Hot Bacon Dressing is a warm, tangy delight served warm over bright baby spinach, chopped bacon, sliced mushrooms, red onion, and boiled eggs. Not quite like another other salad dressing, this bacon-ey vinaigrette transforms a simple spinach salad into something more! Perfect as side dish and as a crave-worthy, flavor packed lunch!
Maybe we should just let that sink in for a minute… Hot. Bacon. Salad. Dressing.
I tease you not, my friends. This tangy delight, served warm over those baby spinach greens is no ordinary salad dressing or bacon concoction. It is something altogether different but still wonderful in that special bacon-ey way we’ve all come to love. If possible, it’s pure comfort food in a salad bowl
A spinach salad with this hot bacon dressing is something that even my kiddos will eat, especially if I serve it alongside Cast Iron Skillet Steak or tender Roasted Buttermilk Chicken. Even better, enjoy it with a bowl of Creamy Short Cut Parmesan Cauliflower Soup or Southern Sweet Potato Soup. And while it is delightful over greens, it also adds pure joy to roasted baby potatoes, brussel sprouts or chopped cabbage. There’s not much this tangy, smoky, savory dressing won’t make sing!
What You Need To Make Hot Bacon Dressing & Tossed Spinach Salad
- bacon
- shallots or green onion and minced garlic
- red wine vinegar
- honey mustard
- fresh spinach, washed and stems removed
- white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- boiled eggs
- red onion, thinly sliced
- salt & coarse black pepper
How to Make Hot Bacon Salad Dressing
This salad dressing recipe starts by cooking the bacon for the salad. Why? The oil base of this dressing is bacon fat and the renderings from the cooked bacon are used to amp up that salty, savory flavor we all love about bacon. Cooking it in a skillet stovetop is a must since we are going to use the renderings. I use thick sliced bacon for this (and every recipe) because I want to get just as much bacon in every bite as I can.
- Cook bacon, rough chop it and set it aside for the salad. Then pour off all but 2 tablespoon of bacon grease from the skillet, leaving all those good bits in the bottom of the skillet.
- Return the skillet, 2 tablespoon of bacon fat and the “good bits” to the stovetop and heat over medium-high heat.
- Add the shallots. (Or green onions and garlic- A shallot is a small, usually 2 clove, bulb that is something like a cross between a sweet onion and garlic. So if you can’t find shallots, a mixture of green onions or even Vidalias and garlic is a do-able substitute.)
- Whisk in the vinegar. It will steam quite a bit, and all that yummy stuff on the bottom of the skillet will start to loosen up. Scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet.
- Whisk in the honey mustard, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer while whisking. Remove from heat and let cool a little before drizzling over your salad!
Making You Spinach Salad
In a large salad bowl, toss together the spinach, mushrooms, bacon, onion. Drizzle with warm dressing. Spinach and mushrooms will wilt a little as you toss. Add sliced boiled eggs after you toss to keep their yellows from from breaking to pieces in the salad. You might also want to sprinkle in croutons for extra crunch (oh, the bacon dressing in all those little crouton nooks and crannies!), chopped pecans or shaved Parmesan for another layer of flavor.
Here is a little mushroom tip: When you buy mushrooms, make sure you choose mushrooms that have tight gills, not gills that are large, open, or pulled away from the stem. This will ensure that your mushrooms stay fresh longer.
Other Salad Recipes You’ll Love
- Blueberry Spinach Salad with Orange Poppyseed Dressing
- Bacon Tomato Pasta Salad
- Catalina Taco Salad
- Southern Tomato & Cucumber Salad
- Berry Salad With Pork Tenderloin & Cherry Vinaigrette
IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, BE SURE TO LET ME KNOW!
