This delicious spinach salad recipe is loaded with texture and flavor and finished with a sweet and tangy dressing. Hearty enough to serve as a main, it’s easy and quick to make.
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Spinach Salad
I know that you guys are going to love this tasty spinach salad! Loaded with fresh veggies, boiled eggs, crispy bacon and croutons it’s a delicious way to get some goodness in!
This isn’t your normal boring salad, it’s got a lot of texture and the vinaigrette dressing has just the right amount of sweetness to make this irresistible!
Be sure to check out my Zesty Panzanella Salad and Peruvian Chopped Salad recipes too!
Why you’ll love this Spinach Salad recipe:
- Quick: It takes no more than 15 minutes to make this salad and dressing and you just need a few simple ingredients.
- Make ahead: You can easily make the salad and dressing ahead of time for an easy to serve meal.
- Versatile: I like to serve this as an easy main dish as it’s well balanced and hearty, but you can easily serve smaller portions for a side or appetizer.
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How to make spinach salad and dressing
You can jump to the recipe card for full ingredients & instructions!
- Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.
- Add the salad ingredients to a large bowl.
- Add the dressing and toss to serve.
Can you make it ahead of time?
Yes, this is a great make ahead dish! The salad dressing can be made 4 to 5 days ahead of time and stored in the fridge and the spinach salad can be prepared a day ahead and kept covered.
Add the dressing just before serving so that nothing gets soft.
What do you serve it with?
I like to serve this salad by itself, but you can also pair smaller portions with mains. It works especially well with seafood and chicken dishes. try it with:
Recipe Variations
This spinach salad is pretty good as it is, but you can easily add other veggies and salad ingredients to it. To make it extra special, try topping it with:
- Crumbled or shredded cheese
- Honey Roasted Pecans
- Chopped celery
- Frozen baby peas
This dish is also easy to adapt to fit with dietary needs:
- Make it vegetarian: Omit the bacon.
- Make it vegan: Omit the bacon and eggs.
- Make it gluten-free: Omit the croutons.
Tips!
- Alternate instructions for the dressing: Add all to a blender and mix until fully incorporated, about 1 minute.
- To make the spinach salad 1 day ahead: Prepare and refrigerate all salad ingredients and dressing separately. When ready to serve, place ingredients in a large serving bowl and add just enough dressing. Toss gently and serve.
- Salad Dressing yield: about ¾ cup dressing
This spinach and bacon salad is just so delicious! It’s a great dinner salad for summer (or any season), and it’s a good side dish too. Healthy, filling, and and flavorful!
More Salad Recipes
We love a great salad! Try these favorites:
- Greek Salad
- Spinach Berry Salad
- Cucumber Onion Salad
- Confetti Corn Salad
- Cobb Salad
- Chopped Caprese Salad
- Best Caesar Salad
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy! You can also jump to recipe.
Spinach Salad with Spinach Salad Dressing
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Ingredients
For the Spinach Salad:
- 1 pound thin-sliced bacon cooked crisp and crumbled
- 8 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves trimmed of stems
- 1 cup sliced button mushrooms
- ½ small red onion thinly sliced
- 4-6 hard boiled eggs peeled & thinly sliced
- Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 1-2 cups croutons homemade or store bought (see link for homemade)
- 1½ cups sliced fresh tomatoes
Optional Ingredients:
- Crumbled or shredded cheese
- Honey Roasted Pecans
- Chopped celery
- Frozen baby peas
For the Spinach Salad Dressing:
- ½ cup canola oil
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- ½ teaspoon granulated toasted onion
- 4 teaspoons dark brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons mild molasses
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley or 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh
Instructions
For the Spinach Salad:
- Add all ingredients (except croutons tomatoes) in a large serving bowl and keep refrigerated.
- When ready to serve, add croutons and tomatoes, and toss gently with just enough dressing to very lightly coat the salad ingredients. (If making 1 day ahead, see *Note below.)
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
For the Spinach Salad Dressing:
- Whisk all ingredients together and refrigerate, in an airtight container, at least 2 hours before serving. (The dressing tastes even better if allowed to refrigerate overnight.)
- Whisk well before using.
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- Alternate instructions for the dressing: Add all to a blender and mix until fully incorporated, about 1 minute.
- To make the salad 1 day ahead: Prepare and refrigerate all salad ingredients and dressing separately. When ready to serve, place ingredients in a large serving bowl and add just enough dressing. Toss gently and serve.
- Salad Dressing yield: about ¾ cup dressing
Nutrition Information
I really want to make this salad, but what is “granulated toasted onion” and where do I find it? Is it like granulated garlic which I have? Thanks!
Hi Elizabeth, it’s just like granulated garlic but it has been toasted. Brands like Penzeys, Spice House, and Burlap & Barrel carry it, but you could also use regular (untoasted) granulated onion.
Thanks!
Beautiful salad – the dressing is amazing!
Happy you enjoyed it, Simone!
I am about to make this for the first time as a “make ahead” for lunch box. I would like to add pomegrant or grapes to it … can anyone yea or nay on this idea? Would one work better than the other or a different fruit? Skip any kind of fruit, tomatoes are enough? TIA!
Feel free to add whatever you like! Both of those sound delicious!