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Hot Bacon Vinaigrette

Spinach salad is topped with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, hard boiled eggs, and bacon! Tossed with a Hot Bacon Vinaigrette Dressing, this salad is a hearty bacon-lover’s dream. 

Hot Bacon Vinaigrette Salad

BACON!!!! On the salad, in the dressing — this is a good day.

Quick note: sometimes I poke around in my archives and find recipes from for-ehhhh-vurrrr ago that are just begging to get in front of new eyes. I made this Hot Bacon Vinaigrette Salad for dinner last week and decided it NEEDED to be shared. Because we love bacon, right?

Right.

So please don’t be confused by the weird mentions of Christmas trees or Santa Claus in this post. This is a recipe that will happily grace our table no matter the time of year. And bonus!!! In the summer all the produce (read: tomatoes!!!) are in season.

When I originally shared this recipe I made it with what I think were basically the freshest, prettiest greens I ever ate. We bought our Christmas tree from a local nursery that weekend. It’s run by this adorable retired couple who I’d really like to be in 40 years – they have greenhouses filled with flowers EVERYWHERE on a property that is secluded and gorgeous down a little paved road that winds through the woods. They have a few happy lazy dogs (and one gigantic sun-bathing cat) that wander in and out with the customers. And while their daughter rang up our purchases, I spied them at the two-seater dinette table in their tiny kitchen/cozy break room sharing a turkey sandwich.

Hot bacon Vinaigrette recipe

Before we left they loaded us up with allllllllll these fresh greens that they literally cut straight out of the ground and handed to me to stuff in a plastic sack.

Gifted greens.

From the cutest couple ever. I mean it.

The Best Bacon Dressing recipe

I went with spinach in my remake because there were no freshly cut gorgeous greens at the grocery store. Spinach and bacon go really good together.

At the original publish date for this Hot Bacon Dressing, we had the holidays on the horizon and Evan was still trying to Santa-stump me. He was asking me how the reindeer manage to be so quiet when they land on our roof? I told him that surely if they are magical enough to fly then they can land with a bit of grace and ease. Then I tried to distract him by telling him about the reindeer food recipe that Jenn gave me. It has sugar and oats!!! But my little chatterbox was not done with me yet.

He informed me that he is asking Santa for one of the elves’ hats for Christmas this year. He is totally serious. I asked him what was he going to do with an elf hat? He laughed at me like I was ridiculous and said, “I’m gonna wear it, what do you think?”

Obviously I am not with the program.

I may have been distracted by all the bacon.

The Best Bacon Salad Dressing

Hot Bacon Vinaigrette
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4-8
Ingredients
  • 4 (or more!!) slices of bacon
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • ½ teaspoon dark brown sugar
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • ¾ teaspoon spicy mustard
  • salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet. Set it aside to drain on paper towels.
  2. Drain all of the bacon grease from the skillet EXCEPT about 3 tablespoons.
  3. With the burner on medium low (or just low- your skillet should still be hot). stir the honey and brown sugar into the hot bacon grease.
  4. Gradually pour in the red wine vinegar, stirring constantly.
  5. Stir in the spicy mustard.
  6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Pour into a serving carafe (or a liquid measuring cup if you're like me). This dressing is best served warm

Based on THIS recipe at Chow.com

If you love bacon, you’re also gonna wanna try…

Macn Cheese with Roasted Jalapenos and Bacon

 

Roasted Jalapeno and Bacon Macaroni

Pulled Pork Puff Pastries with Apple Bacon Slaw

BBQ Bites with Apple Bacon Slaw

Rate this recipe:  

Jenn Roy Sharkey

Tuesday 19th of March 2013

I just saw this & that you mentioned my reindeer food recipe :)

Jenn Roy Sharkey

Tuesday 19th of March 2013

the one I gave you I mean, not that I created it.

Heather

Tuesday 19th of March 2013

:) Loved it.

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thepinkrachael

Thursday 29th of November 2012

Oh my god - this is genius! I love bacon. I love bacon salady stuff (like spinach, french green beans, bacon and poached egg...mmm). Why have I never thought to combine the two to make a bacon vinaigrette before?!

Heather

Sunday 2nd of December 2012

This dressing is sooooo good. I love bacon! This is a recipe you could make!! No oven required.

Jayne

Thursday 29th of November 2012

I just printed this out. Bacon dressing, here I come!!

Heather

Thursday 29th of November 2012

Super! Lemme know how you like it! My kids asked me if I had anymore of that bacon dressing yesterday- it was a hit.