Spinach Salad with Warm Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Spinach Salad with Warm Honey Mustard Vinaigrette is a tasty complete meal with crispy bacon, sweet red onion, earthy mushrooms and hard-boiled eggs all drizzled with a lightly sweetened warm vinaigrette.  It is the perfect Spring or Summer lunch or light dinner.

Well the New Year is upon us and with it comes the realization that maybe we have eaten too many Christmas cookies and maybe drank a little too much wine and booze. A little side note here did you know that a good dry champagne is low in sugar and carbohydrates.  The carbohydrate content of champagne is lower than that of other types of wine. Just a little FYI because I know that sometimes you just need to cut loose a little.

 It is time to clean up our diets a bit and see if we can give our bodies the energy and nutrients it needs to perform at its best.  In my world that never means sacrificing flavor or meals. This Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Honey Mustard Vinaigrette brings it all together with fresh baby spinach, bacon, hard boiled eggs, red onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and croutons.  The warm bacon honey mustard vinaigrette is just perfect with this and is bursting with flavor.  I love a good salad packed with amazing flavors. So easy to put together, so filling and so flavorful.

How do you make Spinach Salad with Warm Honey Mustard Vinaigrette?

First layer your bacon on cookie sheet and load in a preheated oven cooking for about 12-14 minutes flipping halfway through the cooking process.  Move the cooked bacon to paper towels to drain reserving one tablespoon to small saucepan over low heat.  Add the minced garlic and cook for one minute. Whisk in the cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, sea salt and black pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Cover the saucepan and turn off heat.

Then coarsely chop the cooked bacon.  In a large bowl add the baby spinach, hard-boiled eggs, sweet red onions, sun ripened tomatoes, earthy mushrooms, crisp croutons and smoked chopped bacon. Drizzle the salad with Warm Bacon Honey Mustard Vinaigrette and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Recipe notes and helpful tips

• Bacon is super easy to cook in the oven put it can be cooked in a skillet as well.  Just remember to reserve one tablespoon of bacon grease.
• Pre-washed baby spinach is best with this salad as it is tender and a little bit sweeter than mature larger leafed spinach.
• For eggs that are easier to peel you want eggs that are very close to expiration.  However not expired but close.
• For an even tastier salad make Homemade Croutons.
• Don’t skip the delicious Warm Honey Mustard Vinaigrette.  It really sends this salad over the top.

So if you are on the mend from your crazy holiday bliss, like to watch what you eat and still enjoy all the flavors of an amazing meal, or simply love a good salad than this Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Honey Mustard Vinaigrette is perfect for you! Put it on your to try list and leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Other complete meal salads you will love!

• Nicoise Salad
• Chef Salad
• Chicken Waldorf Salad
• Chicken Caesar Salad

This post was originally published January 8th, 2018 and was republished June 10, 2019 with new content.

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Spinach Salad with Warm Honey Mustard Vinaigrette is a tasty complete meal with crispy bacon, sweet red onion, earthy mushrooms and hard-boiled eggs all drizzled with a lightly sweetened warm vinaigrette.

5 from 9 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Southern

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 810kcal

Author: Beth Pierce

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon
• 2 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 10 cups baby spinach
• 3 hard boiled eggs peeled and sliced
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions
• 1 cup grape tomatoes sliced
• 2/3 cup thinly sliced buttons mushrooms 2-3 large
• 1 cup herb butter croutons

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lay bacon on cookie sheet and place in oven. Bake for 7-8 minutes and flip. Bake for 5-6 additional minutes or until golden brown. Move bacon to paper towels. Pour 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of bacon grease into small saucepan over low heat. Add garlic and cook for 60 seconds. Whisk in cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, sea salt and black pepper. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Cover and turn off heat.
• Coarsely chop bacon. In large bowl add baby spinach, eggs, red onions, tomatoes mushrooms, croutons and chopped bacon. Drizzle salad with Warm Bacon Honey Mustard Vinaigrette and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 810kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 77g | Saturated Fat: 36g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 30g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 259mg | Sodium: 995mg | Potassium: 719mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 8954IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 3mg

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