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Hot Bacon Dressing for Spinach Salad
Ingredients
- 5-7 slices thick cut bacon
- 1.5 tablespoon shallots, or 1Tbsp finely chopped green onions + ½ tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ C red wine vinegar
- 2-3 tablespoon honey mustard
- salt & coarse ground black pepper
Spinach Salad
- 8 C fresh baby spinach, washed with stems removed
- 8 oz white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- ½ med red onion, thinly sliced
- 3-4 boiled eggs, sliced
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. After the bacon is cooked, rough chop it and set it aside for the salad. Then pour off all but 2 tablespoon of bacon grease from the skillet, leaving all those good bits in the bottom of the skillet.
- Return the skillet, 2 tablespoon of bacon fat and the "good bits" to the stovetop and heat over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, or green onions and garlic. Sautee for 1-2 minutes.
- Whisk in the vinegar and deglaze the pan. Whisk in honey mustard, and continue to whisk until bacon renderings, vinegar and mustard are all well incorporated. Salt and pepper to taste (about ½ teaspoon each) and bring to a simmer while whisking. Remove from heat and let cool a little.
- Assemble salad in a large salad bowl by tossing together the spinach, mushrooms, bacon, onion. Drizzle with warm bacon dressing and toss. Add sliced boiled eggs last. Serve. See post for extras to add in your salad.
Originally published April 2, 2017.
Yummo! Can’t wait to try this!
Yea! I can’t wait to hear what you think about it.
Could you use this dressing over hot sliced potatoes, I.e. for hot German potato salad?
Carol,
I have never tried that, but it seems like it would go with potatoes nicely! Let me know how it turns out!
I will Stacey, if my memory stays with me. It sounds SO good!
Ha! I know how that is… with so many things on our minds, it’s hard to keep up!
Especially at 76+. I love to cook, always have. Especially for my family. These websites are phenomenal. My husband complains what happened to meat, mashed potatoes and gravy? Kids and grandkids don’t agree with him. ????
Wow,Carol! 76+! That’s awesome! Yes, I love all of the wonderful food that can be found on the internet these days. Maybe your husband will like this meat and potatoes dish. It’s a family favorite around here. https://southerndiscourse.com/southern-cottage-pie/
Oh my goodness, hot bacon dressing. It really doesn’t get any better than this!
Julie,
It doesn’t, does it?! It is so yum!
Stacey, referring to your Southern Cottage Pie, with just the two of us I was wondering 1) if you halved the recipe would it work ok with a 10” skillet? 2) is that heavy cream you use?
I really need to try this recipe. It looks and sounds like a real keeper!
Carol, yes! It is one of my family’s favorites. It will absolutely work as you suggest, halved and in a 10″ skillet or 9″ deep dish pie plate. For this recipe I have used heavy cream, half and half, and whole milk (Ha! The whole gambit!). I prefer the half and half, honestly.
What brand of honey mustard do you use?
I usually use one that is a sandwich spread, not a salad dressing. I haven’t had much luck with the store brand spreads, but all others have worked great! You can also make your own. I like that option- 2 parts brown mustard, 1 part honey.
Stacy, if your stilling checking this, could you use Dijon mustard alone with this? OR could you use Dijon WITH the honey?
Hi, Karen!
You sure can use Dijon. 2 TBSP Dijon mustard and 1 TBSP honey works great!
Where is the printer version, please? Thanks!
Hi, Jaik!
This is an older post from the days before a printable recipe card. Wow! We are working on getting those updated as soon as we can.
Hope you get that printer version soon! I’d like to offer this to a group birthday party in a couple of weeks.
Hi, Nikki! I am working on it now! I will send you an email when it’s updated.
How long will this store? Can you refrigerate it and just reheat it before each use or does it need to be used immediately because of the grease?
Hi, Amanda! This dressing is usually served tossed into the salad to slightly wilt the salad and used all at once. But if you have some leftover, it can be stored for a week or so if covered tightly and refrigerated. The oils will separate, so the dressing will need to be reheated and whisked back into the right consistency. I wouldn’t reheat it more than once. Let me know if you try it and how it goes!