Classic Spinach Salad

Every single ingredient in this Best Spinach Salad can be washed, cooked, prepped or chopped in advance. Toss it together for a work week lunch or dinner. No side dishes needed.

Easy Spinach Salad

In restaurant kitchens and culinary school, it’s called the garde manger station, but at home, it’s just my kitchen counter where I love to make big, beautiful cold salads that are whole meals in themselves.

I like to start with a bed of vibrant greens, then add a few different types of protein, some cheese, chopped veggies, a sprinkle of nuts, and a simple homemade dressing. After experimenting with many ingredient combinations, the Best Spinach Salad recipe below is, well, my best ever version of a classic spinach salad.

It’s hearty enough to keep you full, thanks to the chicken, bacon and eggs. It has just the right amount of crunch from the walnuts and juiciness from the tomatoes. And the tangy feta cheese and sweet honey mustard dressing are the perfect finishing touches.

Simple Spinach Salad Ingredients

• chicken – you’ll need cooked, chopped chicken before you start this recipe. White meat or dark meat – whichever you prefer. See the Home Chef Tips box below for more info on this.
• baby spinach – the vibrant green base of the salad.
• hard boiled eggs – adds protein and richness to the salad. See the Home Chef Tips box for my favorite way to cook them.
• bacon – prep a batch of oven bacon or oven turkey bacon to add a salty, savory flavor to the salad.
• cherry tomatoes – these provide a pop of red color and juiciness. You can also use a larger tomato, chopped up.
• red onion – adds a sharp, slightly sweet flavor. If you don’t prefer red onion, you can use a white onion or omit the onion altogether.
• cucumber – adds a refreshing, crisp texture to this easy spinach salad.
• feta cheese – provides a tangy, salty flavor.
• walnuts – I love the flavor combination of spinach, bacon and walnuts!

How to make Classic Spinach Salad

1. PREP. Make sure your chicken, bacon and hard boiled eggs are cooked and sliced or chopped. Also, get all of the vegetables chopped.

2. BUILD. You can build your salad either on a large platter or split the ingredients onto 4 individiual plates. Start by laying down the bed of spinach and then follow by topping with all of the rest of the ingredients. You can choose to scatter the ingredients for a more rustic looking salad, or you can use the toppings to create blocks or rows of ingredients for a more composed salad.

3. DRESS. Drizzle your desired dressing (more info on this below) over the salad or serve it on the side.

Options for Spinach Salad Dressing

This is a quite versatile salad that pairs well with just about any salad dressing that you like. Here are some options that I’ve found pair particularly well:

• Honey Mustard Dressing – this is my #1 all time favorite dressing for this salad, and it’s what appears in the photographs in this post.
• Caesar Salad Dressing – I enjoy Caesar dressing on a variety of salads beyond just the romaine/crouton/Parm situation we often think of.
• Feta Dressing – if you’re a true feta cheese lover, why not double down on the feta and also use a feta dressing?
• Citrus Vinaigrette – this would be a lighter, fresher dressing option for folks who don’t like a heavier dressing.
• Lemon Tahini Dressing – this Middle Eastern-inspired dressing made with tahini (sesame seed paste) is nice and nutty, so it pairs well with the walnuts!

Variations of the Best Spinach Salad

• CHEESE – not a fan of feta? Try blue cheese, or something milder like cubed or shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese.
• NUTS – if you don’t have walnuts on hand, you can use sliced or chopped almonds or pecans.
• MUSHROOMS – if I have them on hand, I think sliced fresh button mushrooms make a nice addition to this salad.

What to serve with this Easy Spinach Salad

This simple spinach salad is so loaded with toppings that it’s a complete meal on its own, so it doesn’t really need side dishes in my opinion, but you can serve it with our homemade garlic bread recipe or easy yeast rolls for mopping up any extra dressing if you wish.

Best Spinach Salad Recipe Storage Tips

All elements of this salad can be washed, cooked, chopped and/or prepped in advance, and kept in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator until it’s time to toss it altogether.

You can also turn this recipe for spinach salad into a meal prep work week lunch by building it, in layers, in large mason jars. Store the dressing separately. Turn out onto a plate or bowl and toss to combine before eating.