BLT Salad

Happy Hump Day, friends! For some reason, I’ve been non-stop craving salads recently. I think due to the fact that we have been having some pretty hot weather here in Boulder, I’ve had a hankering for meals that are on the more refreshing side. While I would have a smoothie bowl for every single meal of summer if I could, I think salads are equally as “refreshing” because they are cold and satisfy that crunch that I love so much.

As mentioned in one of my latest posts, I love the Half Baked Harvest blog! There are SO many incredibly delicious recipes that are pretty simple to make. Teighan is the source of so much of my food inspiration. Seriously, in my free time I will go onto her Instagram or blog and just drool over the foodie goodness! And one of my favorite things to do is make healthier versions of foods/recipes that aren’t very clean. That said, if you ever come across a recipe that you wish was just a bit healthier, send them my way and I will give it a go!

So, the source of inspiration for this salad was a Half Baked Harvest salad recipe. I’d like to think that if a BLT sandwich and a salad had a baby, this would be it. I’ve never put bacon in a salad, but I do not regret the decision and will absolutely be doing it again. I know that bacon isn’t necessarily the healthiest thing out there, but there is such a small amount of it that I think we can let it slide 😉

Next time you find yourself craving a salad, pick up these ingredients and make it happen! If you see a pattern in my use of sun-dried tomatoes, it is completely intentional… I love them. This recipe really features allllllll the good stuff: sun-dried tomatoes, bacon, mixed greens, and avocado. Yum!

Ingredients

4 cups fresh greens (spinach, mixed greens, romaine, anything!)
1 avocado, sliced
1 cooked chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained
Feta cheese, crumbled for garnish

Bacon Vinaigrette:
2 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
2 tbsp sun-dried tomato oil
Juice of ½ lemon
½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
½ tbsp honey
½ tbsp dijon mustard
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, toss together the fresh greens, avocados, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and pine nuts.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the bacon, smashed garlic, and rosemary sprig. Cook, stirring frequently, until the bacon is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove and discard the garlic and rosemary. Drain off all but 1/2 tbsp of the bacon fat. Add the reserved sun-dried tomato oil, lemon juice, vinegar, honey, mustard, and red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and cook until warmed through, about 1 minute.
3. Drizzle the warm vinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!