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Hot Bacon Dressing is also known as Pennsylvania Dutch hot bacon dressing, is the unexpected sweet, tangy and bacon-filled dressing that will dress up a simple spinach salad.
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I love this bacon dressing served over spinach salad with thinly sliced red onion and mushrooms. I will also crumble blu cheese, chop pecan pralines or dice up hard-boiled eggs for added flavor.
This was always my favorite dressing, (growing up) we ate ours over endive with hard-boiled eggs and of course bacon. ★★★★★ Conni.
Also if I don't have spinach in the fridge I will quarter a head of iceberg lettuce and make a wedge salad with warm dressing poured over it. I have a cousin who will make a salad of dandelion greens and wilted lettuce every spring just to make this recipe.
You may also hear it called old fashioned hot bacon dressing or hot bacon salad dressing so one dressing goes by many different delicious names.
Jump to:
- Here is why this recipe is amazing:
- 🥓 Ingredients needed to make warm bacon dressing:
- 🥓 How to make hot bacon dressing
- 🥗 Warm Spinach Salad Ingredients:
- 🥗 How to make a spinach salad with warm bacon dressing:
- Frequently asked questions, answers and tips:
- 📝 Frequently asked questions, answers and tips about this warm bacon dressing recipe
- 👩🍳 Chef Tip
- 📄 Related Recipes
- Side Dishes
- 📖 Recipe
- 👩🏻🍳 Sarah Mock
- Comments
Here is why this recipe is amazing:
- While the name of the dressing is HOT the heat comes from temperature, not spice.
- The combination of the crunch and saltiness of the bacon and the tang of the vinegar is balanced out with the sweetness of the sugar.
- A great dressing to use if you have someone who is not a fan of salads. Call this a 'starter' salad dressing. Who doesn't love bacon?
- Not only use this recipe for hot bacon dressing for spinach salad but I use it to dress roasted Brussels sprouts and other roasted root vegetables.
🥓 Ingredients needed to make warm bacon dressing:
- bacon,cooked crisp. This would be a great use for your sous vide bacon!
- onion,finely diced
- sugar
- cornstarch - once the sauce comes to a boil, the corn starch will help thicken the dressing
- salt
- water
- vinegar - apple cider vinegar but I have seen some recipes call for red wine vinegar
- black pepper
🥓 How to make hot bacon dressing
- Slice the bacon into one-inch pieces.
- In a heavy bottom pan, cook diced bacon until crisp.
- Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Drain all but ¼ cup of the rendered bacon fat from the pan.
- Add the onion to the pan and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Whisk in the water and apple cider vinegar.
- Carefully pour the sugar/vinegar mixture into the pan. Scraping the bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Bring the dressing to a simmer, whisking continually. Cook until thickened about 1 minute.
- Crumble the bacon and add it back into the dressing and stir to combine.
- Serve warm over salad greens like spinach leaves.
🥗 Warm Spinach Salad Ingredients:
- Spinach - baby spinach, washed and dried
- Onion - red onion, sliced paper-thin
- Mushroom - white mushrooms, sliced thinly
- Bacon - crisped and crumbled
- Warm Bacon Dressing - see above or the recipe card below
🥗 How to make a spinach salad with warm bacon dressing:
- Slice the onion and the mushrooms thin.
- Place 2 cups of washed and dried baby spinach in bowls.
- Sprinkle each salad with onions, mushrooms and crisp, crumbled bacon.
- Warm the dressing and spoon over the salad.
Frequently asked questions, answers and tips:
📝 Frequently asked questions, answers and tips about this warm bacon dressing recipe
What kind of bacon is best for bacon dressing?
Use your favorite bacon but I suggest using thick-cut bacon for this delicious dressing recipe. The bacon is the star of the recipe and your best bacon should be used. The rendered fat is going to be part of the hot bacon vinaigrette so do not substitute turkey bacon for the slices of bacon.
What type of onion should be used?
Vidalia onion, Wala -Wala onion, or other sweet onion work well in this dressing. If you want a more subtle onion flavor, use a shallot.
How do you reheat this dressing?
I reheat this dressing by microwaving it in a microwave safe container in 15 second interval, stirring to avoid hot pockets in the dressing.
👩🍳 Chef Tip
This homemade salad dressing is super popular at potlucks, church gatherings and bridal showers. To keep this dressing warm, keep it in a slow cooker set on low.
Side Dishes
- English Pea Salad Recipe 🫛 Old Fashioned Cold Pea Salad
See more Side Dishes →
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📖 Recipe
Hot Bacon Dressing Recipe
Sarah Mock
Hot Bacon Dressing is also known as Pennsylvania Dutch hot bacon dressing, is the unexpected sweet, tangy and bacon-filled dressing that will dress up a simple spinach salad.
4.80 from 30 votes
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Note From Sarah
There is more to a recipe than just the recipe card. Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Prep time for the recipePrep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook time for the recipeCook Time 5 minutes mins
total time to prep and cook the recipe.Total Time 15 minutes mins
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Makes 8 servings
Per Serving 91 kcal
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon (diced)
- ¼ cup onion (finely diced)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Slice the bacon into one-inch pieces.
