Warm White Bean, Bacon, and Spinach Salad

Right now is the time of year for a warming and hearty winter salad, like this bean and spinach salad! Spinach is great cold-weather green which can stand up to heartier flavors and I love it mixed with white beans that have been sauteed in bacon fat and tossed in a tangy, sherry vinegar dressing. Make the salad just before everyone comes to the table so the white beans are still warm from the skillet, the shallots retain their crunch, and the bacon is still crispy. Yum!

Hello, all!

While I do love a gratin, and I have another for you in the next post, I also love a salad in the winter.

Grains, beans, and cold weather greens are some of the ingredients I mix together to put salads on the table until the early greens show up at the farmer’s market.

Like my Winter Romaine Salad with Yogurt Dressing, this warm spinach and bean salad takes advantage of the sturdier greens available now and mixes them together with flavors that say comfort food. I enjoy serving this salad with a vegetable soup, like Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup or Roasted Tomato Basil Soup. Both provide a great counterpoint to the salad!

I started this recipe thinking I would use bacon fat for the dressing, but I really liked the fruity flavor of the olive oil in the forefront while the bacon acts as a backup player.

Also, I personally find lemon juice to be way too assertive in the dressing, so I switched to milder sherry vinegar, which has really become a favorite of mine in recent years.

However,  a little lemon zest added just the right amount of zip! Finally, I tried sauteing the dressing with the beans, but I liked the stronger, sharper flavor of just barely warmed shallots over the flavor of cooked shallots.

While the bacon is cooking is the perfect time to prep the rest of the salad. Mince the garlic, make up the dressing, and set out the spinach on the plates. Then get the beans sauteing once the bacon is done. You’ll have this salad on the table in no time!

If you try my recipe for White Bean, Bacon, and Spinach Salad, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.

– Happy Eating, Annemarie

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Warm White Bean, Bacon, and Spinach Salad

This is a hearty salad of baby spinach and warm white beans and a little bit of bacon which is perfect for chilly nights, all dressed in a sherry and shallot vinaigrette.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: spinach salad, white bean salad

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 250kcal

Author: justalittlebitofbacon

Ingredients

• 3 slices thick cut bacon
• 1 15-oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 8 oz baby spinach
• parmesan cheese, shaved

Dressing

• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp minced shallots
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

• Cook bacon over medium heat in a skillet until browned and crispy, turning every so often so they brown evenly on both sides. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat.
• Add the beans to the skillet and saute them until they are warmed through and have taken on the flavor of the bacon fat. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
• Remove the pan from the heat. Mix together all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and then pour the dressing into the skillet with the beans. Stir to warm it through.
• Divide the spinach among four salad bowls, then top each with a portion of the beans and dressing. Crumble the bacon over and shave some parmesan on top.