Keto Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing
Keto Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon dressing comes together quickly with the convenience of a bag of fresh spinach. Toss this simple spinach salad with fresh ripe strawberries, purple onions, hard-boiled eggs, and feta cheese for a delicious, refreshing low-carb side or main dish. The hot bacon dressing is creamy, slightly sweet, and lightly spicy, with just enough tang to cut the sweet.
Nothing like a delicious, simple spinach salad served alone or topped with grilled chicken for a complete meal. There are so many variations to this low-carb salad recipe to customize and make your own. With the hot bacon dressing poured on top, this wilted salad is next level loaded with incredible flavor!
Ingredients for Keto Spinach Salad
- Fresh Baby Spinach – There is something about spinach and strawberries together that makes a fantastic salad.
- Strawberries – you’ll want juicy ripe strawberries with the most flavor
- Purple Onions – give a delicious crunch and offset the sweetness of strawberries
- Boiled Eggs – adds texture and flavor
- Crumbled Feta Cheese – adds a creamy taste and compliments the sweet taste of strawberries.
Low Carb Hot Bacon Dressing
- Bacon – Bacon has the flavor we crave and the fat we need to stay keto. I like thinner sliced bacon for this recipe as it fries up crispier. If you can find uncured bacon, that is the best option. If not, check the label, as you’ll want to avoid maple or brown sugar bacon for the sugar content.
- Garlic & onion – add flavor.
- Bacon fat– the oil base of the hot bacon dressing
- Yellow mustard – adds a punch of flavor
- Lakanto Monkfruit Golden – This sugar substitute works perfectly for salad dressings. It resembles brown sugar in taste and consistency and helps balance out the tangy vinegar in this low-carb hot bacon dressing recipe.
- Water – Adds additional liquid to the dressing.
- Red wine vinegar – adds the vinegar flavor to this hot bacon vinegarette dressing.
- Italian seasoning – This blend of herbs gives the hot bacon dressing its spicy Italian flavor.
- Salt & Pepper – Adds flavor as needed.
Step 1: If the spinach is prewashed, open the bag and dump it in a large salad bowl.
Is Spinach Good for Keto?
Yes! Spinach is a fantastic source of iron, magnesium, and folate. It’s also one of the most nutritious low-carb vegetables to enjoy on the keto diet.
How many carbs are in Spinach?
High in fiber, spinach is a perfect low-carb vegetable with only 1.4g net carbs per 4 cups.
Step 2: Prepare the Ingredients for spinach strawberry salad by chopping the hard-boiled eggs and slicing the onion and strawberries. If you are using a block of fresh feta cheese, crumble it now, so all ingredients are on hand to assemble the spinach strawberry salad.
Tip: Check out how to boil eggs for the best hard-boiled eggs that peel easily every time!
Step 3: Begin to assemble the spinach salad by adding fresh strawberries and purple onions. Make sure to choose the ripest strawberries for the best flavor.
Step 4: Prepare the hot bacon dressing by following the detailed ingredients and instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
How Many Carbs are in Keto Hot Bacon Dressing?
This recipe makes approx 1 cup Low Carb Hot Bacon Salad Dressing,
Note: The sugar alcohols in the Lakanto Monkfruit Golden are not included in the nutritional information because most subtract to calculate net carbs.
Tips for Making Hot Bacon Dressing:
- Cutting bacon into smaller pieces helps to speed up the cooking time.
- If you keep bacon grease on hand, you can use real pieces of pre-cooked bacon crumbles.
- Monkfruit Golden alternative sweeteners that can be used in this recipe are Swerve Brown or Wholesome Yum Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend.
- Swap out dijon mustard for regular bustard.
How to Store Keto Bacon Vinaigrette Dressing
It can be stored in the fridge, but the texture will change as the bacon grease hardens and the sweetener can crystalize at cold temperatures. To rewarm, add a bit of water and reheat in the microwave or skillet. As it is heated, the sweetener will liquefy, and the dressing will return to the appropriate consistency.
