Simple Spinach Salad
This spinach salad has such simple ingredients but the flavor is amazing. Without fail, someone asks me for this recipe every single time I make it. You would never guess how easy it is to make. This spinach salad is perfect for entertaining or as a light meal. The mushrooms marinate in the dressing to create wonderful flavor and texture. Most of the ingredients to this salad are in the dressing, which can be easily made ahead of time and keeps for several days, making this salad a real time saver.
Spinach Salad Ingredients
- Baby Spinach, washed and dried
- Swiss Cheese, shredded
- Bacon bits
Wash the baby spinach leaves and dry them using a salad spinner or paper towels. Â Shred the swiss cheese and set aside.
Cut bacon up into 1/2 inch pieces and saute in a frying pan until it is crispy (or you could always bake your bacon in the oven to save time). Be sure and cook the bacon long enough that it can stand up to the salad dressing without getting mushy. Bacon cooks really quickly if you cut it up first but if you prefer to cook it whole and then crumble it that works just as well.
Spinach Salad Dressing
- Sliced mushrooms (I like baby portobello but button mushrooms work fine)
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 t salt
- 1 T poppy seeds
Slice mushrooms and mix together all of the ingredients for the spinach salad dressing.
Let the dressing sit for at least a few hours before serving.
This dressing tastes just as good, if not better the next day. If you don’t mix it together with all of the spinach leaves on the first day you can easily put together another salad in minutes the next day that is just as fresh as the first one.
Assembling the Spinach Salad
Toss the spinach leaves with the salad dressing about 10 minutes before serving. Top the salad with swiss cheese and bacon.
Variation – To create a more mild onion flavor, the red onion can be chopped and cooked with the bacon.
I promise you, this salad is amazing. We serve this every holiday at our house because it feels like such a treat and all my kids love it so much.
What’s your favorite way to make spinach salad? Share it with us in the comments.
- Baby Spinach, washed and dried
- Swiss Cheese, shredded
- Bacon bits
- Sliced mushrooms (I like baby portobello but button mushrooms work fine)
- ½ red onion, sliced
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup cider vinegar
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 t salt
- 1 T poppy seeds
- Combine sliced mushrooms, red onion, olive oil, cider vinegar, sugar, salt, and poppy seeds.
- Let the dressing sit for at least a few hours before serving.
- Toss the spinach leaves with the salad dressing about 10 minutes before serving.
- Top the salad with swiss cheese and bacon.
- Variation - To create a more mild onion flavor, the red onion can be chopped and cooked with the bacon.
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