Bacon and Hard-Boiled Egg Spinach Salad

A baby spinach salad with hard-boiled eggs, red onion and croutons tossed in a warm honey-mustard bacon dressing.

One of the most delicious salads to ever grace my plate. Completely unforgettable.

A baby spinach salad with hard-boiled eggs, red onion and croutons tossed in a warm honey-mustard bacon dressing.

• 5 slices bacon
• 3 cups cubed Italian bread (1/2-inch cubes)
• coarse salt and fresh black pepper

• ⅓ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup Dijon honey mustard
• 1 clove garlic, chopped

• 4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
• 6 cups baby spinach, stems removed
• scant ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet or roasting pan with parchment or aluminum foil. Lay the bacon down so it's not touching and bake about 15 minutes or until crispy. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate and once cool enough to handle chop or crumble into small pieces.
2. Add the bread to the baking sheet and toss well with the grease. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until lightly golden and crispy about 8 - 10 minutes.
3. In the bowl of a food processor pulse the oil, mustard, and garlic together until smooth. Pour it into a small saucepan set over low heat and cook until warm. Stir in the bacon and remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm.
4. To a large bowl add the eggs, spinach, onion and croutons. Pour half the dressing over top and lightly toss, add more dressing as needed until lightly coated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature or cold.

The sweet and tangy dressing is made easily with olive oil, honey mustard and crumbled bacon. It gets heated up before being tossed with the salad ingredients where it gently wilts the spinach.

An easy shortcut for cooking bacon is to roast it on a parchment or aluminum foil lined cookie sheet or roasting pan. It cooks up in the same amount of time as pan-frying without making a greasy mess.

Once it’s cooked just allow the grease to cool then fold up the parchment and throw away. The pan underneath will be perfectly clean. It’s the only way we cook bacon in my house being it’s every bit as good if not better than the stove-top method.

To make the croutons for the salad I roast the bacon then toss the bread cubes in the rendered grease and slide the pan back in the hot oven.

The bacon grease adds a ton of flavor and makes boring old croutons a lot more interesting. If you want to use a healthier oil instead just drizzle the bread cubes with it on a baking sheet and toss before baking.

A salad built around bacon and eggs has naturally delicious consequences. The two belong together in every way, shape and form. A perfect marriage.

Even Especially in this salad where they are elevated to the starring role.

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