This strawberry bacon salad is proof that a simple salad can steal the show. With juicy strawberries, crispy bacon, creamy blue cheese, and crunchy pecans tossed in a sweet-tangy dressing, every bite is packed with flavor and texture. It’s the kind of fresh, vibrant dish that works just as well for a light weeknight dinner as it does for serving at brunches, showers, and barbecues.
I originally published this recipe in 2016, and I’ve since updated it with new photos and extra success tips.
If you’re looking for a salad that actually excites people, this strawberry bacon salad is it. It’s fresh, colorful, packed with texture, and hits that perfect balance of sweet, salty, creamy, and crunchy. In other words: not your average side salad!
It’s quick enough for a weeknight dinner, but impressive enough for gatherings, holidays, and spring/summer entertaining. Let me show you exactly how to make it… plus, a few tested tips so it turns out perfectly every time!
Why You’ll Love This Strawberry Bacon Salad
- Big flavor, minimal effort—simple ingredients + quick prep time
- Perfect balance—sweet strawberries + salty bacon + tangy dressing
- Make-ahead friendly—prep components in advance
- Versatile—easy to customize with what you have
- Great for entertaining—always a crowd favorite!
Flavor Makers
Each ingredient plays an important role in this salad, but there are plenty of ways to customize it to your taste. Here are some of the “power ingredients” that bring all the flavor to this simple salad:
- Bacon: Cook the bacon until crisp. Soft bacon gets lost in the salad, but crispy bacon adds that essential crunch.
- Fresh strawberries: Sweet, juicy, and the shining star of this salad!
- Romaine lettuce: Crunchy and crowd pleasing, but feel free to mix in tender mixed greens or spinach as well if you like a variety.
- Pecans: Provide crunch and nutty flavor. Walnuts or sliced almonds work too. Toast them first for maximum flavor. And candied pecans would take this salad to a whole new level!
- Crumbled cheese: Blue cheese adds creamy tanginess. If blue cheese just isn’t your thing, you have options! Either feta cheese or goat cheese (like I use in this maple-roasted squash kale salad) work too.
Easy Homemade Honey Balsamic Dressing
A simple homemade vinaigrette ties everything together. You typically see this type of salad with a poppy seed dressing of sorts, but I love it with this honey balsamic vinaigrette. It’s lightly sweet, slightly tangy, and complements the strawberries beautifully. It’s very easy to make, and you can whisk it up ahead of time. Here’s everything you need to make it:
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Honey
- Dijon mustard
- Salt & pepper
How to Make This Crowd-Favorite Salad
Cook the bacon. While that’s cooking, you can toast the pecans if desired. Toasting them adds extra depth of flavor, but if you just don’t have time, you can skip it.
Whisk together the dressing, then assemble the salad:
4 Quick & Easy Success Tips
- Dry your greens well—wet leaves dilute the dressing.
- Make dressing ahead—refrigerate for up to 2 weeks, then shake well before using.
- Slice strawberries just before assembling.
- Wait to assemble and dress the salad until just before serving for the best texture.
Make It Your Own
This summery salad is incredibly flexible. Try these variations:
- Add Protein: This salad is a great base for grilled chicken or salmon.
- Swap the Cheese: Try crumbled feta and goat cheese; or swap cheese for diced avocado to make the salad dairy free without losing the creamy factor.
- Change the Nuts: Try walnuts, almonds, pistachios, or candied pecans.
- Make It Vegetarian: Skip the bacon and add some chickpeas instead.
- Swap the Dressing: Try it with honey mustard or poppy seed dressing.
- Add Grains: Add a chewy grain like farro, wheat berries, or barley for a heartier bowl.
And sometimes I arrange hard-boiled eggs on top like a cobb salad, too. So many ways to accessorize this dish! 😉
What to Serve With Strawberry Bacon Salad
This salad pairs beautifully with:
- Grilled chicken or steak
- Quiche or frittata
- Pasta dishes
- Sandwiches or wraps
- Baked macaroni & cheese
- Corn fritters
- Baked lemon garlic salmon
- Crab cakes
It’s also a favorite savory option when planning our menu of Easter brunch recipes.
