Introducing a summer essential…the lovely Strawberry Bacon Spinach Salad, with a KILLER (and easy peasy) homemade Lemon Maple dressing that is sweet, tangy and light.
SALAD DREAMS DO COME TRUE.
Strawberry and Spinach Salad is not complete without crispy bacon and crunchy almonds, drizzled with the easiest, summer inspired dressing ever.
When spinach, strawberry, bacon and maple syrup come together, magic happens. These opposing flavors and textures melt together in your mouth, bringing alive the Strawberry Bacon Spinach Salad…
This is possibly my new favorite salad in the whole wide world. Not even kidding.
The other day I had three plates of it all in a day. Post-breakfast (last round of recipe testing), lunch (accompanied by some of Cheesy Bacon Potato Casserole – random, yes…but also so very delicious), and dinner.
What’s not to love about a bed of spinach topped with generous (very generous) amount of crispy bacon, juicy strawberries and crunchy slivered almonds.
Then drizzle on the out-of-this-world homemade Lemon Maple Dressing. By the way, THAT lemony, so-good-I-wanna-cry dressing…it is so yum I can DRINK it.
Let’s Make It!
Let’s get this straight. This Strawberry Bacon Spinach Salad is nothing without the homemade Lemon Maple Salad Dressing
Made only with freshly squeezed lemon juice, 100% pure maple syrup, a little bit of garlic, a pinch of salt, and lots of olive oil to give it the creaminess, it is liquid GOLD. I highly recommend using 100% pure maple syrup – it gives the dressing the full flavor it deserves.
Double or triple the batch and store in refrigerator (for up to 2 weeks) for your future salad needs. Because you will NEED it. Trust me.
Summer salad dressing perfection. Right here, right now…
And now to the Strawberry and Spinach Salad itself. It’s one of those happy situation where all my favorite ingredients come together to form a salad:
- Spinach
- Strawberries (it’s the season!)
- Crispy bacon 🙂 🙂 🙂
- Slivered almonds. Or substitute with pecans or cashews. What we are trying to do is to give the salad a nice crunchy texture.
YUM YUM YUM!
Toss the salad ingredients together, be careful not to squish the strawberries….then toss it in dressing.
Another option is to serve the tossed Strawberry Bacon Spinach Salad with the dressing on the side. I like to do this when I know the salad will sit out for a while before it gets eaten so that the spinach doesn’t get soggy. This also gives people the freedom to adjust how much dressing they want in their salad.
Substitution
You can of course substitute some of the ingredients for some of your favorites. Here are some ideas:
- Instead of strawberries, try blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes or apples
- Instead of spinach, try kale, romaine, spring mix, or spinach and kale, or kale and spinach, or spinach and spring mix….you get the idea
- Instead of crispy bacon, try prosciutto, ham or salami
- Instead of almond, try another nut (pecan, cashew etc)
- Other yummy ingredients to add to this salad: carrots, bell peppers, cheese (feta, parmesan, mozzarella), and much more!
This is just the tip of the ice berg, there’s an endless list of things to mix and match and make this salad your very own!
So versatile!
This Spinach and Strawberry Salad is so many things for many people and in many ways – make it a side or starter to dinner, or eat it as a light lunch of dinner by itself!
It can be served on a casual dinner, but it can totally pass as a side to a fancier meal as well. Italso reminds me of those nice dinner salads I’ll get at a steak house as a starter before my juicy steak comes out. To jazz it up and make it fancier, add some feta cheese or dried fruit to it!
It is also a great salad for potlucks, summer cookouts, or picnics. Throw the salad ingredients together, serve the dressing on the side, and feed it to tons of people. They will thank you for it!
We also like to make this during the holidays season as it goes really well with turkey, ham and mashed potatoes. And it will probably be the not-so-healthy-but-it’s-probably-the-healthiest-thing-on-the-holiday-table’ dish. 🙂
What to Serve it with:
Should you choose to not eat it by itself, here are some main course ideas that will go great with this Spinach Strawberry Bacon Salad!
- Marinated Flank Steak
- Lemon Butter Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops
- Garlic Butter Dill Salmon
- Pork Tenderloin with Gravy
- Lemon Balsamic Grilled (or Pan-Fried) Chicken
- Tilapia with Avocado and Corn Salsa
Thank you for listening to me blabber about my love for this Spinach Salad beauty. In short, bullet-points kinda style of summary to wrap it all up, here’s what you can expect from this Strawberry Bacon Spinach Salad:
- Sweetness from the strawberries and maple syrup
- Savory from the bacon
- Citrus from the lemon
- Crunch from almonds and bacon
Ahhhh. I LOVE IT SO MUCH. ❤️
If you make this recipe, comment below and let me know what you think! Also, don’t forget to take a picture and tag me on Instagram, because I WANNA SEE!!
Strawberry Bacon Spinach Salad with Lemon Maple Dressing
Ingredients
- 4-5 oz fresh spinach
- 8 oz strawberries sliced
- 6-8 oz bacon
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
Lemon Maple Dressing
- 3 tbsp 100% pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove medium garlic
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cut bacon into 1-inch slices and cook bacon in skillet until crispy. Drain bacon grease.
- Slice strawberries.
- Make the Lemon Maple Dressing by bringing all the ingredients to a bottle and shaking it up.
- Assemble spinach, diced strawberry, crispy bacon and slivered almonds. Drizzle dressing onto salad. (See Note 2)
- Serve and enjoy!