You can serve the spinach strawberry salad as is with the keto hot bacon dressing on the side.
For a wilted salad, pour the salad dressing on top of the assembled salad and toss to distribute the dressing.
Enjoy! The colors of this delicious keto salad are so vibrant and inviting!
What to serve with a keto Spinach Salad?
A few ideas come to mind, such as grilled chicken, rib-eye steaks, or pork chops. A salad pairs perfectly with food cooked on the grill. Side dishes that go well with any of the main dishes listed include Air Fryer Green Beans, Air Fryer Roasted Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts and bacon, and grilled squash/zucchini blend.
Can I Make This Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing Ahead?
Yes, you can make the salad beforehand and prepare all the topping ingredients and the salad dressing. When you are ready to serve the salad, add all the ingredients and heat the hot bacon salad dressing with a bit of water.
Variations to Spinach Salad:
Add protein to your Spinach Salad to make it a complete meal.
- Air Fryer Marinated Chicken Breast
- Keto Fried Chicken Nuggets
- Crock-Pot Shredded Chicken Breasts
- Salmon
- Shrimp
More Topping Ideas:
- blueberries, raspberries, and/or blackberries
- Swap out the cheese – Goat cheese or blue cheese
- Bell Peppers
- Low Carb Nuts are a fantastic crunchy addition – Pecans, slivered almonds, or walnuts
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Sliced mushrooms
- radishes
- avocado slices
- broccoli florets
General FAQs about Keto Salads and Keto Salad Dressings:
What kind of salad dressing can you use for a keto diet?
Salad dressings such as this hot bacon dressing are a great fit. Check out this list of 25+ Keto Salad Dressing recipes for a huge variety to suit any taste.
Can you eat store-bought salad dressing on keto?
If you are strict keto, you may want to avoid store-bought salad dressings. For others who are less stringent, store-bought options might be a great fit. There are many low-carb dressing varieties you can find on Amazon.
More Keto Salad Recipes:
- Healthy Cobb Salad with Chicken
- Keto Chicken Salad
- Keto Broccoli Bacon Salad
- Keto Taco Salad (with Creamy Dressing)
- Marinated Keto Cole Slaw
- Keto Cucumber Salad Recipe
- Keto Egg Salad with Bacon
Keto Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing
Ingredients
Keto Spinach Salad Ingredients
- 9 - 10 oz fresh spinach
- 6 ripe strawberries, sliced
- 1/3 cup red onion, sliced
- 1/2 cup feta cheese
- 2 boiled eggs, chopped
Keto Hot Bacon Dressing Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp finely chopped onion
- 1/3 cup bacon fat
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 2 tbsp Lakanto Monkfruit Golden
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup red vinegar
- 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- salt to taste
Instructions
Spinach Salad Instructions:
- In a large bowl, add fresh baby spinach leaves.
- Slice strawberries and purple onion.
- Chop the bacon, then saute it in a skillet until very crisp.
- Add the strawberries and purple onions to the salad.
- Sprinkle fresh crumbled feta cheese and chopped boiled egg on top.
Hot Bacon Dressing Instructions:
- Remove the bacon from the grease and set it aside on a plate covered with paper towels to absorb excess oil, so it continues to crisp. Once it has cooled to the touch, crumble into smaller pieces.
- Keep 1/3 cup of the bacon grease in the skillet and remove the rest if there is any excess. It should render approx 1/3 cup.
- Add the fresh minced garlic and chopped onion to the skillet and saute in the bacon grease until the onion is translucent.
- Add all of the other ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil uncovered for 5 minutes or until the Low Carb Hot Bacon Dressing reduces, stirring with a whisk to avoid sticking to the pan.
- Remove from heat, add the crumbled bacon to the dressing, and stir until thoroughly combined.
- To serve after being refrigerated, you will need to rewarm and add additional water since the bacon grease will become firm in the fridge.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
