• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Wine Lover's Kitchen
  • About
  • Summer
  • Recipes
  • Wine
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
  • Summer
  • Recipes
  • Wine
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About
    • Summer
    • Recipes
    • Wine
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » Salads

    Walper Spinach Salad With Creamy Dressing

    Published: May 19, 2022 by Carolyn Hetke · This post may contain affiliate links,

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This Spinach Salad with Creamy Dressing was the signature salad of the Walper Hotel in its hay day for a reason!

    Close up of baby spinach and crispy bacon bits tossed in a creamy dressing.
    Jump to:
    • What Makes This Recipe Special?
    • Ingredients & Substitutions
    • Variations
    • Can I Make This Ahead?
    • What to Serve With It?
    • Storage
    • Walper Spinach Salad With Creamy Dressing

    What Makes This Recipe Special?

    I am a firm believer that signature recipes of successful restaurants are a surefire hit with your diners. After all, they have stood the test of time. And in this case - it is dead simple to boot!

    If you buy pre-washed baby spinach you can save yourself some prep time. Cooking the bacon is the longest part of the preparation and if you are organized enough you may make extra one day while making breakfast!

    Ingredients & Substitutions

    Spinach

    • Spinach is recommended. You need a sturdy green since the dressing is fairly heavy. You might try kale as a substitute but I have not tried this.

    Heavy Cream

    • It is delicious with heavy cream (35%) but if you want to lighten it you can substitute sour cream and thin it slightly with lighter cream.

    Sugar

    • I recently substituted Monk Sugar with Erythritol for the regular white sugar to accommodate a Keto dieter. I only use half the amount of Monk Sugar and when I taste-tested the dressing I found it to be fine. If you do substitute another sweetener start with a small amount and test the taste until you are satisfied. Other sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup may be used but they will affect the taste (maybe in a good way!). Again, start with just a fraction of the quantity and adjust to suit your taste.

    Bacon

    • Because there are so few ingredients in the salad, the bacon has a huge impact on the taste of the salad so please don't leave it out! Substitute? Nothing really compares to bacon but you could try crisping and crumbling Prosciutto. I like this addition in other salads.

    Variations

    • The addition of toasted pecans, walnuts or almonds would be a nice variation for this salad.
    • The dressing would also be great on a cucumber salad or Waldorf salad.

    Can I Make This Ahead?

    You could definitely make the bacon ahead and crumble it while it's hot. Just heat gently to take the chill off of it before adding it to the salad. You can also prepare the dressing a few days ahead. And you can prepare your spinach a day or so ahead. Just don't assemble the salad until ready to serve.

    Did I mention this was easy?

    What to Serve With It?

    The recipe was developed by a member of the family who owns Broil King Barbeques. They publish it along with steak and other grilling recipes!

    • Grilled steak with peppercorn sauce, cut open to show medium doneness
      Steak with Peppercorn Sauce
    • Charred, seasoned corn ribs dripping with garlic butter on a platter with Sriracha Dipping Sauce.
      BBQ Corn Ribs (Oven and Air Fryer Instructions Included)
    • Juicy burgers filled with melted cheese, caramelized onion and bacon, on a bun on a summery plate with dill pickle slices.
      Beer Can Stuffed Burgers
    • Golden, crispy chicken cutlets in Honey Mustard crumb coating.
      Air Fryer Honey Mustard Chicken Cutlets (Skillet Too)

    Storage

    After the salad is dressed it won't keep well. You might get away with leftovers the next day but the salad will get soggy quickly.

    You can store the ingredients prepped quite easily. The dressing, or any leftover dressing, will keep for a week in the fridge.

    Cooked bacon can be stored for a few days at least. Prepped spinach will keep up to a week as well (as long as it is thoroughly dry). If you store the ingredients separately you can dress the amount of salad you want at any given time and have another salad ready to go in literally a minute or two the next day!

    Can I Use 10% Cream

    10% or lighter cream does not thicken enough with vinegar to be palatable. Substitute sour cream or 18% cream if you don't want to use 35%.

    Is This Salad Low Carb or Keto?

    Using 35% cream in the dressing, a serving comes to approximately 6 net carbs (based on the nutrition calculator used here). This could fit into a low carb or Keto diet with some meal planning. Replacing the sugar with a sugar substitute will lower the carb count. See the recipe notes for substitution suggestions.

    What is the Walper Hotel?

    The Walper Hotel is a hotel in Kitchener, Ontario built in 1893 and still going strong! The Walper has hosted countless weddings, trade shows and functions and entertained celebrities such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Duke Ellington. The recipe was developed for The Walper Terrace Hotel and is now published as part of the Broil King history since it was a member of their family who developed the recipe for The Walper.

