Chart House’s legendary Spinach Salad has been captivating diners for decades with its perfect combination of fresh spinach, crispy bacon, hard-boiled eggs, sautéed mushrooms, and onions, all brought together by a signature warm bacon dressing.
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Why you should try this spinach salad
This spinach salad with bacon is out of this world tasty and will surely rank among your top salad recipes. It’s a colorful salad with great flavors and textures tossed with a wonderful spinach salad dressing. It’s also easy and inexpensive to make so it won’t strain your budget.
This salad provides a complete meal, featuring fresh spinach, hard-boiled eggs that keep you feeling full, sautéed mushrooms and onions, crisp bacon, and a tangy, warm spinach salad dressing recipe that brings it all together.
Chart House spinach salad ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this Chart House Spinach Salad recipe:
Salad ingredients:
- Spinach – Fresh, tender leaves that provide the nutritious base for this hearty salad
- Hard-boiled eggs – Add protein and creamy texture that complements the warm dressing
- Bacon – Provides smoky, salty crunch that defines this classic salad
- Mushrooms РContribute earthy flavor and meaty texture when saut̩ed
- Onion – Adds a sharp bite that mellows when cooked in the warm dressing
Signature dressing ingredients:
- Red wine vinegar – Provides the essential acidity that brightens all flavors
- Vegetable oil – Creates a smooth base for the warm dressing
- Olive oil – Adds richness and enhances the Mediterranean character
- Dry mustard – Contributes depth and helps emulsify the dressing
- Sweet pickle relish – Adds unexpected sweetness and texture
- Capers – Provide briny, tangy pops of flavor
- Salt – Enhances all other flavors in the dressing
- Sugar – Balances acidity and rounds out the flavor profile
CopyKat Tip: Save time by buying pre-washed baby spinach.
Equipment needed
How to make this salad
You can follow this Chart House Spinach Salad recipe and produce this spinach salad in all of its warm, bacon-y glory. Here are the steps:
- Whisk to blend the vinegar, salt, pickle relish, mustard, sugar, and capers.
- Stir in the oils to complete the dressing and set it aside.
- Shred the eggs and set them aside.
- Remove the stems from the spinach. Clean the leaves and pat dry.
- Saute bacon until crispy. Drain it on paper towels.
- Cut the bacon into pieces and sprinkle the crisped bacon over the spinach.
- Sauté the onion and mushrooms.
- Stir in 1 cup of dressing and bring to a boil.
- Pour the hot dressing over the spinach and toss.
- Garnish with the eggs and serve with additional dressing.
Note: You may prefer your hard-boiled eggs left whole for more flavor rather than grating them.
Chart House Spinach Salad Recipe – Possible Variations
You can elevate this simple spinach salad even further with some tasty additions:
- Add some chopped sausage.
- Add some cheese – feta cheese or goat cheese are great ones.
- Add some fruit – sliced apples, blueberries, strawberries, dried cranberries, mandarin oranges, raspberries, or raisins.
- Add some nuts – almonds, pecans, pistachios, pine nuts, or walnuts.
- Top with strips of grilled chicken.
- Throw in any odds and ends of vegetables you’ve been wondering what to do with.
- Substitute the red wine vinegar in the dressing with balsamic vinegar.
- Substitute the sugar in the dressing with honey.
What to Serve With This Easy Spinach Salad
This spinach salad with egg is perfect for a light lunch with some yeast rolls. Or pair it with grilled chicken tenders or baked salmon, and dinner is done!
Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Best Served Fresh: This salad is best consumed immediately after preparation, while the dressing is warm
- Leftover Storage: Store undressed components separately in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Refrigerate leftover dressed salad for 1 day maximum
- Reheating Option: Gently warm leftover dressed salad in a pan before serving, or enjoy it cold the next day
Love spinach? Try these recipes!
- Boston Market Creamed Spinach
- Cheddar’s Santa Fe Spinach Dip
- Olive Garden Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Spinach Feta Wrap
Favorite Salad Recipes
- Applebee’s Fried Chicken Oriental Salad
- Chicken Caesar Salad
- Chicken Fajita Salad
- Cucumber, Tomato, and Onion Salad
- Fuji Apple Salad
- Green Goddess Salad
- Thai Noodle Salad
- Traditional Greek Salad
- Wedge Salad
Check out more of my easy salad recipes and the best copycat restaurant recipes on CopyKat!
This was found in a great book with tons of restaurant recipes from the Los Angeles area – Dear SOS: 30 Years of Recipe Requests
Chart House Spinach Salad Easy Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped capers
- 1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
- 3 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh spinach
- 1/4 pound chopped bacon
- 1/2 cup minced onion
- 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine the vinegar, salt, sugar, mustard powder, pickle relish, and capers. Add the vegetable oil and olive oil and mix well. Store the dressing in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
- Grate the eggs on a medium-sized grater. Cover and set aside.
- Wash the spinach and remove any tough stems. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Then transfer to a large bowl.
- Sauté the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and sprinkle it over the spinach.
- Add the onions and mushrooms to the skillet and sauté in the remaining bacon drippings until tender. Add 1 cup of the prepared dressing to the skillet and bring to a boil.
- Pour the contents of the skillet over the spinach and toss. Garnish with the grated eggs and serve with additional dressing.
I was recently visiting friends in San Diego and had the most delicious chopped salad at the Chart House. It was not the spinach salad that you have posted. Would you be able to get the dressing ingredients for the chopped salad? Thank you.
Thank you for your suggestion, I don’t happen to have this recipe.
We recently visited my favorite restaurant, Chart House, in Malibu, CA. Our salad was as tho’ all the ingredients were diced. Any clues as to the ingredients and how they got all it ingredients so small, or diced??
This salad is out of this world good! I will be making this next time I host a luncheon!