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.
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.
Spinach Salad Ingredients
For the salad: you’ll need spinach, bacon, pecans, blue cheese, red onion, and pear.
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.
Here’s how I make my favorite Spinach Salad with Pears and Hot Bacon Dressing.
Spinach Salad with 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.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Spinach Salad is a dish I first made as a teen for my Mom, knowing how much she liked it…have not made it for a long time! The addition of pears is wonderful!!
Thanks!!!
Love this salad! great for fall!
I love spinach salad with a warm bacon dressing but have never considered adding pears and now wondering…why not? I know I would love the crisp, moist crunch they would provide in addition to the other flavors…great looking salad.
Made this as part of our Christmas dinner. It was delicious and I liked the fact that it was a very light amount of dressing. My personal preference is fewer onions (I’m not a huge fan of raw onion) or next time I might marinate some red onion slices a couple of days before and use them instead. Be sure to cook your bacon crispy! Delicious.
I agree that the bacon needs to be crispy, Robyn. Next time, you can try this salad without the onions or add fewer. I make it sometimes without onions for family members who can’t have them. It is still delicious.