Warm Spinach Salad with Strawberries, Bacon, and Goat Cheese

This salad earned rave reviews during dinner and also garnered a lot of attention when I posted on Facebook that I was making it. I'm pretty sure the secret is that the dressing is made almost entirely of bacon grease. Healthy? No. Delicious? Yes.


The original recipe called for adding orzo and pecans to the salad but since I was already serving orzo and don't really like nuts I just adjusted a few things so that it fit my menu better. You can make the dressing in advance and just reheat over low heat on the stove to get the bacon grease all nice and warm again. I hope you enjoy this decadent salad as much as we did!

Warm Spinach Salad with Strawberries, Bacon, and Goat Cheese
adapted from How Sweet It Is
makes 4 servings

6 slices bacon, uncooked
1/2 red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces baby spinach
8-10 large strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup (2 ounces) goat cheese, crumbled
Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add bacon slices. Cook until brown and crispy, turning once. Remove from skillet and drain on a paper towel. Cool slightly and coarsely chop.

Leave skillet on and add red onion, sprinkle with a little salt, and stir to coat with grease. Cook until soft and caramelized, 8-10 minutes. Add in garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add strawberries and mix to coat. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper and add bacon crumbles. This can be prepared a few hours in advance, just reheat whole mixture gently when ready to serve.

Place spinach in large serving bowl, top with bacon mixture, then goat cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss to combine all and serve immediately.