Bacon and Watermelon Spinach Salad

This bacon and watermelon spinach salad is the perfect refreshing, salty-sweet salad for your summer!  Don’t forget the basil vinaigrette!

Hi friends!  Let me introduce you to act 2 of Denise trying desperately to cling to summer.  (Act 1 was last week’s Corn & Peach Salad in case you missed it).

We pretty much live on salads in the summer…it’s our go-to meal!  I love all the textures in salad, and all the different flavors you can build in.

And if salads make you think of rabbit food, then you haven’t met a Denise salad.  A Denise salad does NOT have lettuce, and is PACKED with goodies!

And this Bacon and Watermelon Spinach Salad is no exception.  Packed to the brim.

This salad was actually inspired by a BLT.  Except nix the “L” because I don’t do lettuce.

And I swapped the “T” for some “W” because I wanted to put some watermelon in something…I mean it’s AUGUST and there has been no watermelon on this site.  <– needed to be rectified!

So…all together, that makes this a BWS.  Yeah.  I like it.  Maybe I should trademark it?

Fun fact: if you cut your watermelon into little ‘balls’, your toddler will eat them!  I love finding out random things like this.  In fact Kai ate half of a mini watermelon when I cut it like that.  WIN.

So.  This salad is pretty much what you see: spinach, watermelon, BACON, feta cheese, some red onion.  And a delicious basil vinaigrette which would be pretty great on any salad, but watermelon, feta and basil are just meant to be together.

So friends, are you with me?  Summery food all the way till September!

Bacon and Watermelon Spinach Salad   Print Prep time 20 mins Cook time 10 mins Total time 30 mins   Author: Denise Recipe type: salad Serves: 4 Ingredients Basil Vinaigrette:

• 1 cup packed basil leaves
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1.5 tablespoons honey
• ¼ teaspoon dijon
• 1-2 tablespoons of water to thin out

Salad:

• 5 slices of bacon
• 8 cups of spinach
• ¼ cup feta crumbled
• ¼ cup red onion, sliced
• watermelon- 3 cups of 1 inch cubes or balls

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth (or use an immersion blender
   ).
2. Cook bacon, set on a paper towel to drain. Cut into small pieces.
3. Toss together all salad ingredients with the vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Notes This makes 4 meal sized portions (top with grilled chicken and serve with some good bread). Makes 6-8 side salad portions. 3.5.3208

Products used in this recipe: