Strawberry Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing (2.8g Net Carbs)

This Strawberry Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing is a delicious keto-friendly salad, full of crunchy fresh greens, juicy warm bacon bits, toasted walnuts, creamy feta cheese, and just a touch of sweet strawberries! This healthy gluten-free salad recipe is the best side for a summer BBQ party.

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The classic spinach salad is not keto-friendly because it contains high-fructose apples or sugar in the dressing, like honey or balsamic vinegar. However, it’s very easy to make a keto spinach salad with an easy keto-friendly salad dressing.

While the whole recipe is just below, don’t miss all my tips further down, including process shots, ingredient swaps, tips, and more!

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Keto Strawberry Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

2.8gNet Carbs

This Strawberry Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing is a delicious keto-friendly salad, full of crunchy fresh greens, juicy warm bacon bits, toasted walnuts, creamy feta cheese, and just a touch of sweet strawberries! This healthy gluten-free salad recipe is the best side for a summer BBQ party.

Author: Carine Claudepierre

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 5 minutes mins

Total: 15 minutes mins

Yield: 6 servings (1 cup)

Serving Size: 1 serving (with dressing option1)

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4.60 from 15 votes

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Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 5 oz Baby Spinach
• ▢ 4 strips Thick Cut Bacon cut into bite-size pieces
• ▢ ⅓ cup Walnuts roughly chopped, 1.4 oz
• ▢ 1 oz Fresh Strawberries cored, sliced thinly
• ▢ 3.8 oz Feta Cheese or goat cheese

Dressing option 1 : hot bacon dressing

• ▢ 1 Bacon Grease from cooked bacon
• ▢ 3 Garlic Cloves peeled, crushed
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Sugar-Free Maple Syrup
• ▢ 3 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
• ▢ ¼ cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Dressing option 2 : Keto cold spinach salad dressing

• ▢ ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ▢ ¼ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Salt
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon Black Pepper
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Granulated Sweetener – optional, only for a sweet touch!

Instructions

• In a small skillet, toast the walnuts for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Set aside into a bowl.
• Return the skillet to low-medium heat and fry the bacon pieces for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until bacon is crispy and bacon grease release into the skillet.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon from the skillet and set it aside in a small bowl. Cover bowl with foil to keep bacon warm and juicy.

Make the hot bacon dressing

• Return the skillet to heat, keeping the bacon fat in it to make your hot bacon dressing.
• Quickly stir in the crushed garlic cloves, then immediately add the remaining dressing ingredients: apple cider vinegar, sugar-free maple syrup, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
• Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 1 minute, until the dressing thickens and covers the back of a spoon.
• Set aside in a bowl, cover the bowl with foil to keep the dressing warm.

Assemble the keto strawberry spinach salad

• In a large mixing bowl add the baby spinach leaves, strawberry slices, crumbled feta cheese, and top with the warm toasted walnuts and bacon bites.
• Serve the salad with the hot dressing on the side. Drizzle the hot bacon dressing on top of the salad just before serving.

Tools

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NutritionServing Size: 1 serving (with dressing option1)

Yield: 6 servings (1 cup)

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving (with dressing option1)Calories: 207.2 kcal (10%)Carbohydrates: 4.3 g (1%)Fiber: 1.5 g (6%)Net Carbs: 2.8 gProtein: 7.7 g (15%)Fat: 18 g (28%)Saturated Fat: 6.3 g (39%)Trans Fat: 0.1 gCholesterol: 31.8 mg (11%)Sodium: 464 mg (20%)Potassium: 249.9 mg (7%)Sugar: 1.3 g (1%)Vitamin A: 2308.3 IU (46%)Vitamin C: 8.5 mg (10%)Calcium: 128.4 mg (13%)Iron: 1.2 mg (7%)

Ingredients and Substitutions

All you need to make this keto strawberry spinach salad recipe is:

• Baby Spinach Leaves – Fresh, washed, spray-free is the best.
• Fresh Strawberries – You can also use fresh raspberries. Both are keto-friendly fruits, and raspberries contain even fewer carbs.
• Walnuts or Pecans – Finely chopped and toasted for 2-3 minutes in a hot skillet with a teaspoon of olive oil and salt.
• Bacon Pieces – Cut bacon strips into small cubes and fry for 3-4 minutes in a saucepan just before serving the salad.
• Feta Cheese – Goat cheese or blue cheese works as well. Most cheeses are keto-friendly.

