Warm Spinach Salad with Bacon, Eggs, and Mushrooms is a great salad to make for dinner. It is very quick and easy to make, and can be served as an appetizer or side, or as an entree.
Summer hasn't even started yet, and vegetable season is in full swing at my house. This is the first year we've gotten a Spring CSA delivery, and we're already on week 4 of the deliveries.
I had always held off on the Spring deliveries in the past, because I was worried that there would be limited variety in the offerings. But, as it turns out my worries were for naught (as they so often are).
The first couple of weeks included some storage veggies from the fall, as well as some popcorn kernels (which were WAY better than the store-bought stuff I usually use) and honey. There have been a lot of leafy greens, radishes, ramps and asparagus, which have been great.
We've already worked our way through 2 large bags of spinach, with another one delivered today. Thank goodness for this Warm Spinach Salad with Bacon, Eggs, and Mushrooms to help me use up another bag.
To me, this salad is your typical restaurant spinach salad. I think that's because I used to eat a salad that was very similar to this in a restaurant that I visited often with my family and friends when I was a teen.
I make this salad for Mr. Dreamboat and I to split as an entree very often. This salad is perfect for weeknights, as making it goes very quickly, especially if I remember to crisp the bacon up ahead of time. Of course, then I have to make sure there's enough bacon left to put in the salad after snacking on it - perhaps next time I should cook up an extra slice.
How to make Spinach Salad with Bacon, Eggs, and Mushrooms:
Making this salad starts with prepping the vegetables for the salad. This includes washing (and drying) baby spinach (or use pre-washed baby spinach), cleaning and slicing some mushrooms, slicing some radishes, and mincing shallot and garlic.
You will also need to hard-boil some eggs if you don't already have some in the fridge.
After the vegetables are ready for the salad, you will make the dressing with starts with cooking some chopped bacon. Make sure to save the bacon grease left in the pan to sautee the shallots and garlic, which is used to make the dressing.
Tip 💡
To use turkey bacon instead of regular (pork) bacon, add 1 Tablespoon of olive oil or neutral-flavored cooking oil before adding the turkey bacon. Save whatever oil is left in the pan to make the dressing. If the amount of oil left is less than 1 Tablespoon, add a little extra oil to equal 1 Tablespoon. Proceed with the recipe as written.
Spinach Salad with Bacon, Eggs, and Mushrooms Ingredients:
- Bacon chopped: Or substitute turkey bacon (see tip above)
- Baby spinach: Use pre-washed baby spinach to save time
- Red wine vinegar
- Sugar
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Salt
- Shallot
- Garlic
- Hard-boiled eggs
- White or brown mushrooms
- Radishes: these are optional, but do add a nice crunch to the salad
Want more entrée salad recipes?
Warm Spinach Salad with Bacon, Eggs, and Mushrooms Nutrition Notes:
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one side or appetizer-sized portion of this spinach salad (the recipe will make 4 servings of this size). To calculate the nutrition info for an entree-sized portion, simply double all of the nutrition facts (the recipe will serve 2 entree-sized portions).
Warm Spinach Salad with Bacon, Eggs, and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- pinch salt
- 4 slices bacon chopped (feel free to substitute turkey bacon)
- 4 ounces baby spinach washed and dried
- 1 medium shallot minced
- 1 small clove garlic minced
- 2 hard-boiled eggs sliced
- 4 medium white or brown mushrooms wiped clean and sliced
- 4 medium radishes trimmed and sliced (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar, ½ teaspoon sugar, ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and a pinch salt. Set aside. Place 4 ounces baby spinach in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Cook the choppped bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from the skillet with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour the bacon fat into a small heatproof bowl.
- Add 1 Tablespoon of the bacon fat back to the skillet (discard or save the rest of the bacon fat) and return heat to medium. Add the minced shallot and cook until softened, about 2-3 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar mixture. Immediately pour over the spinach and toss to coat.
- Divide spinach between 2 large or 4 small bowls (this recipe serves 2 as an entree or 4 as a side or appetizer). Top with equal portions of the cooked bacon, hard boiled eggs, sliced mushrooms, and radishes (if using). Serve immediately.
Nutrition
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