Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Wilted Spinach Salad
Warm white beans and spinach with crisp bacon make a salad that feels substantial enough to enjoy slowly. The cider vinegar and Dijon give it a tangy edge. A spoonful with some soft beans and a little bacon brings the most appealing textures together.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 20 min
- Original yield
- Serves 4
- Ingredients
- 9 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Dinner · Lunch · Sides
- Primary protein
- Pork · Beans & lentils
- Cuisine
- American
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
- Dish type
- Salads
A few quick notes
1. Keep the bacon fat
Leave the bacon grease in the skillet after transferring the crisp bacon to its paper-towel-lined plate.
2. Warm the beans through
Stir the beans with vinegar and seasonings until heated through and a sauce has formed.
3. Partially wilt the spinach
Stir the spinach carefully into the hot beans only until partly wilted, then remove the skillet from heat.
Get to know the ingredients
Cannellini beans
Rinse and drain the canned beans before adding them to the garlic and warm dressing ingredients.
Garlic
Use minced garlic and saute it briefly in the reserved bacon fat before adding the beans.
Spinach
Use fresh spinach so it can wilt directly into the hot beans at the end.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 4. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 5 steps completeMake room for Wilted Spinach Salad
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Fold in the bacon
Crumble the cooked bacon over the warm salad, fold it through and taste for seasoning before serving.
A little more help as you go
Medium heat throughout
Cook the bacon and garlic over medium heat, then maintain that heat as the beans warm.
A tangy pan sauce
Add the vinegar and Dijon with the beans so the sauce forms around them as you stir.
A few questions you might have
Is the bacon mixed in while the beans cook?
Keep the crisp bacon aside until after the spinach wilts and the skillet comes off heat.
Does this salad serve cold?
Serve it warm after folding in the bacon and adjusting salt and pepper to taste.
Why remove the bacon from the skillet?
It stays on the paper-towel-lined plate while the garlic and beans cook in the reserved fat.
When does the sugar go in?
Add it with the beans, vinegar, mustard and seasonings before the sauce forms in the pan.
Should the spinach cook down completely?
Stop when it is partially wilted and remove the pan from the heat before adding bacon.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: budgetbytes.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