And for the salad dressing:

• Crushed Garlic – Or garlic powder.
• Sugar-Free Maple Syrup – If you are not on a low-carb diet, you can use regular maple syrup.
• Dijon Mustard – Or American mustard.
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Salt and Pepper – Season to taste.

How To Make A Keto Spinach Salad With Strawberries

This strawberry spinach salad recipe is the easiest to make in just 10 minutes and the perfect side dish to feed a crowd. If you love to share salads at your BBQ party, this is the best keto spinach side salad that even non-keto eaters love!

1. In a large bowl or long salad serving board, lay the baby spinach leaves, fresh strawberry slices, crumbles feta cheese.
2. Set aside while cooking the remaining two ingredients.
3. First, add the finely chopped walnuts into a skillet and toast the nuts for 2-3 minutes, often stirring until all sides are toasted.
4. Add a pinch of salt onto the nut if desired and set aside in a bowl.
5. In a small skillet, add the bacon bits and fry for 3-4 minutes until crispy and fragrant.
6. Remove the bacon bits with a slotted spoon leaving the bacon fat in the skillet to make the hot bacon dressing sauce.
7. Keep the cooked bacon bits in a bowl and cover the bowl with foil to keep the bacon warm.
8. Return the skillet with the bacon grease to medium heat. Then, stir in crushed garlic cloves.
9. Immediately add the remaining dressing ingredients: apple cider vinegar, sugar-free maple syrup, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
10. Finally, bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 1 minute until the dressing thickens and covers the back of a spoon. Serve the dressing on the side of the salad.

Serving

Serve this keto warm bacon spinach salad immediately to enjoy the combination of fresh vegetables and hot toasted nuts and warm juicy bacon. You can serve the keto dressing for this spinach salad on the side to prevent the salad from wilting.

Cold Dressing Option

You can make a keto spinach salad dressing recipe without bacon fat. To make a simple cold keto spinach salad dressing, first, prepare a small mixing bowl or mason jar. Next, whisk together the ingredients below and store them in the fridge while you prepare the keto strawberry spinach salad.

• Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• Apple Cider Vinegar or red wine vinegar
• Lemon Juice
• Dijon Mustard 
• Salt 
• Pepper
• Chives – finely chopped
• Erythritol – This is an option, but a great add-on if you want to add a touch of sweetness to your keto spinach salad dressing recipe.

Additional Toppings

There are so many ways you can make this salad! Be creative and add your favorite keto vegetables or more meat. For example, what you can add to this keto spinach salad recipe are:

• Cooked grilled chicken breast
• Shredded parmesan
• Toasted seeds – like sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds
• Red onion slices
• Fresh greens of choice like cucumber, kale
• Tomatoes
• Hard-boiled eggs – Follow my Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs Recipe to have perfectly hard-boiled eggs every single time.
• Jammy Eggs – Making jammy eggs is really easy and adds taste and texture to the salad.
• Pecans – spinach, strawberries, and pecans go very well together. Other keto-friendly nuts you can use are macadamia, sliced almonds, or pecans.

Allergy Swaps

For a vegan keto spinach strawberry salad, skip the bacon and use some vegan protein instead, like:

• Fried tofu or tempeh
• Toasted hemp seeds
• Toasted pumpkin seeds

Use the cold salad dressing for your salad. It’s 100% keto vegan approved.

More Keto Spinach Recipes

If you love spinach on your keto diet, I have plenty more keto spinach recipes for you to try:

Keto Spinach Quiche

Spinach Balls

Keto Frittata

Spinach Mushroom Omelette

Keto Taco Shells