Delicious Blueberry Spinach Salad (With Bacon And Avocado)
on May 27, 2021
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Would you believe it? Blueberries go brilliantly with crispy bacon and avocado. It’s hard to imagine a tastier salad than this blueberry spinach salad. I’d highly recommend serving it with an amazing blueberry vinaigrette. Get this delicious 4-ingredient salad on the table in just 20 minutes!
Why you’ll love it
What’s brilliant about a warm salad is that it’s great for any time of year. Not quite cold enough for a casserole? How about a warm salad? Not quite salad days? Make it warm!
I already have some favourite warm salad recipes including this fennel orange salad with radishes, feta and pistachios, and this roasted butternut squash, chorizo and feta salad.
So what’s so great about this one?
- Make it in around 20 minutes and with just 4 main ingredients.
- It’s a colourful, healthy, comforting crowd pleaser. It mixes bacon with fruit (blueberries!), creamy avocado and a ton of healthy spinach.
- I usually make it with this simple 5-minute blueberry dressing. It’s incredible. Try it and see.
- Serve it as lunch, or as a simple but delicious side for dinner or at your next BBQ.
About the ingredients
What amazes me about this blueberry spinach salad is how incredibly tasty it is with just 4 main ingredients in it! I say main ingredients because I also recommend serving it with the incredible blueberry vinaigrette. Skip it at your peril!
So to make the salad:
Bacon: For maximum flavour, use smoked bacon. Cook it for a few minutes on each side until cooked through and crisp. I find it easier to lay the whole slices in a big frying pan and cook the bacon that way. After it’s done, let it cool slightly before ripping it into pieces.
Spinach: Like all the best spinach salads, start with some nice fresh… spinach, of course! I like to use baby spinach. If you can find organic, great, if not wash it well. I’ll let you into a secret, though. I’ve actually made this salad with different kinds of fresh green salad and it’s always delicious.
Avocado: No real rules here but of course it’s worth waiting for a perfectly ripe one. Any type. Just peel and chop as you normally would, and throw it in the salad.
Blueberries: Maybe it sounds a bit strange to you to make a salad with blueberries, but hear me out. Bacon is pork and pork often gets paired with fruit, and blueberries are fruit … so why not?
I know blueberries can be expensive (at least they can here in Australia). But surprisingly you only need one standard (fairly small) container of blueberries to make this salad, including the blueberry dressing if you’re going to make that too – and you should!
If you only have a handful of blueberries, throw them into the salad. You can use frozen blueberries for the dressing, but I’d stick to fresh for the salad.
For the dressing
For the optional blueberry vinaigrette you need: a few blueberries, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, honey (plus a bit of water and possibly some seasoning).
Yep, I know that’s more ingredients than the salad itself, but it takes just 5 minutes to make. Just throw everything in a food processor (a mini one is perfect) and whizz.
You can read more about this amazing 5-minute blueberry vinaigrette here. What more is there to know, you might be thinking. A-ha, you’d be surprised… 😉
How to make it
Step 1: Cook the bacon! I like to keep it whole. Simply crisp up in a pan (no oil necessary). Then tear into pieces and set aside. Alternatively, got an air fryer? Make air fryer bacon (hands-off, less mess!).
Step 2: Meanwhile, wash and chop everything else.
Step 3: As it’s so colourful, I like to use a big salad platter for this salad. Layer up on the platter in this order – spinach, avocado, blueberries, bacon.
Step 4: Drizzle over your favourite dressing. My favourite for this salad is a blueberry vinaigrette, which I’ve also included in the recipe instructions. But if you like you can use something else, like honey balsamic dressing. Try 1/4 cup olive oil and a couple of tablespoons each of balsamic vinegar and honey.
Step 5: Serve immediately while the bacon is still warm. Mmm!
How to serve it
- This spinach salad extraordinaire makes a mind blowing lunch. Serve it by itself or perhaps with some of this yummy 2-minute toasted bread with olive oil and salt.
- As mentioned above, serve it drizzled with this blueberry vinaigrette or with another simple dressing of your choice. Even just a good quality olive oil would work.
- Make a dinner of it and serve with some simple grilled chicken, steak or fish. Or how about a serve of these roasted diced potatoes on the side?
Variations
- Not a big fan of bacon (what’s wrong with you?) Use supermarket cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken) instead.