Print
Crowd-Favorite Strawberry Bacon Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: Salad
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This strawberry bacon salad is proof that simple ingredients can create big flavor. Made with juicy strawberries, crispy bacon, toasted pecans, creamy cheese, and a sweet honey balsamic vinaigrette, it’s fresh, vibrant, and perfect for brunch, bridal/baby showers, or easy dinners.
Ingredients
Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup (60ml/56g) extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml/g) balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons (42g) honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Salad
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 pound (454g) strawberries, sliced
- 5–6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
- 2/3 cup (90g) crumbled blue cheese*
- 2/3 cup (80g) chopped pecans* (see Note to toast first)
Instructions
- First, if your bacon is not already cooked for the salad, cook it according to its package directions until crisp. Cool until ready to handle, then chop it.
- Make the vinaigrette: Make the vinaigrette by whisking all of the vinaigrette ingredients together. Taste, then add salt and pepper as needed. You can make the dressing ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator until ready to use. It’s great for up to 2 weeks when stored tightly covered in the refrigerator. Shake well before using.
- Make the salad: In a large bowl, toss all of the salad ingredients together, then mix in the vinaigrette. You may not need all the vinaigrette—use as much or little as you prefer.
- Plate and serve.
- Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk
- Lettuce: Instead of romaine, this salad is wonderful with spinach or mixed greens. We prefer romaine because it’s crunchy. Feel free to mix together your favorite greens.
- Cheese: Instead of blue cheese, try crumbled feta or goat cheese, or swap diced avocado for a dairy-free version.
- Pecans: If you have some extra time, toast the pecans for added flavor. Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Spread pecans on top and toast for 7–8 minutes. Cool before adding to salad. Feel free to substitute with chopped walnuts or sliced almonds. (And you can toast those following the same toasting directions.)
Reader Comments and Reviews
Sally’s is my go-to. When I get compliments on my baking, I tell them, it’s from my Gal, Sal!! and reference the website. I’ve followed for probably close to, if not a decade, and have had such wonderful results!!
I’ve made this salad for a luncheon, sans bacon, as I have a friend who is vegetarian. So, instead, in addition to strawberries, I added: blueberries, kiwi, pineapple, peaches. I used feta instead of blue cheese, and kept the pecans. The Honey Vinaigrette I’ve used in other salads, it is just so good!
Everyone complimented the salad! I am making again for tomorrow’s lunch as I have an all day meeting and can’t leave. Will keep everything separate until lunchtime.
Thank you! Sally (and team) for create such delicious-ness!!
Have a blessed day!
xxoo
Thank you so much for your kind words, Donna!
This sounds delicious, but I don’t have balsamic vinegar right now. I do have raspberry vinegar which sounds good, but I am worried about it with the Dijon. Any thoughts?
Hi Carrie, that sounds good, I would try it!
This is a great salad. It’s now one of my favorites. I’ve eaten it, with slight variations, and adding some protein, almost every night for the last two weeks. It’s simple and fast to put together, and it’s incredibly flexible. Whatever you don’t have — switch it for something else. Don’t like blue cheese? Feta works great. Don’t have pecans? Walnuts are very tasty. Loving adding strawberries to my salad, and adding protein makes it a dinner. We always cook several proteins ahead and freeze them in 4 oz. portions, so I just pull out a package, thaw it, and add it to the salad. Any protein will complement the great flavors of this salad. Thank you for another winner. 🙂
Made this yesterday for Easter dinner. What a hit! So good. Now it will be my favorite summer salad!
Please include nutrition information
Hi Susan, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
What is your opinion on silicone vs metal bakeware Your mini quiche sounds divine
Hi Vic, We use metal pans for just about all of our baking. We don’t have much experience with using silicone pans.