    Baby spinach and crispy bacon bits tossed in a creamy dressing.

    Walper Spinach Salad With Creamy Dressing

    This simple salad comes together in less than 30 minutes. Spinach and bacon in a creamy, flavourful dressing makes for a delicious salad. You can prep the ingredients well ahead and just combine when ready to serve!
    Author: Carolyn Hetke

    If you tried this, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know it went in the 📝 comments below!

    5 from 1 vote
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    SaveSaved!
    Print Pin Facebook Text
    Course: Salad
    Cuisine: Canadian
    Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time: 15 minutes mins
    Total Time: 25 minutes mins
    Servings: 6 servings

    Ingredients

    • 1 bunch fresh baby spinach about 8 cups See Notes
    • ¼ lb bacon 100 grams
    • ½ cup heavy cream (18% or 35%) 142mL
    • 1 ½ tablespoon white vinegar 25 mL
    • 1 teaspoon grated onion 15 mL
    • pinch dry mustard
    • 2 tablespoon sugar 45 mL (See Notes)
    • ½ teaspoon sea salt 7 mL
    • ¼ teaspoon pepper 3 mL

    Instructions

    • Wash spinach well in cold water. Spin dry and remove tough stems. Tear larger pieces of spinach if necessary.
    • Fry bacon in a large skillet over medium high heat until crisp. Drain on a paper towel. Crumble or chop roughly when cool.
    • Mix all dressing ingredients together in a jar and shake well.
    • Toss spinach and bacon with dressing just before serving.
    • Spinach keeps well refrigerated in plastic with some paper towel to absorb excess moisture for a week. Store bacon bits and dressing separately up to one week as well. Gently heat bacon just enough to take the chill off of it when ready to serve. Mix desired quantity just before serving.

    Notes

    Nutrition is based on 35% cream.
    This dressing is fairly heavy so you need sturdy greens. Do not substitute mescun or other baby greens. You might try it with kale or a combination of spinach and kale.
    If using sugar substitutes such as honey or maple syrup it will change the flavour. Start with a small amount and adjust to suit your taste.
    If using a sugar substitute such as Monk Fruit Sugar or Stevia start with a very small amount. They are much sweeter than regular sugar so start with a small amount and adjust to suit.  

    Nutrition

    Calories: 176kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 369mg | Potassium: 374mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 5613IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @thewineloverski or tag #thewineloverski!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Alex

      September 19, 2022 at 1:58 pm

      I used to work at the Walper in the banquets department and I loved this salad!! So excited to find this recipe - thank you!

      Reply
      • thewineloverskitchen

        September 25, 2022 at 1:30 pm

        Happy you like it! Simple but good!

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi! I am Carolyn - the Wine Lover in the Wine Lover's Kitchen! I absolutely love having friends and family around my table with great food and wine to enjoy. If you want great recipes and wine recommendations you have come to the right place!

    Learn more about me →

    Summer Recipes

    • Potato salad in a bowl.
      Potato Salad With Celery and Cucumber
    • Beet, heirloom tomato and burrata wedges on a plate.
      Viking Cruise Recipe: Beet and Burrata Salad
    • A bowl of cold, creamy, almond soup with toasted almond and green grape garnish.
      Chilled Spanish Garlic Soup (Sopa de Ajo)
    • A bowl of cold cherry soup.
      Cherry Soup with Cinnamon Croutons

    Popular Recipes

    • Close up of creamy Cafe de Paris sauce.
      Café de Paris Sauce - The Original 'Secret Sauce'
    • Puffy, crispy flour tortilla flavoured with olive oil and chili, lime seasoning.
      Air Fryer Tortillas
    • Golden brown spinach feta scones on a plate.
      Savoury Spinach and Feta Scones
    • Piece of Italian crumb cake with pistachio cream filling, topped with crushed pistachios and icing sugar.
      Pistachio Cream Crumb Cake
    • Medium rare beef tenderloin sliced on a platter.
      Air Fryer Beef Tenderloin
    • Baked sweetened condensed milk buns piled in a basket.
      Bread Machine Sweetened Condensed Milk Dinner Rolls

    Footer

    ↑ Back to top

    Home

    Recipes Wine

    About

    • Privacy Policy & Disclaimer
    • Accessibility Policy
    • About

    Newsletter

    Tired of wandering around looking at wine labels? Get recipes and my Best Buy wine picks every two weeks!

    • Sign Up!

    Contact

    • Contact

    Follow me on:

    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • X -Former Twitter

    Copyright © 2025 The Wine Lover's Kitchen

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.