Autumn Spinach Salad with Warm Maple Bacon Dressing

Fresh baby spinach, pomegranate seeds, roasted sweet potatoes, bacon, and a warm bacon dressing round out this delicious salad that is perfect for entertaining!

Well hello gorgeous salad full of goodness! What do I love about this salad: let me count the ways.

-Fresh crunchy spinach

-Sweet and tart pomegranate seeds

-Sweet potatoes that are roasted to perfection

-Crispy bacon pieces to add the perfect amount of salty balance to the sweet

-Pecans for the added texture

-And a warm maple bacon vinaigrette to lightly coat the salad and bring it all together!

This hearty salad is perfect for the holidays! This has become a family staple for both our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner menu. Whenever we’ve entertained guests or family for these holidays, this salad is such a pleaser! Another reason I love this recipe is the simplicity and no-frills, only real ingredients that balance each other in a perfect way. This recipe is one that cannot be made ahead of time, however, to save time you can follow a few simple tricks. De-seed the pomegranate early in the day and set aside to a bowl. You can also roast the sweet potatoes hours ahead of time, and the bacon can even be made earlier in the day (just be sure to save the bacon grease for the dressing).

Enjoy!!

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Autumn Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 8 servings

Author Amy Rains

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Ingredients

• 8 oz baby spinach
• 2 medium sized sweet potatoes skinned and chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds 1 pomegranate de-seeded
• 6 pieces of bacon
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• For the dressing:
• 3 tbsp reserved bacon grease
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Wash and drain your spinach, lay out into a large platter or bowl.
2. Prepare the sweet potatoes. Preheat your oven to 400. Drizzle your sweet potatoes with a little oil (I prefer coconut oil), and lightly salt. Place on a roasting pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Sweet potatoes should be crispy and golden on the outside, but soft and cooked on the inside.
3. Meanwhile, cook your bacon until nice and crispy. Once cooled, chop into small pieces. Reserve 3 tbsp of the grease for your dressing and set aside.
4. Place sweet potatoes, pomegranates, chopped bacon, and pecan pieces on top of spinach and toss lightly.
5. Just before serving, make the dressing. In a saucepan, re-heat the reserved bacon grease if it's no longer hot over medium heat. Add vinegar, syrup, mustard, and whisk together until hot. Pour over spinach salad and toss. Serve warm!