- For a vegetarian version, why add crispy halloumi instead of bacon? Just cut the halloumi into small cubes, roll in a bit of flour and pan fry in a cm or so of oil until crisp.
Can you make a blueberry spinach salad ahead?
I usually prepare this salad just before serving as I like to add the bacon just after it’s cooked. This way it’s a delicious warm salad.
However, you can definitely prepare everything else ahead and then toss the 4 ingredients together at the last minute. I like to prepare the blueberry dressing ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. You can also wash the spinach (if needed).
I recommend adding the avocado at the last minute, however, as of course avocado can brown pretty quickly once it’s peeled.
More delicious and easy salads
Or see all easy salads.
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Delicious Blueberry Spinach Salad (With Bacon And Avocado)
Ingredients
For the salad
- 4 slices smoked bacon
- 2 ounces baby spinach, Alternatively, use any fresh salad leaves
- ½ a large avocado, sliced into chunks
- 2½ ounces blueberries
For the dressing
- 1 ounce blueberries
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon teaspoon clear honey
To serve
- toasted bread drizzled with olive oil & salt, optional
Instructions
- Heat a frying pan over a high heat and cook the bacon for 5 minutes or so on each side until golden and a bit crispy. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Scatter the salad leaves over a large plate or platter, then sprinkle over the avocado and blueberries. Tear the bacon over the salad, too.
- To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a food processor (hand-held works well) and whizz until smooth.
- Serve the salad with the dressing drizzled over and the toasted bread (if using).
This is really the perfect ht summer night dinner!! It’s funny how you guys go through cycles of heat and chills while we are just HOT.
Oooh, you’re making me jealous, Zainab!! I want the ‘just hot’! 🙂
What a gorgeous salad, Helen! I love the blueberry and bacon combination! And anything with avocados is a winner in my book. Love this!
Thank you so much, Gayle! I love avocados too and take any excuse to add it to my meals! 🙂
I can relate to both you and your husband. I like to go out but sometimes I don’t want to do anything but stay at home.
By the way, beautiful salad!
Thank you so much, Julie! 🙂
what an interesting salad combo! I bought a kilo of avos yesterday so may try this!
Oh, do try it! Pop back and let me know what you thought if you do! 🙂
I never thought of this flavour combo…but I totally trust your taste so I’m going to try it (when blueberries are not $10 a punnet!) I LOVE the sound of this dressing!
And PS I am a bit of both of you. I can sloth around the house all day, but sometimes I have to get out or I’ll go crazy!! Nice weather and pub will always get me out though 🙂
Ooh, yes, I remember those ridiculously-priced fruit you have over there, especially out of season! Hope you do give this a go though some time – it is indeed a little strange, but oh so good!
I am on a salad kick lately and I love that this has so many flavor elements! Definitely in the “fun salad” category.
Thank you, Joanne! Really happy you like it! (Hope you enjoyed Italy!) 🙂
I cannot wait to make this salad asap…as in tomorrow! I am dying to see how it tastes. I love all ingredients, individually so I am more than sure it will be a keeper. Hope the heatwave stays around for a couple more days 🙂
Hello, Oana! Thanks so much for your enthusiasm … I’m thrilled that you’re going to try this and hope you like it! Do come back and let me know what you thought 🙂
I love the dressing in the recipe. And your pictures are so beautiful! I really love your recent photography style 🙂 Pinning!
Thank you so much for your encouragement and compliments, Maggie! I do feel like I’ve improved my photography a bit lately but it’s great to hear others tell me that. Still a work in progress, though, but that’s OK … I’m enjoying the challenge!
Thank you for pinning, too!
Oh wow, this salad is just gorgeous and so beautifully refreshing! I am seriously in love with how you have combined all of these flavors here! 🙂
Hello Sam! Thank you so much! Really happy you like it!
Blueberry dressing?? That sounds phenomenal!! We love a good salad here in our house, so I’m definitely going to have to whip this up! So simple, but it sounds great! I’m right there with you about needing to get out of the house, I’d go crazy if I was stuck inside all of the time! Love little mini adventures! Thanks so much for sharing this post! 🙂
Hello Ariel! Thank you so much for taking the time to pop by and comment! You really have to try the blueberry dressing. It’s delicious and for some reason I also really loved that it was purple!! (simple minds, you know …)
Glad it’s not just me that goes stir crazy in the house! Hope you’ve had a great weekend 🙂