Wilted Arugula Salad with a Hot Bacon Vinaigrette

Tamed by the light sauté with bacon, this arugula salad is delicious as a side or base-add avocado and egg for a complete meal!

K-I-S-S. I won’t spell out the acronym, but you get the idea of keeping things simple! As I was writing the directions for this recipe, I was reminded of just how quick this salad comes together! By using ONE PAN, toast nuts, cook bacon, wilt arugula and feast! I think I spend more time making a generic garden salad, and this bowl dresses up any meal with a little more pizzazz. I’d serve this exactly as is with a main entrée, or use it as a starting point to build with any toppings you’d like!

Embracing fat. I might get some push back on this one for my choice of salad dressing…. Yes, I am fully utilizing the bacon and making a vinaigrette right out of those drippings! To be fair, if you are using a very fatty cut of meat, I leave to your discretion to drain out some, but in my pan, I had about a tablespoon of bacon grease, and allowed that to simmer down with the balsamic and lemon. The flavors were fabulous! If this is just not your thing, you could drain the pan and use a bit more olive oil to deglaze the pan and still gain those bacon flavors (but I highly encourage you to go for this one!).

Have an abundance of arugula in your garden? Check out some other ways to utilize this spring green:

Charred Cucumber and Onion Salad over Arugula Greens

Mustard on Mustard Salad with Pickled Radish and Arugula

Stacked Portabella Caps with Arugula Microgreen Pesto

We are gearing up for the start of farmers market season!!! I’m very excited to experiment with seasonal produce in new and creative ways. If you haven’t been following along, check out some of the previous market tours and join us this season!

Are you a social media user? Head over and Like and Follow Goddess of Garlic on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest to receive updates as new recipes are posted!

Wilted Arugula Salad with a Hot Bacon Vinaigrette

Hannah

Tamed by the light sauté with bacon, this arugula salad is delicious as a side or base-add avocado and egg for a complete meal!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Course Lunch, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American, French, Mediterranean

Servings 1 salad

Equipment

• Skillet
• Kitchen knife

Ingredients

  

• 2 handfuls Arugula
• 2 handfuls Mixed Greens
• 2 pieces Bacon
• 1/4 cup Walnuts or Pecans (I used both)
• 2 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 tsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 squeezed Lemon
• 1/4 cup Gorgonzola Cheese (or bleu cheese)

Instructions

 

• Heat skillet and add nuts to toast. Once browned, remove and set aside.
• Keep skillet warm and add slices of bacon (cut into 1/2 inch pieces). Do not discard liquid!
• When bacon crisps, add balsamic vinegar, olive oil and lemon juice. Swirl to incorporate and turn heat lower. Add half of the nuts to absorb some sauce.
• Add handfuls of arugula and stir gently to wilt.
• Serve the contents of the skillet over a bed of mixed greens, and top with the remaining nuts and cheese. Enjoy!

  This salad is great with a hard boiled egg and avocado to make more of a cobb type entrée!

Keyword Arugula, Bacon, Blue Cheese, Gorgonzola, Keto, Low-carb, Walnuts