Hot Bacon Vinaigrette Dressing is just the dressing to win over the salad doubters in your life. It is absolutely magnificent when poured hot over Brussels sprouts or warm over spinach salad, but is also a-okay at room temperature over a tossed salad with romaine or leaf lettuce and all the fixings.
This culinary classic gets a little update when we use Dijon mustard and maple syrup or honey in it. I challenge someone who says they don’t like salad to resist it when topped with Bacon Vinaigrette Dressing!
I am always and forever a sucker for salads. This is no secret if you’ve been reading me for anything more than, oh say, a week.
Salads complete me. My normal, day-to-day salad dressing is a simple drizzle of oil and vinegar with black pepper and coarse salt, but when I’m making a more composed salad or want something special, I like to break out the Warm Bacon Vinaigrette Dressing.
It’s a bacon vinaigrette is a seriously impressive dressing when it is drizzled warm or hot over a beautiful baby spinach salad. There’s a complexity to the dressing that you just can’t get from most bottled dressings, especially since using it when it is warm wakes up the taste buds even more.
Tart, smoky, peppery, and sweet, with little nuggets of bacon in it like treasure, this bacon salad dressing wins over even the most dyed-in-the-wool non-salad-eaters in my family. It is that good.
In addition to being simply lovely on my Cranberry Brussels Salad, Hot Bacon Dressing is the one -the only- dressing that I for the magnificent salad that I’ll be sharing with you tomorrow. Be sure to check back in to see this most wonderful and romantic salad.
(Does that make anyone else think of “Drop Dead Fred”? No? Just me?)
Cook’s Notes
I prefer to use thick cut bacon in our hot bacon dressing because it dices easily into nice cubes that suspend beautifully in the dressing unlike crumbles which tend to sink. It’s not the end of the world if you need to use thin bacon, you’ll just need to stir it a little more often to distribute the bacon.
While I normally advise cooking bacon in the oven, for our bacon vinaigrette dressing, I prefer to cook the bacon in a saucepan on the stovetop. That allows us to make the whole recipe in one pan vs. having to clean a baking sheet AND a saucepan.
To dice the bacon, I stack four strips, cut it in half, then stack those together and turn it 90° so that the strip is running perpendicular to the edge of the countertop. I slice it lengthwise, then, into 1/8-inch strips, then turn THOSE perpendicular again and cut across them, making 1/8-inch cubes.
Start browning the bacon over medium low temperature until some of the fat begins to render, then turn the heat up to medium. Since you’ll be using the bacon drippings in the vinaigrette, you want to try not to scorch it by cooking the bacon at too high a temperature.
We should save the crispy vs. chewy debate for another day, you want this bacon crispy because it will be sitting in the vinaigrette and will soften somewhat, so crispy is desirable as a starting point.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the crisp bacon to a paper towel lined plate and do your best to keep all of the bacon fat drippings in the pan.
THIS IS KEY: Add the minced garlic BEFORE you add the rest of the ingredients and give the pan a swirl. This takes the edge off of the raw garlic, making the dressing far more pleasant to eat and less, er, dragon-breath inducing.
Whisk the remaining bacon dressing ingredients into the hot grease in the pan, turning the heat under the pan to medium high. Bring to a boil and let it boil for 2 minutes, or until the dressing has reduced somewhat.
The dressing is done when it coats the back of a spoon that is dipped into it and leaves a trail when you run your finger through it. Then, and only then is the crispy bacon returned to the dressing.
Use immediately or transfer the contents to a jar with a tight fitting lid. Store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
It is best warmed before serving. You can do this by putting the jar in a pan with super hot tap water and swirling from time to time or by removing the lid and heating at 50% power in the microwave in 20 second bursts until heated through.
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Hot Bacon Vinaigrette Dressing
Rate RecipeIngredients
- 4 strips thick cut bacon diced into 1/8-inch cubes
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard smooth or grainy
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Place the bacon in a medium saucepan over low heat and stir until some of the fat begins to render from the bacon. Raise the heat to medium and cook the bacon, stirring frequently, until it is crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the crisp bacon to a paper towel lined plate, keeping all of the fat drippings in the pan.
- Return the pan to the burner. Add the garlic, swirl, and immediately add the remaining dressing ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it cook for 1 minute, or until the dressing coats the back of a spoon. It should leave a trail when your finger is drawn through the dressing on the back of the spoon. Stir in the bacon.
- Use immediately or transfer to a heat proof jar with a tight fitting lid and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, gently reheating and stirring before serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Reader's Thoughts...
Melissa says
Delicious!
Debbie Askew says
I made this to go on a grilled romaine wedge salad and it was so good! I doubled the recipe and used local honey and everyone went nuts over it! I will be making this again!
Rebecca says
Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know you love it, Debbie! I love this dressing on so many things, too!
Merry says
Delicious. Spooned it over warm black eyed peas on a bed of fresh spinach.
Rebecca says
That sounds spectacular, Merry!!!
BRIAN URICK says
Had to use regular mustard but turned out real good.
Rebecca says
Thanks so much for taking the time to rate the recipe and let me know you liked it, Brian!
Evan Jennings says
Love this recipe. Great flavour; great use of bacon fat.
