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Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

Robyn Stone

Updated Dec 20, 2022

This spinach salad has bacon, pears, pecans, onion, and blue cheese served with a hot bacon dressing. Perfect as a side or topped with protein for a meal.

Looking for more delicious salad recipes ? I think you’ll love my Favorite House Salad , Wedge Salad , and Mediterranean Salad .

Photo of the best spinach salad with pears, bacon, onion, blue cheese, and hot bacon dressing. - 1

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Flavor. Every bite of this salad is packed with incredible flavor!
Versatile. It is delicious as a side salad, but I love adding protein like baked chicken or salmon for a complete meal.
Restaurant Quality Salad at Home. I love that whenever I serve this salad, everyone comments that it tastes like eating in a fine restaurant. Simple ingredients with a big impact!

The Best Spinach Salad Recipe

The sweet crunch of pears and toasted pecans, coupled with the tangy bacon dressing and creamy blue cheese crumbles, is the perfect blend of sweet and sour, crunch and creamy. It’s delicious as a main-dish meal or as a side salad.

Ingredients needed to make spinach salad with bacon, pears, onion, blue cheese topped with a hot bacon dressing. - 2

Spinach Salad Ingredients

For the hot bacon dressing: you’ll need bacon, sugar, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.

Variations and Substitutions:

Bacon: You can use turkey bacon instead of pork bacon if desired.

Cheese: You can use gorgonzola, feta, goat cheese, or aged cheddar in place of blue cheese.

Pecans: You can omit the nuts or substitute them with walnuts if preferred.

Pear: Use apples in place of the pear called for in the recipe.

Dressing: This spinach salad is also delicious with my bacon vinaigrette dressing .

Assemble the Spinach Salad

Make the salad. Layer the fresh baby spinach, pear slices, toasted pecans, and red onion slices in a salad bowl or a platter. Top with bacon and blue cheese crumbles.
Make the dressing. Whisk together the salad dressing ingredients and drizzle over the spinach salad.
Serve. Toss the salad to coat all of the ingredients with the dressing. Serve.

Close photograph of spinach salad with pears, bacon, onion, and blue cheese. - 4

Here’s how I make my favorite Spinach Salad with Pears and Hot Bacon Dressing.

Ingredients

▢ 8 cups spinach
▢ 1 pear , sliced
▢ 1/2 cup pecans , toasted
▢ 1/2 red onion , sliced
▢ gorgonzola crumbles
▢ 6 strips bacon , chopped and cooked (reserve 3 tablespoons for the dressing below)

For the Hot Bacon Dressing:

▢ 3 tablespoons bacon drippings , from cooking the bacon for the salad
▢ 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
▢ 2 teaspoons sugar
▢ 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
▢ pinch kosher salt
▢ pinch ground black pepper

Instructions

Make the salad. Layer the fresh baby spinach, pear slices, toasted pecans, and red onion slices in a salad bowl or a platter. Top with bacon and blue cheese crumbles.
Make the dressing. Whisk together the salad dressing ingredients and drizzle over the spinach salad.
Serve. Toss the salad to coat all of the ingredients with the dressing. Serve.

Notes

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Enjoy! Robyn xo