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spinach-salad-with-hot-bacon-dressing

Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

Amy Cross
You can make the salad and the dressing ahead of time, but do not combine the two until you are ready to serve. If making the dressing ahead of time, it will need to be reheated in order for the ingredients to combine properly.
4.50 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Servings 4
Calories 490 kcal

Equipment

  • Cutting Board
  • Knife
  • Tongs
  • Dinner Plate
  • Paper towels
  • Large pan
  • Wooden spoon
  • Small Bowl
  • Salad bowl
  • Measuring Cups
  • Measuring Spoons

Ingredients
  

  • 4 strips Bacon, cooked and diced
  • ¼ c. Bacon Grease, or Oil of your choice
  • ¼ c. Pine Nuts
  • ¼ c. Honey
  • ½ Lemon, juiced
  • ¼ c. Dijon Mustard
  • ½ tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 T. Red Wine Vinegar
  • 3 T. Balsamic Vinegar
  • 16 oz. Baby Spinach
  • 1 c. Croutons, (see Note below)
  • ⅔ c. Craisins

Instructions
 

PREPARE BACON BITS:

  • Dice bacon and cook on medium heat until crispy.
  • Line a plate with paper towels and lay bacon bits on paper towels to cool.
  • Reserve grease for future steps unless you plan to use another oil of your choice.

TOAST PINE NUTS:

  • Toast the pine nuts on medium heat in 1 T. of oil until they are golden brown.
  • Remove from pan and set aside in a small bowl.

PREPARE THE DRESSING:

  • Add bacon fat to the pan and heat until it returns to liquid form.
    Or oil of your choice.
  • Add honey, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, and balsamic vinegar to the pan.
  • Stir to mix thoroughly.
  • Add the bacon to the pan and heat through.

BUILD THE SALAD:

  • In the salad bowl, add the spinach, croutons and craisins.
  • Remove the pan of dressing from the heat and pour over the spinach salad.
  • Mix to evenly coat and top with parmesan.
    Serve immediately.

Notes

  • I make my own gluten-free croutons using my food dehydrator and homemade sourdough bread. I dehydrate the bread pieces and store them in a large jar. To season the croutons, I remove the amount I want to make from the larger jar, put them in a smaller container and spray with oil. Then I season with a garlic and herb seasoning blend and some salt. Shake to coat and there you have it, homemade, gluten-free croutons! 
  • You can make the salad and the dressing ahead of time, but do not combine the salad and dressing until you are ready to serve. If you make the dressing ahead of time, it will need to be reheated in order for the ingredients to combine properly. 
  • We make this for Christmas every year. If we have it in the spring or summer, we serve it with fresh strawberries in place of the craisins. 
  • The Cross Legacy provides estimated nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is collected from the USDA database via Spoonacular, when available. If not available, nutrition information is pulled from other online calculators. Ingredients can vary and The Cross Legacy can make no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition

Calories: 490kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 12gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 760mgPotassium: 39mgFiber: 7gSugar: 26g
Keyword Bacon, Hot Bacon Dressing, Spinach