Rebecca says
Thanks for taking the time to rate the recipe and let me know you love it, Evan!
Jen says
I’m certainly no experienced cook but when I made this yesterday there was barely enough for two salads. Did I miss an ingredient or was I supposed to know to add something basic?
The taste was fabulous!!
Rebecca says
Hi Jen- This is a dressing you don’t want to make your salad swim in. It should just barely coat your greens because when you toss it hot onto them, the greens will shrink. 🙂
Jen says
Thank you. I guess I did ok then.
Brenda Holiski says
Is the nutrition count for 2 tablespoons.
I just made this and it is so delicious I’m afraid I might drink it!!!!
Rebecca says
HAHAHAHA. I’m so glad you love it, Brenda. The nutrition count is for about 2 tablespoons… but I get you. I’d drink it with a straw if I could.
Joyce Leitschuh says
I made this hot bacon dressing and added a cup of sugar instead of syrup or honey and 4 teaspoons of cornstarch to thicken it and a half a cup of cider vinegar this was delicious
Kim Carver says
May I use a sugar substitute instead of honey? I’m doing keto.
Rebecca says
Hi Kim- I’m not sure what sugar substitute would work here since I don’t use sugar substitutes. I’ve used maple syrup or brown sugar in place of the honey before, though.
Gretchen says
Omg so delish!! I plan to serve this with a delicata squash/radicchio salad with pecans.
Rebecca says
What a grand idea, Gretchen! Thanks for taking the time to rate my recipe!! <3
Tim says
Substitution of balsamic vinegar makes you recipe complete.
KELLY BERFIELD says
This was AMAZING. Super easy and so delicious. I might actually be a fan of kale because of this dressing!
Rebecca says
HAHA. Now don’t get TOO crazy. 🙂 Thanks, Kelly!
Vicki Carr-Walden says
I am have a 9.5 inch cast-iron oval pan I use to cook my bacon in the oven. I just pull it out of the oven, put it on the stove top and finish the recipe. So easy and the bacon is amazing!
Rebecca says
That’s a great tip, Vicki!
chris says
the mistake i made was halving the recipe because i was only making two salads. this stuff is so good it could be used as currency.
it’s so easy to make and easy to balance to your preference, sweet or tangy, it’s going to be my new go-to dressing (and there’s bacon!).
what is the salad in the picture?
Rebecca says
Hi Chris- That is the melting sweet potatoes salad with maple candied pecans. It’s pretty amazing. I’m glad you love the dressing, too. 🙂
Tye East says
I want to try this can I use regular mustard?
Rebecca says
Hi, Tye. I’d advise using Dijon or Whole Grain, but if you want to try it, I don’t think it’ll be disastrous.
Don says
Excellent recipe, quick and easy full of satisfying flavors. I’m on a keto diet so I used raw honey from a local source. After all the ingredients were combined I removed from heat and added baby spinach to slightly wilt the greens. Sweet, salty, and tangy…a complete meal in one pan. thanks for sharing!
Rebecca says
I’m so glad you liked it, Don!
Elise says
This sounds delicious but why do we take the bacon out of the pan and then immediately put it back in? Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’m trying it tonight.
Rebecca says
Hi Elise- I had the instructions out of order! Thank you so much for letting me know something was amiss. I have fixed it. The bacon is stirred back in at the end of the process.
Elise says
Thank you! I made it. My husband and I both enjoyed it!
Rebecca says
I’m so glad!!
Diane Villegas says
I cooked extrq bacon so have a ton of bacon grease. How much of it should I use?
Rebecca says
Hi Diane- I’m not sure. How many strips of bacon did you cook?
Jeff Bisbee says
I made this dressing tonight and it was awesome! I’ve been working my way through your cookbook (which is incredible) and this was a great addition and a keeper. Thank you so much for sharing your work 🙂
Rebecca says
Thanks so much, Jeff! I’m so glad you like it and my cookbook!! You made my day. 🙂
Kim Quinn says
I need to make a BLT pasta salad for a gathering tomorrow and am using 2 boxes of campanile pasta, red and yellow cHerr tomatoes halved, arugula chopped (for lettuce) and thin sliced red onion. Also considering adding some cannelloni beans. If I make the pasta and toss all the ingredients together tonight to have nice and chilled for tomorrow (except the bacon and dressing) can this dressing be used for a cold pasta salad and how much of the ingredients would I need for an appropriate amount of dressing. I hate stingy dressing. Really hope you can reply. Best recipe I have found. Thank you!
Rebecca says
Hi Kim- That sounds delicious!! I don’t know how much you’d use specifically because I haven’t tried it out. I’d say go for it and have some extra on hand in case it’s too dry!
Alyce Huffman says
Many tempting recipes.
Raquel Silies says
Now I can’t wait to see the salad recipe? Do mine eyes deceive me, or are there roasted sweet potatoes? Bacon and those maple nuts? With that bacon vinaigrette? (still trying to figure out what the little white balls are)
Rebecca says
Your eyes do not deceive you! Salad will go live tomorrow morning at 6AM ET!! I’ll make you wait until tomorrow morning to find out what the white balls are 😀
Rosanne Mastrangelo says
What are they. I don’t get you,