It may seem strange to wake up to a green salad and glass of water when we live in a coffee and donut world. But, trust me, starting your morning with large, fully-loaded salad for breakfast is a great way to get a jump start on your daily nutritional goals and fuel up for an active day. It’s probably been around 10 hours or more since you last ate and, if you’re anything like me, your body is starving for a hearty, healthy, balanced meal. 

A breakfast salad like my Bacon & Egg Breakfast Salad with Maple Apple Cider Vinaigrette will power up your morning with good taste, good protein and 3+ servings of fruits/vegetables. Read on the get all the details and recipe.

It might sound weird to eat salad for breakfast, but in some countries they even eat soup in the a.m. Either choice is better than a bowl sugary bowl of cereal or pastry. I like to start all my breakfast salads with a foundation of leafy greens – like baby spinach, spring mix, kale, etc. It adds a lot of volume to the meal (I’m an “eater” so I like to see a big plate of food) without an excess of calories – plus, all that fiber keeps things moving along in the morning, nudge-nudge.

My choices in toppings can vary, from leftover bits of steak or chicken if I’m in a rush . . . or I’ll cook up fresh eggs and bacon any chance I get. Bacon & Egg Breakfast Salad with Maple Apple Cider Vinaigrette features a sunny-side up egg paired with bacon that has cooked alongside a sliced shallot. So yummy and gives me that morning protein I need. If I want more protein, I just add a second egg. 

Also, tossed in the bowl, a diced green apple, pecans . . . and sometimes else whatever else I can find. Today’s dressing is a Maple Apple Cider Vinaigrette – the recipe makes more than enough for the salad, so I keep the extra stored in the fridge for up to a week (I can use it on sautéed veggies and as a marinade too). I’ve I’m in a real rush, I’ll also use on of the new fresh Apple Cider dressings from Litehouse Food’s, there are several flavors and they are low-cal, low-carb and free of yucky stuff.

Each serving (with 1 egg, 2 strips bacon, toppings as listed and 2 tablespoons of the apple maple vinaigrette) has 431 calories, 29g fat, 31 carbs, 5.5g fiber and about 12g protein.

So, what are your thoughts on eating salad for breakfast? Is this a type of meal in your morning meal rotation – and if not, are you willing to give it a try? Love to know your thoughts and ideas for breakfast salad toppings. Share in the comments, XOXO, Jennifer

5 from 12 votes

Print

Bacon & Egg Breakfast Salad with Maple Apple Dressing

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

Wake up and power up with a breakfast salad feature bacon, egg, apple, pecans and shallot on spinach with a maple apple cider vinaigrette dressing! You'll have a jumpstart on daily fruit/veggie intake no matter how the rest of the day turns out! 

Course: Breakfast

Keyword: bacon, egg, salad, salad dressing

Servings: 1 serving

Calories: 431 kcal

Ingredients

• 2.5 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1/2 medium green apple chopped
• 10 pecan halves chopped
• 2 strips bacon
• ½ small shallot sliced thinly
• 1 large egg
• Additional topping as desired

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar.
• 1 ½ tablespoon pure maple syrup.
• ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt.
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper.
• ¼ cup olive oil.

Instructions

1. In mason jar, add all ingredients for dressing, close tightly with lid and shake to combine.
2. Toss together spinach, diced apple, pecans in small bowl with 2 tablespoons of dressing (save remainder of dressing for use on another day).
3. In skillet, over medium-high heat, cook bacon on medium high, flipping once with tongs, until browned and crispy, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Use tongs, to remove to paper towels to cool. Pour off bacon grease, but do not wash skillet
4. In same skillet (with a bit of bacon grease residue), sauté shallots and cook egg to preference.
5. Add egg, shallots and bacon to dressed salad and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Note: recipe makes 1 salad and 4 servings of dressing (1 serving of dressing = 2 tablespoons) Keep remainder of dressing in fridge for use another day.