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Are you looking for the perfect Thanksgiving or holiday salad? How about a salad that is a bit more substantial to fill your belly on a crisp fall or winter’s day? Look no further. I recently made this recipe for a friends Halloween potluck party. At first I was gonna do my go-to Greek Salad & then I opted to go more seasonal with this Bacon Sweet Potato Spinach Salad recipe. I am so glad I did. This salad was well received and it was served alongside a delicious Guinness turkey chili.
I usually roast my sweet potatoes in olive oil or a nut oil. This time I wanted the bacon to infuse everything. After cooking the bacon, I set aside the grease and tossed the sweet potato chunks in that. A fun choice for a change.
As far as bacon goes, I used uncured pork bacon is this recipe. I usually tend to go with lighter turkey bacon, but it is very lean and does not yield enough left over fat in the pan. Â In this case I knew I wanted to roast with the smoky bacon grease, so I needed to go with the fuller fat pork bacon. All you need for this recipe is a few tablespoons. I set the rest in the fridge to use for more holiday cooking and baking.
What is your favorite grated cheese? I love Gruyére. It has a strong, nutty flavor and a little goes a long way. It tastes awesome simply grated and melted too. I have a casserole coming soon where I melt a bunch on the top. We love it in this recipe for Roasted Asparagus with Smoked Paprika.
What is your go-to salad to create for the fall-winter holidays?
Do you have a favorite sweet potato recipe? Please share with us.
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Bacon Sweet Potato Spinach Salad
8-10 servings
NOTES
- I used a small amount of  bacon fat to roast these sweet potatoes. You can also use olive oil, melted butter or your favorite oil.
- You can use fresh or frozen pomegranate arils (seeds.) Just be sure if you use frozen to thaw them and blot off any additional moisture.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 pounds Sweet Potatoes (Garnet Yams), cleaned, skins left on, cut into 1 ” cubes
- a pinch of Garlic Salt
- a pinch of ground Cinnamon
- a pinch of ground Ginger
- a pinch of ground ground Black Pepper
- a few tablespoons pure Maple Syrup
- 18-24 ounces Baby Spinach Leaves
- 12 ounces crumbled Bacon (I used uncured Pork Bacon in this recipe) set aside bacon grease
- a few handfuls of Pomegranate Seeds (arils)
- grated Gruyére or your favorite cheese
METHOD
Preheat oven to 400˚F with rack in the center. Cook bacon until brown and crispy in a fry pan. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Reserve bacon fat in a heat resistant container & set aside to cool a bit.
Toss sweet potato chunks with garlic salt, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper maple syrup and some bacon grease. (A little bacon grease goes a long way, so add a small amount first and you can always add more. I use just enough oil to grease them until slightly glistening.) Spread sweet potatoes on a sheet pan in a single layer. Roast for about 35 minutes until cooked through and golden brown. Toss once with tongs about halfway through cooking time for even browning. Remove sweet potatoes from oven and let cool.
Salad assembly: Put baby spinach in a large bowl. Top with roasted sweet potatoes, bacon crumbles, Gruyére and pomegranate seeds. You can season with some more garlic salt and black pepper if desired. When ready to serve, toss salad with your favorite vinaigrette dressing or olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
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Sweet Potato Recipe Links
- Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Herbed Olive Oil MarlaMeridith.com
- Grilled Coconut Sweet Potato Kebabs MarlaMeridith.com
- Sweet Potatoes with Edamame and Fall Spices MarlaMeridith.com
- Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle Pecan Streusel Cookin’ Canuck
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Mushrooms, Thyme & Parsley Kalyn’s Kitchen
Fall Salad Recipe Links
- Apple Gorgonzola Pecan Salad Mango Tomato
- Brussels, Fig and Bacon Salad Honest Fare
- Fantastic Fall Beet Salad chat N’chow
- Happy Salad The Meaning of Pie
- Spiced Pumpkin & Lentil Salad Bon Vivant
- Spinach Salad with Apples and PearsA Couple Cooks
YUM! This looks delicious!
Wow. Every single one of those pictures is amazing. And it just about makes me mouth water… you are brilliant!!
wow, i am pretty much all over this salad. i love pretty much anything “pomegranate” and this salad will steal my heart. love the idea of a roasted veggie with a green! hmmm…….you’ve got me thinking! xx
Great salad! I love the bright colors!
That salad is just beautiful. I love pomegranate.
That is one deliciously loaded salad! I love it!
What a gorgeous salad! So colorful and flavorful.
Cheers,
Rosa
Absolutely gorgeous!! Wow! Speechless at those gorgeous colors 🙂
Looks so delicious!!
A scaled down version of this salad will be made for lunch today. Sweet potatoes are a favorite.
I’ve made something similar to this with kale instead of spinach but I think I like this version with the pomegranates better. Definitely an awesome Thanksgiving side dish! Or you know. Lunch.
This is great, Marla! I’ve been looking for ideas for my big bag of pomegranate seeds, and thanks to this salad, I think I finally found one! This looks absolutely delicious, and it’s a nice departure from all the heavy meals we tend to stick to this season.
Yum! Bacon and pomegranates go so well together. I can never get enough sweet potato too.