This recipe gives you a lot of bang for your buck (by buck I mean effort). The recipe, while simple to make, is delicious. I served it with artisan bread (recipe under Bread link), and a glass of red wine. My wife is already asking when I am going to make this again. A++
I adore this salad. I’ve made it many times during the summer and it’s a favorite. I love it so much, I want to serve it for Thanksgiving. Any thoughts on how to give it a more fall/holiday feel? Apples, pears, or pomegranates instead of strawberries? I saw your recipe for sugared cranberries and thought it might be a fun addition…
Hi Sophia, any of those fruits would be delicious here! Please do let us know what you try.
We loved this so much! I was a bit worried I wouldn’t love the dressing because it wasn’t something I’d had before and I can be a bit picky but it was delicious! I already can’t wait to have it again!
Can Balsamic Vinegar be substituted with another product for the strawberry bacon salad dressing?
Hi Rita, You can use red wine vinegar mixed with maple syrup for a similar flavor, or you can use any salad dressing you prefer instead of this one.
Love how simple this salad is! Made it with white cheddar instead of blue cheese for a party since I didn’t know if people there liked blue cheese. It was such a hit, it was gone before I could even get any! Everyone told me it was delicious haha. I plan on making it again so I can have some!
This salad is excellent! I used green leaf lettuce from our CSA and used feta instead of blue cheese because it’s what I had on hand. I stacked the leftovers in a mason jar with the dressing on the bottom, then the berries and other toppings, and the lettuce on top. It will be delicious for lunch at work tomorrow! The dressing is a highlight and would go really well on any salad.
Hi Sally,
Very Yummy. My Husband and I love this salad. I’m always looking for new ways to use strawberries and I love them in salad. I made this exactly the way the recipe is but I did add some onions. I will be making this again. I have been using your website for several months now and everything I make has been so good. Thank you for the recipes.
Hi, Sally!
What a Godsend your recipe is! I don’t have enough ranch (or croutons) to make my regular salad. And I have my wonderful facon (vegetarian bacon) in the freezer. It’s peak strawberry season right now where I am at (Tampa area) and I need to use the strawberries in something yummy that’s not a dessert. Thank you!
Made this salad a few weeks ago. It was delicious and filling!
Is there another cheese you can recommend, we don’t love blue cheese in our house.. or strong cheeses? thank you
Feta cheese would be great, but that’s particularly strong. How about white cheddar?
I LOVE this salad. The things I do differently–use feta cheese since I don’t care for the blue, use candied pecans & use strawberry vinaigrette. Along with your Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream, I’m in Strawberry heaven!!!
This salad was so good! Amazing how a few ingredients can taste so great. We have flavored balsamic vinegars that we get from a local source, and I used the pomegranate balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and it was really good and a little quicker to prepare. THanks for the idea – this was a perfect dinner after a long day!
I absolutely LOVE this salad – have already made it a several times in the last two weeks. I make it with baby arugula, which balances the sweet of the strawberries, pecans, and dressing.
Sally, this is my first post but not my first recipe. I have been reading your site and making your recipes for the past three months — you have single handedly turned me into a person who looks forward to cooking and baking for myself and others! Thank you for sharing outstanding recipes that I can both learn from and depend on!
This was absolutely delicious! I made it today with fresh strawberries and mizuna in place of the lettuce because it was in our CSA basket this week. My husband and I loved it! He said it was the best thing he ever ate. I used Parmesan because we had it on hand and I don’t like blue cheese. Amazing! Love your recipes for baking – my go to for many treats. Thanks for sharing your talents!
We had this tonight since it was still about 93 degrees at dinner time. It was so yummy! I did use Feta instead of Blue cheese since we’re not really fans. We also added avocado slices and used honey roasted pecans and the real bacon pieces that you can get at Costco (I just crisp them up in a frying pan over medium-high heat for a few minutes). Thank you so much for such a delicious dinner! 🙂
I just made this salad for lunch, devoured it, and pronounce it DELICIOUS! The dressing is especially tasty, simple to whisk up and will serve me well on other salads that I make.
Thank you!