I get scorned a lot for not having salad recipes. Honestly it is because I rarely ever eat them. That used to be the case until I decided to get a little adventurous and started throwing all of my favorite foods in a bowl with spinach. That pretty much means I can make anything a salad. Hence why there is steak, bacon, goat cheese and lots of other goodies in this one. I am thinking about putting a note on all my recipes that states if you want to make a salad, just serve this over greens. Then I can say I have 289 salad recipes including brownie salads, cookie salads, cake salads. Okay that sounds gross, back to this delicious salad that you can modify anyway you like and put together in five minutes, especially if you have delicious leftovers relaxing in the fridge.
I chose to use an amazing grass-fed sirloin I picked up from Butcher Box and paired it with bacon I made myself. That is a winning combination in any book. There is so much winning I am actually going to go make this recipe again when I finish typing this post. Oh wait I forgot something, I know a few people are going to ask me how I make my own bacon. I use a mixture of recipes or I buy my bacon from Pete’s Paleo.
I know you are going to be shocked, but I am actually having trouble finding words to fill up this post. I don’t want to blame all the bacon I ate for putting me in a food coma, but it might actually be true. I will keep this a short read for you, I just have a question. What is your favorite homemade salad, dressing or combination of the two? Leave me a comment and let me know so I can step up my salad game.
Sirloin Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Salad
- 6 cups spinach
- 1/2 cup bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1/2 cup goat cheese crumbled (optional)
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes diced
- 1/2 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 pound grass-fed sirloin cooked to your liking and sliced
Dressing
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves peeled
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Salad
- Place all of your spinach in the bottom of a large salad bowl
- Place your bacon in 1/6th of the bowl, then your goat cheese in 1/6th, then your almonds, cranberries, tomatoes and red onion
- Add your grass-fed sirloin or any meat of your choice to the middle of your salad
- Enjoy with the dressing of your choice or the one below
Dressing
- Combine your balsamic vinegar, garlic, and salt and pepper in a food processor and continually run until everything is well combined
- Turn your processor on and let it run and slowly drizzle in your olive oil as your dressing emulsifies
- Once combined, serve on the side or your salad or drizzle your salad and toss
- Enjoy
***Disclosure: If you purchase any of the products linked in this post or products through the links on the right side of my page, I receive a small percentage from the respected affiliate programs***
Labor Day Giveaway – ($899) Grass-fed Beef and a Smoker
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as usual, i come late to the party.
mmmm, salads! My 11 year old carnivore LOVES salad greens. She thinks she’s being ‘bad’ by sneaking romaine leaves….
Anyhow, for a super quick dressing, when you are grilling that steak, grill half a lemon or lime, or orange or grapefruit, and then let cool a little. squeeze a little on the greens, sploosh some of your fave oil on top, and there you have it.
another great and easy one? balsamic reduction drizzled on top – fast and easy and you can spritz with some of your fave oil again.
I love my dressing like that with a squirt of Dijon mustard!
Yum!
I came up this this idea of making a salad out of anything in the fridge that I actually eat a month a so ago. Since I am the only one who is gluten free in the house, I hate to cook just for myself. This salad looks good!
Thank you Lorraine :)
Thank you! This is actually one of my favorite recipes on the site. Definitely try it out, and let me know what you think!
This recipe includes some of my very favorite ingredients… spinach, goats cheese, cranberries! Yum. I will be trying this one out! Thankyou.
You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy it!
I love beef on salad greens of any sort. They are actually a classic combination. Also, I discovered Paleo Power Lunch by Stormy Sweitzer about a year ago, and she has wonderful combinations in her ebook. I highly recommend it! I love several different dressings. I love using orange juice and lemon juice in my dressings. And now I make paleo mayo every week since I discovered the stick-blender foolproof method. It totally works every time and it is wonderfully delicious. My personal formula is 2 T fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp dry mustard, salt, a sprinkle of cayenne, a whole egg, and about 2/3 cup “light” olive oil. Put the stick blender down in the bottom and voila, in less than a minute (literally) you have mayonnaise to use in everything–including one of my favorites, lettuce and tomato and avocado with mayo and a bit of lemon juice. Thanks for this post!
Paleo mayo is delicious. I’m glad you enjoyed the salad with your own concoction added to it! Thank you :)
I’ve been using the basil vinaigrette recipe from Against All Grain’s cookbook a lot lately. It is even better the next day and still tastes good when you omit the honey.
We’ve been on a salmon nicoise salad kick lately. I like roasting the green beans and the red potatoes instead of steaming them. After seeing this recipe, I think a shrimp cobb salad might be what’s for dinner tonight!!
Thanks George.
I have to say I’m a sucker for a good salad. Growing up, my mom made the best caesar salad, which I realize doesn’t sound all that amazing, but it really is. It’s basically your typical immulsion (eggs, dijon, capers, anchovies, olive oil, salt, pepper…you know the drill). I love to add bacon, parmesan cheese (yeah ok, not so paleo), and steak (two sources of protein always get me excited). It’s just such a comforting meal!
I’m also a sucker for a good tradional spinach salad with egg, onion, bacon, mushrooms. (Yum) I recently discovered a summer salad from Chuck Hughes and subbed the canola oil in the dressing for light olive oil. http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/chuck-hughes/peach-and-blue-cheese-salad.html
That one has blue cheese also. Obviously, I eat a little more on the PB side of things. Sometimes I just can’t resist a delcious cheese! Happy salading!
