Here’s a refreshing Baby Spinach Salad recipe with spinach, mango, raspberries and red onion, all tossed in a warm, citrus vinaigrette.

baby spinach salad with warm citrus bacon vinaigrette

Sometimes you want a salad that has all kinds of goodies in it that regular ol’ salads just don’t have. That’s this salad! It’s filled with fruit, and I absolutely love the bacon dressing it’s tossed in too. The warm vinaigrette very slightly softens the spinach, so it’s not so tough. This is one delicious salad.

ingredients displayed for making a spinach salad

Ingredients needed:

  • bacon
  • orange juice
  • brandy
  • red wine vinegar
  • honey
  • salt and pepper
  • lemon juice
  • Granny Smith apple
  • fresh baby spinach leaves
  • red onion
  • fresh mango
  • chopped walnuts
  • fresh raspberries

four photos showing how to assemble baby spinach salad with warm citrus bacon vinaigrette

How to make a Baby Spinach Salad with Warm Citrus Bacon Vinaigrette:

The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post. 

The first step is getting the vinaigrette ready. Cook the bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan; crumble. Discard the drippings. Add the orange juice, brandy, vinegar, and honey to the pan; cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Stir in the bacon, salt, and pepper.

In a medium bowl, combine the water and lemon juice. Add the apple; toss to coat. Remove the apple from the bowl with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl. Add the spinach, onion, and mango to the apple. 

adding dressing to salad

Drizzle the salad with the vinaigrette, and toss gently to coat.

baby spinach salad in a bowl

Arrange about 2¼ cups of the salad on each of 2 plates; top each serving with 1½ teaspoons walnuts and half the raspberries. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

How to toast walnuts:

Since you’ll only need a tablespoon of chopped walnuts for this recipe, the best way too toast them is in a skillet. Place a skillet on the stove over medium-low heat. Add the chopped walnuts. Stir with a wooden spoon until fragrant and toasted. Remove from the pan to a cutting board or paper towel to let cool.

baby spinach salad with warm citrus bacon vinaigrette

The Best Salad Recipes:

If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you’ll find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card below.

baby spinach salad with warm citrus bacon vinaigrette
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Spinach Salad Recipe with Citrus Vinaigrette

Bacon with citrus and raspberry... need I say more? I love this salad!
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 2 servings
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Ingredients

VINAIGRETTE:

SALAD:

Instructions 

PREPARE THE VINAIGRETTE:

  • Cook the bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan; crumble. Discard the drippings.
  • Add the orange juice, brandy, vinegar, and honey to the pan; cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Stir in the bacon, salt, and pepper.

ASSEMBLE THE SALAD:

  • In a medium bowl, combine the water and lemon juice. Add the apple; toss to coat. Remove the apple from the bowl with a slotted spoon; place in a large bowl. Add the spinach, onion, and mango to the apple. Drizzle with the vinaigrette, and toss gently to coat.
  • Arrange about 2¼ cups of the salad on each of 2 plates; top each serving with 1½ teaspoons walnuts and half the raspberries. Serve immediately.

Notes

  • I like to use center-cut slices of bacon because it has more meat and less fat.
  • If you're preparing this as a Gluten Free recipe, be sure to use a brand of bacon that is designated as GF.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 272kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 15mg, Sodium: 343mg, Potassium: 679mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 17g, Vitamin A: 5977IU, Vitamin C: 58mg, Calcium: 93mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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1 Comment

  1. Marla says:

    Again, a very nice balanced salad. The smoky bacon with raspberries, apples and walnuts makes this very unique!