices of red onions or pickled red onions. Feel free to omit them if desired. 
• Mushrooms: Bacon Spinach Salad also features sliced button mushrooms which add texture and an earthy flavor to the salad. Feel free to omit the mushrooms if you don't personally care for them. 

How to Make Spinach Bacon Salad

While there are many components to creating the perfect spinach salad with warm bacon dressing, everything comes together with minimal effort. Even a beginner cook can easily prepare this impressive salad. 

Step One: Prepare Hard Boiled Eggs

Begin this recipe by preparing hard-boiled eggs. You can opt to use my recipe for Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs or prepare the eggs on the stovetop using the instructions below. 

• Place the eggs in a single layer in a medium saucepan and cover with water. 
• Bring the water to a rapid boil over high heat. 
• Once boiling, cover the pan, turn the heat down to low, and cook for 1 minute. 
• After 1 minute, remove the saucepan from the heat and leave covered for 14 minutes. 
• After 14 minutes, transfer the eggs to an ice bath to chill completely.

Step Two: Prepare Onions

While the eggs are cooking, use that time to soak the onions. This will help take away the sharp bite of the onions, ensuring their flavor doesn't overpower the salad. 

• Thinly slice the onion and place the slices in a shallow dish.
• Cover the onions with water and set them aside to soak while you prepare the dressing.  

Step Three: Prepare Warm Bacon Dressing

What makes this salad stand out is the bacon dressing. While you can opt to bake the bacon and then use those drippings to prepare the salad, this is one instance where I find it much more efficient (in terms of time and dishes) to prepare the bacon in a skillet. 

• Pan-fry chopped bacon in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until it is nice and crispy. 
• Once the bacon is crispy, remove it from the frying pan and place it on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb the excess grease.
• Reserve 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease in the skillet to use for the Warm Bacon Dressing. 
• In the same skillet that the bacon was prepared in combine the drippings with the vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, and pepper. Whisk together until slightly thickened and creamy. Remove from the heat and taste to see if you need to add a pinch of salt, which will depend on how salty your bacon is.

Step Four: Assemble Salad

At this point, every component of the salad is ready to go and you can opt to toss everything together now and serve immediately or store the prepared components in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in advance.

• To assemble the salad, drain the onions and peel and slice the eggs. 
• Arrange both the sliced eggs and onions over a shallow serving dish filled with spinach. 
• Top the salad with the crumbled bacon.
• Drizzle the salad with the Warm Bacon Dressing and toss to coat.
• Serve immediately.

Advance Preparation

Spinach Bacon Salad is best if assembled and served immediately before serving for best results. However, as I already stated, you can prepare the components up to 3 days in advance to get a jump start on this salad, making it a perfect salad for entertaining or busy weeknights. Follow my tips below to pull this salad together effortlessly. 

• Prepare the hard-boiled eggs. Once cooled, peel the eggs, discarding the shell, but do not slice them until right before assembling the salad. Store the peeled eggs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 
•  Panfry the bacon as directed. Allow the bacon to cool and then store the crumbled bacon in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 
• Use the bacon drippings to prepare the dressing as directed. Let cool slightly and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 
• Place the sliced onions in a glass jar and cover with cold water. Store the jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, until ready to serve the salad.
• When ready to serve the salad, slice the hard-boiled eggs, drain the onions, and warm the bacon dressing by microwaving it in a heat-safe container in 20 second-intervals until smooth and warmed through.
• Toss the spinach, bacon, eggs, onions, and mushrooms together.
• Add the dressing, toss to coat, and serve immediately.

Serving Suggestions

Warm Bacon Spinach Salad is so rich in flavor, making it a great dish to serve with dishes that can stand up to bold flavor, or when you want to really make an impression. It is a classic at steakhouses and it is absolutely delicious when served alongside a New York Strip Roast, Pan-Seared Steak, or Marry Me Chicken.

More Delicious Salad Recipes

• BLT Salad
• Homemade Caesar Salad
• Caprese Salad
• Copycat Panera Greek Salad
• Strawberry Spinach Salad
• Spinach Avocado Salad

If you enjoyed this recipe for Spinach Bacon Salad, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.