I’m not a huge fan of salads but I’ve gotta say this one does look delicious. Definitely gonna try it tomorow for my lunch. I’ll let you know what I think :)
Woohoo Pauline, let me know
Im a sucker for a wilted lettuce salad. Been eating them since I was a kid…paleo before there was such a term.
I have a creamy avocado dressing I make that would be lovely on your salad! Yummmm
Favorite salad: Cobb with lots of avocado and bacon (of course), real chicken or turkey–as opposed to lunch meat–with honey mustard dressing!
I like making a spicy honey mustard dressing with homemade mayo, dijon mustard, honey and cayenne pepper! Two of my favorite salads are this Broiled Haddock Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Sweet Maple Dressing from my blog (it has bacon, too) : http://www.whatigather.com/2012/10/broiled-haddock-salad-with-roasted.html and Giada’s Citrus Salad with oranges, grapefruit and fennel. I always add chicken to this one: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/citrus-salad-recipe/index.html
I make all kinds of stuff into a salad! I’m eating tacos as a salad right now. And it’s awesome.
Since the dry part of this takes some time, I usually make up about 6 or so baggies at once. I call this a French/Italian Dressing.
Notice that the oil is actually less than half of the liquid part. This makes over 4 cups of the dressing. It will keep in the frig for a very long time and actually gets better with age.
1/8 tsp of Garlic powder
1/4 tsp of celery salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp powered sage
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1’8 tsp ground oregano
1/2 tsp minced onions Put all of this in a blender and then add
2 tbl lemon juice
2 tbl tomato Catchup
2 tbl soy sauce
3/4 cup water Blend for a bit, then add
1 an 1/2 cups Vinegar Blend, then add
2 cups oil (your choice) Blend.
Note, its important to add the oil last or it won’t mix right.
I second adding Dijon to your dressing. I like beets, goat cheese, walnuts, red onion and arugula. Or oranges, fennel, red onion, res pepper flakes, green onion, arugula. Any lettuce or mixture will do (except frisee which i just dont like). Avocado, hard boiled eggs, and toasted prosciutto add to any salad IMHO. Oh wait, one more…spinach, mushrooms, red onion, hard boiled eggs and…BACON. Make a dressing with the leftover bacon fat, lemon, garlic, Dijon, and balsamic. And nuts, any kind but pine nuts or walnuts are favorites. Add whatever leftover meat you have and it’s a meal. And now I’m hungry.
I use spinach and arugula, but love arugula only, too. Black olives, bacon, avocado, grape tomatoes, gr. peppers, or any color or the combination of all. Add sirloin, or chicken, ham, etx. Use the meat of your choice. For my dressing I use one squeezed lime and olive oil over all . I season my salad with black Hawaiin sea salt BEFORE I put on the dressing, Sooooo darn good!
6 cups of spinach? This is supposed to serve 1 person? Holy cow!
My go-to dressing is the Creamy Italian from Mel’s “Well Fed” — simple and amazing.
I agree w/ postings above about adding avocado. Everything’s better with avocado. I’m going to have to try some of the suggestions people have posted. Thanks!!!
Mash a big-ish clove of garlic in to a paste (be sure you get all the chunks out)with a bit of sea salt. And the juice from one lemon and mix well. Next whisk a fourth to a half (to taste) of cup of olive oil in to form a dressing. Pour over romaine or arugula with halved cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Add some grilled chicken and eat like you’ve never been fed.
I have ‘taco’ salad at least once a week. I brown lean ground turkey or grass fed beef w unmeasured cumin, chili powder, minced garlic, cayenne, parsley, onion powder and a little cinnamon and eat it on whatever greens I have and tomatoes, peppers, etc. Top w fresh lime juice, guac or avocado and I do add plain Greek yogurt and natural salsa.
Thanks for the balsamic recipe…I miss salad dressings a lot!
I made this dressing last night with my blender and it was amazing!
Woohoo :)
You can make anything into a salad! Looks delicious!
This is a dressing recipe given to me by one of my clients. Enjoy!
2 tsp. Walnut Oil
2 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 tsp. raw honey
1/4 cup coconut milk (organic)
I always love avocado on my salads. Makes them 100X better!
Hi, I made a salad with lettuce, red onions & walnuts and gently fried eggs.
I like a stoneground mustard vinaigrette. Tbs stone ground mustard, tbs evoo, tbs white balsamic, salt and fresh ground bp then whisk by hand. Blender will damage the mustard seeds and make dressing too bitter. Mix all ingredients except evoo then drizzle in while whisking.
My go-to dressing is homemade. Similar to yours but add a couple tbls of Dijon mustard. ‘Cooks Illustrated’ raved about Dijon in a vinegrette because it acts as an emulsifier (helps every blend together well). I think it makes it taste good and thickens it a bit.
I usually eat my salads for breakfast. Greens, walnuts, sundried tomatoes, blackberries and a fried egg. With either Tessamae’s zesty ranch or a homemade vinegarette.
Oh I love Tessemae’s
My very favorite salad is arugula, tomato, roasted pepper, goat cheese & walnurs with balsamic vinaigrette. But I eat salad almost every day, often with sardines or chicken livers, or whatever leftover meat I have on hand. I’m an ex-vegetarian so my day just doen’t feel complete without a salad. :-)
That sounds amazing too
My favorite dressing is a dairy free ranch that is absolutely awesome! Made with homemade mayo and cashew cream: http://pinterest.com/pin/201747258279732534/
That looks delicious