Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing
Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing is an old-fashioned favorite made with hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms, onions, and plenty of bacon. The hot dressing wilts the spinach just slightly and adds a savory, tangy flavor to every bite.
I remember my mom really enjoying this spinach salad at a restaurant when I was a kid and I couldn’t see what all the fuss was about.
Well, now I do! Maybe it just took adult taste buds, or maybe it was because I came around to hard boiled eggs later in life (true story), but I can confidently say that I agree with my mom-Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing is a winner.
Like many recipes on this site, the recipe appeared frequently in spiral-bound cookbooks from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. There were variations on it, of course, but they were mostly the same: spinach, hard boiled eggs, and bacon in a hot bacon dressing. Mushrooms and onions (or green onions) were often included, too.
I made a separate post for the hot bacon salad dressing because people will often search that out intending it for other lettuces like green leaf lettuce, collard greens, escarole, or others. Those are all great lettuces for the dressing, but I’m partial to this spinach version.
The biggest reason is the toppings! Bacon and eggs are a natural pair, so hard boiled eggs makes lots of sense here. Sliced mushrooms soak up the tangy dressing. And onion slices add a little zip.
Kate’s Spinach Salad Tips
- Soak sliced onions for 5 minutes in a bowl of cold water. It’ll take a little of the “bite” out of them and lessen the chances of tasting the onion again later. 😉
- Only toss the amount of spinach + dressing together that you need. While wilted spinach is the goal of this dish, it gets pretty slimy sitting in the fridge overnight. All of the ingredients will keep well, separately, in the fridge though.
I hope you enjoy this one as much as my mom and I do!
📖 Recipe
Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon
- ½ cup vinegar
- ⅓ cup water
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 1 lb spinach
- 8 oz sliced mushrooms
- 3 hard boiled eggs
- Sliced red onion, yellow onion, or green onions (to taste) yellow onion, or green onions (to taste)
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Instructions
- Place 3 slices bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry bacon until crisp.
- Remove the bacon and place on a paper towel lined plate, and then crumble it. Leave the drippings in the pan.
- To the bacon drippings, add ½ cup vinegar, ⅓ cup water, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking gently to combine.
- Place 1 lb spinach in a large bowl.
- Pour the hot dressing over the spinach and add the crumbled bacon, and toss to coat. Add sliced mushrooms, hard boiled eggs, or sliced red onion if you'd like, and toss again to coat. Serve warm.
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