Recipe for spinach salad with honey mustard vinaigrette

After too much holiday eating and one birthday celebration after another in January, I'm atoning for my culinary sins by indulging in lighter meals like soups and salads. This spinach salad with honey mustard vinaigrette sits halfway between a traditional spinach salad and a Cobb, with big chunks of avocado, bacon and hard-boiled egg atop a bed of dark leafy greens. To go more Cobb, add some diced cooked chicken. Omit the bacon to make it vegetarian; omit the egg, substitute chunks of roasted zucchini or winter squash, and swap agave nectar for honey for a vegan variation. I serve this salad as a main dish for lunch or dinner, with crusty bread on the side.

Spinach salad with honey mustard vinaigrette

From the pantry, you'll need: honey, Dijon mustard, lemon, extra virgin olive oil, eggs, bacon.

Serves 2; can be multiplied.

Ingredients

For the vinaigrette:
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
Juice of half a lemon (2 tsp)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Large pinch each of kosher salt and fresh black pepper

For the salad:
4 cups baby spinach leaves
1 large avocado, peeled and diced
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and roughly chopped
6 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
2 strips of bacon, cooked and drained (optional)

Directions

In a small jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine all ingredients for the vinaigrette. Shake vigorously to emulsify the dressing, and set aside.

Assemble the salad on two plates. In a small bowl, toss the spinach with a little bit of the dressing, and place on the plates. Toss the avocado in the same bowl with a bit of dressing, and arrange on top of the spinach, along with the eggs, bacon and cherry tomatoes.

Drizzle more of the dressing on top of everything, just as much as you need but not more. Serve at room temperature.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Spinach salad with glazed beets and blue cheese
Kale salad with mushrooms and mustard vinaigrette
Chickpea, quinoa and spinach salad with preserved lemon vinaigrette
Pear and brie salad with cashews and dried cranberries
Watermelon, feta and arugula salad with orange vinaigrette

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Warm spinach salad with bacon and pomegranate, from Sass & Veracity
Asian spinach salad with chicken, mushrooms, peppers, and almonds, from Kalyn's Kitchen
Strawberry spinach salad with avocado and champagne vinaigrette, from Andrea Meyers
Spinach salad with feta and walnuts, from Eating Richly Even When You're Broke
Spinach salad pizza, from Bake Your Day

Need more ideas for how to create salads with pizzazz? Get Dress Up Your Salad, my e-book packed with easy mix-and-match recipes, full-color photos and a few fun videos. Exciting salad recipes from everyday ingredients can be just one click away, on any computer, tablet or smart phone, with the FREE Kindle Reading app. Click here to learn more.

Spinach salad with honey mustard vinaigrette

From the pantry, you'll need: honey, Dijon mustard, lemon, extra virgin olive oil, eggs, bacon.

Serves 2; can be multiplied.

Ingredients

For the vinaigrette:
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
Juice of half a lemon (2 tsp)
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Large pinch each of kosher salt and fresh black pepper

For the salad:
4 cups baby spinach leaves
1 large avocado, peeled and diced
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and roughly chopped
6 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
2 strips of bacon, cooked and drained (optional)

Directions

In a small jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine all ingredients for the vinaigrette. Shake vigorously to emulsify the dressing, and set aside.

Assemble the salad on two plates. In a small bowl, toss the spinach with a little bit of the dressing, and place on the plates. Toss the avocado in the same bowl with a bit of dressing, and arrange on top of the spinach, along with the eggs, bacon and cherry tomatoes.

Drizzle more of the dressing on top of everything, just as much as you need but not more. Serve at room temperature.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Spinach salad with glazed beets and blue cheese
Kale salad with mushrooms and mustard vinaigrette
Chickpea, quinoa and spinach salad with preserved lemon vinaigrette
Pear and brie salad with cashews and dried cranberries
Watermelon, feta and arugula salad with orange vinaigrette

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Warm spinach salad with bacon and pomegranate, from Sass & Veracity
Asian spinach salad with chicken, mushrooms, peppers, and almonds, from Kalyn's Kitchen
Strawberry spinach salad with avocado and champagne vinaigrette, from Andrea Meyers
Spinach salad with feta and walnuts, from Eating Richly Even When You're Broke
Spinach salad pizza, from Bake Your Day

Need more ideas for how to create salads with pizzazz? Get Dress Up Your Salad, my e-book packed with easy mix-and-match recipes, full-color photos and a few fun videos. Exciting salad recipes from everyday ingredients can be just one click away, on any computer, tablet or smart phone, with the FREE Kindle Reading app. Click here to learn more.

Comments

I'm with you, this sounds perfect after all the eating I've been doing lately!

This is just food porn--it looks so good I could lick the screen. I've got eggs and avocados, looks like I'll be defrosting some bacon today.

BTW--I now have shao hsing wine. I had no idea there were that many choices, but I picked the mid-price one and will play with it soon, perhaps for Chinese New Year (I got a shiny red and gold calendar at the Cincinnati Asian Market too). Thanks!

I would love this for lunch or dinner!

Pam, winter/holiday food can be so heavy. I'm craving greens.

Kirsten, even without the bacon, this is a great lunch or light supper salad. (And congrats on locating the shao hsing. I use it often, so you can search for it and find more recipes here.)

Kalyn, same. In fact, I just might make myself one of these salads right now.

Love this salad and what great simple dressing!

Abbe, sometimes a simple salad is just what you crave, isn't it?

That is totally my kind of salad, Lydia! I'd order than in a heartbeat in a restaurant, so why not make it at home? Thank you for this recipe! Off to share ...

Shirley

Shirley, thanks so much. I'd be happy to have this in a restaurant, too, but it's easy enough to make at home.

"salad-tacular!!!"