Warm Bacon Spinach Salad. Crispy bacon, hard boiled egg, crunchy red onion, meaty mushrooms, and tender spinach. What’s not to love? Serve it up for dinner on a cool Fall day and you’ll have one happy belly!

Sometimes, you just need salad. Warm bacon spinach salad, that is. (And sometimes, Halloween is tomorrow and you need to gear up for all that candy you know you’re about to eat.) I’m the kind of salad eater, who likes more “stuff” in their salad than actual lettuce, because I love a lot of different textures while eating it. This warm bacon spinach salad has such nice texture, with so few ingredients, it’s amazing!

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Crispy bacon, hard boiled eggs, crunchy red onions, meaty mushrooms, and tender spinach. Done. Done. Annnnd done.

Trevor, on the other hand, doesn’t ever NEEEED salad. Salad for lunch? Fine. Sure. Whatever. But salad for dinner?

*Blank stare* (I’m sure he’s not alone)

Luckily, with this salad, I think I may have converted him into a dinner salad lover for life.

Typically, I like salads on a nice hot day to compliment my ice cold lettuce, crunchy vegetables, and cool, creamy dressing. Because who likes to eat anything hot when it’s 80+ degrees outside and you’re sweating like a maniac? Not me. And even worse. Who likes COOKING that hot food in 80+ degree weather when you’re sweating like a manic? Yea…I didn’t think so. This salad, however, is not meant for hot, steamy weather. This salad was made for cool, rainy, Fall days.

Let’s talk about bacon, shall we?

Bacon. I just like saying it. Bacon, bacon, bacon.

Does bacon make everything better?

Yes. It does. It really, really does. Don’t argue with me on this.

It surely makes my jalapeño poppers better, and a BLT surely wouldn’t be the same without…well….bacon. Do you think it’s a coincidence that it’s not called a LTB or a TLB? No, the bacon is the most important part so it gets top billing. So yes, I stand here and pronounce: bacon DOES make everything better!

Now that we have that sorted out, thank goodness bacon is in this recipe. Holy cow, it adds a ton of flavor to the warm bacon vinaigrette dressing that smothers the spinach.

Start by laying your bacon in a single layer on a cold pan. Turn your burner on low. Bacon likes to be cooked low and slow people. As your bacon starts to bubble and crisp up, flip back and forth occasionally using tongs, until the bacon reaches your desired crispness. Whatever you do, don’t throw away the left over bacon fat. Reserve it. It’s GOLD!

Transfer your bacon fat to a small saucepan and whisk in red wine vinegar, sugar, Dijon mustard, and salt to taste. Warm through and keep warm on the burner until you’re ready to serve!

While your dressing is warming, assemble your salad. Pour pre-washed baby spinach into a salad bowl and top with finely sliced red onion, chopped egg, crumbled bacon, and sliced mushrooms.

Pour dressing over salad and remember… you can always add more, but not so fun to take it off. Trust me, sometime I’ll tell you the story about me, a bowl of lettuce, some paper towels and a soggy salad.

Serve immediately with some buttered crusty french bread, and enjoy this warm bacon spinach salad for dinner! With all the different textures, I know you’re going to love it as much as Trevor did.

This will surely keep you warm during those rainy Fall days!

– Jennifer

Do you think bacon makes everything better? Have you converted your significant other to a dinner salad lover? Show me the yummy!