In a heavy bottom pan, cook diced bacon until crisp.
8 slices bacon
Remove the crips bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Drain all but ¼ cup of bacon grease from the pan.
Add the onion to the pan and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
¼ cup onion
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Whisk in the water and apple cider vinegar.
¾ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup water, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ½ cup apple cider vinegar
Carefully pour the sugar/vinegar mixture into the pan.Scraping the bits off the bottom of the pan.
Bring the dressing to a simmer, whisking continually. Cook until thickened about 1 minute.
Add the bacon back into the dressing and stir to combine.
Serve warm over salad greens.
Notes
How do you reheat this dressing?
I reheat this dressing by microwaving it in a microwave-safe container in 15-second intervals, stirring to avoid hot pockets in the dressing.
Serving a crowd tip:
This dressing is super popular at potlucks, church gatherings and bridal showers. To keep this dressing warm, keep it in a slow cooker set on low.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.25cup | Calories: 91kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 148mg | Potassium: 19mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition Disclosure
Nutritional facts are estimates and are provided as a courtesy to the reader. Please utilize your own brand nutritional values to double check against our estimates. Nutritional values are calculated via a third party. Changing ingredients, amounts or cooking technique will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
👩🏻🍳 Sarah Mock
CEO/Owner/Founder/Culinary Blogger
Sarah Mock is a classically trained Chef and graduate of Johnson & Wales University. A culinary blogger for 14 years Sarah helps the home cook prepare her recipes with professional results.
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About Sarah Mock
Sarah Mock is a classically trained Chef and graduate of Johnson & Wales University. A culinary blogger for 14 years Sarah helps the home cook prepare her recipes with professional results.
Reader Interactions
Comments
Conni
Hi Sarah, this was always my favorite dressing, we ate ours over endive with hard boiled eggs and of course bacon. Our Pa. Dutch family always used a couple of eggs for thickening and equal parts of vinegar and sugar. Either way yummy!Reply
Jean
Thank you so much for this recipe! My husband's grandma made the best was the kind who would never give out the recipe or leave something out of it so it didn't taste as good as hers. We could never recreate it until now!Reply
Sarah Mock
Oh my goodness!! I can't imagine not sharing recipes! I am so glad you found what you were looking for here. Thanks Jean!
Reply
Patricia Underwood
When growing up in Pennsylvania Dutch country my mother would make this often. We had dandelion salad with this dressing. This is how we are this then. Living in Oregon I do not use dandelion but lettuce salad instead.
Enjoy this dressing it can be used in other salads as well.
Another good salad and dressing is the Amish Supper Seven Layer Salad. Wonderful dressing too.
Thank you for sharing this dressing with all.
Patricia UnderwoodReply
Sarah Mock
Thank you for sharing your memory Patricia!
Truth be told I have never had a dandelion salad. I KNOW! How crazy is that!? Guess I need to have one soon.I will look into finding the recipe for the salad you recommended. I think I saw it in my recipe box recently. I need to pull it out.
Sarah
Reply
Joann Stephens
First time making this delicious dressing. I didn’t have corn starch so I used flour, it turned out perfect consistency. I made scallops and put that on top of the spinach then added the dressing, better than the restaurant I go to!
Thank you for sharingReply
Sarah Mock
you are more than welcome Joann. I am glad the flour worked out for you. I bet that salad was SO GOOD!
Reply
Darcy
WOW!! Awesome! Thought it was going be too much vinegar but the sugar balances it out and makes enough dressing for a family. I really didn’t want to use the corn starch, but it made it the right consistency. Thank you very much!!Reply
Lynette
1/2 cup of sugar was too much for me so I used 1/4 cup. It’s still sweet but tastes great. Next time I am only going to use 1 tablespoon of sugar. It will still be slightly sweetened taste wonderful.
I prefer to cook all of the bacon before cutting it into pieces. That way you don’t have to mess with turning each little piece while it cooks.
I added about 1/4 cup more of water after it thickened, to thin the dressing a bit. I didn’t want it to be like gravy.
I also added a few grape tomatoes and 1 chopped hard boiled egg to my salad before drizzling the dressing. Wonderful!Reply
Sarah Mock
Your salad sounds delicious!!
I love the addition of egg and tomatoes.
Isn't it funny how everyone likes dressings at different sweetness? THIS recipe is my 'reduced' sugar dressing. I have seen others add a whole cup of sugar. Depends who you are!Thanks, Lynette!
Sarah
Reply
Cindy
I made the dressing! It was an easy recipe to follow! The dressing was delicious and I will make this again. Home made better than store bought and fresher and cheaper too!Reply
Sarah Mock
That warms my heart to hear that you loved this recipe! I appreciate that you said that the recipe was easy to follow. That is my goal with all of the recipes. I share!
sarah
Reply
Sandra
LOVE this dressing! Thank you for taking the time to include step by step photos, they are so easy to follow.Reply