Spinach, sweet potatoes, bacon, cheese…wow Marla, you definitely how to take care of your family! I love the combination of flavours and it looks very appetizing and pretty.
Angie
Oh my goodness, Marla! This is such a gorgeous salad. The mixture of flavors, textures and colors make this so appealing. Forget the green beans – this would be perfect for the Thanksgiving table.
Is there any way you can magical make this salad appear for my lunch today?
Looks delicious 🙂
This is so pretty and looks fabulous with all of my favorite seasonal ingredients!
Mmmmm….bacon.
Love your combo of salty bacon, sweet sweet potatoes, tart pom seeds, astringent spinach…and it is gorgeous, too!
Dorothy: Love how you break down the flavor elements of this salad. It does have all of that & more!
Faith: I could totally see you posting a salad like this.
Dara: Yes, this salad could replace the green beans – but I do have a green bean side coming your way really soon. I might have to allow them to share space on the Thanksgiving table!
Oh, so pretty! Love it, Marla. It’s funny, in the summer I tend to gravitate towards entirely raw salads and in the winter I tend to make beauties like this, with a mix of roasted and raw veggies. This would be perfect as part of a Thanskgiving feast!
OMG…, I have to try this, its so colourful and inviting.
I love it! Perfect, I’ll have to make this soon.
Delicious! This salad looks so fresh and tasty. Impressive 🙂
wow bacon potato!!!! i love it!
This is such a keeper recipe, Marla, and absolutely gorgeous! I often make a spinach, sweet potato, parsnip, dried cranberry, and gorgonzola salad in fall, but I like your recipe better. Must make!
Wow, is that a gorgeous salad! I plan on making a salad with the roasted pumpkin chunks that are in my fridge and dried cranberries which will be visually similar to yours. Loved your chocolate pumpkin cornbread recipe, BTW!
I love putting roasted sweet potatoes in salads, people never expect it. This salad looks gorgeous with all of the fall colors in one bowl.
Pam: Since we eat with our eyes first, you are right-the colors of a meal can entice as much as the flavor. The pomegranate seeds look like little gems in this salad.
Adair: This salad would be awesome with roasted pumpkin chunks. Wish I had some of those over here right now. Gotta have that red in the salad too, visual presentation is so important here. The cranberries are perfect if you don’t have the pom seeds on hand. Also nice because so many of us keep them in our pantries year round.
Marla,
This is truly stunning salad and I know it tastes delicious. A wonderful addition to the Thanksgiving table as well. Can’t wait to make it!!
What a fabulous seasonal salad! I love the combo of sweet potatoes and pomegranates here, and it makes the salad look so colorful and festive!
Wow this salad is packed with flavor and popping with colors!
Wow! The salad look so full of life, refreshing and healthy, Marla. Best wishes.
Everything everything everything about this salad is perfect. I can just taste it all popping like crazy in my mouth.
I think I’ll add arugula too. Yum.
Love these big bold flavors! GREG
OMG this looks so good. Thanks for the idea!
what magnificent presentation! this has salty, tangy, and earthy flavors–it’s a salad done right!
Decadent, flavourful… crunchy, crispy, juicy, fatty and citrusy…. all it a bowl.
Not only is this salad gorgeous, the flavor combination is fabulous. I love the roast sweet potato in it!
This is a brilliant idea and the photography is beautiful.
Love the colors and the flavors! Perfect for fall. Spinach salads are always great.
Awesome job with the photos!
I’m not exactly sure how to get trackbacks to show, but I wanted you to know Erin at Queen of Tarts linked to this post a few weeks ago. I told her about your blog. She wasn’t with me at BlogHer Food but she came the following day. Anyway, LOVE this salad. You did a great job with the photos.
Lesley: You are so sweet! I never did see that trackback from the Queen of Tarts. I just visited her blog & her cakes are gorgeous! I am so happy that you loved this salad. I wish we had it for dinner over here tonight.
Nana: Gosh, you made my day! There is nothing like having a reader come back & tell me how much they enjoyed a recipe I created. Thanks for your kind words & I am so happy that my salad was a part of your Thanksgiving 🙂
We prepared this salad for Thanksgiving and it was delicious. Very unique and just enough sweet and sour to make it interesting.
YUM! I am so glad i hit the like button on Face Book!!! ;D
Seriously?
Bacon = meat. Sweet potato = veg. Pomegranate = fruit.
I could cry.
I may never eat anything else ever again!
YUM. Oh joy. YUM!
Kendra: You just made me laugh. Really! I could cry too!
Marla,
I just came across your site and love your recipes, especially this salad – I have a soft spot for sweet potatoes. I’m so glad I found you on FaceBook!
I am so glad you found me too Lynne! Over here we can’t get enough sweet potatoes either.
Awesome recipe! I love the choice of ingredients and your pictures look so good too! Please check out my recipe for bacon and pea quinoa salad… http://bit.ly/baconpeaquinoasalad
Thanks!
I made this for thanksgiving for my boyfriend’s family and they loved it. thanks!
This was amazing….so different and so awesome. I just sauteed the sweet potatoes in after the bacon cooked a while and used a Maple Balsamic with evoo dressing. No pomegranate but i used a smoked apple cheddar cheese. Phenomenal.
Ohhhhh. I love what you did with this recipe! Thanks for sharing 🙂