This wedge salad has everything you love in every bite: crisp lettuce, salty bacon crumbles, sweet, juicy tomatoes, and a chunky blue cheese dressing!
Easy Wedge Salad Recipe
My kids have always been a little picky about salads, so finding fun ways to serve them has been my trick to make them more appealing. That’s how I started creating a Cobb salad bar, and one day, I decided to make a wedge salad at home as a side for grilled chicken. They loved it! So here, my friends, it’s that tasty recipe.
Ingredients
Iceberg lettuce has tight, compact leaves that make it the perfect base for this salad. Then, you’ll top it with blue cheese dressing, cherry tomatoes, bacon bits, red onion (or shallots), and ground black pepper.
How to Make Wedge Salad
- Cut the lettuce.
To turn a head of lettuce into "wedges", cut it in half and then again in half or thirds. You may get 4 or 6 wedges, depending on the size of the lettuce. - Make the dressing.
If you didn't purchase it or make it, follow this blue cheese dressing recipe. - Cook the bacon.
Cook it in the microwave and then cut it into bits. - Assemble the salad.
Place the wedges on plates and then add the toppings: blue cheese dressing, bacon bits, cherry tomatoes, and red onion. You can grind black pepper over the top to taste.
Laura’s Tips for The Best Wedge Salad
You’ll want to wash the iceberg lettuce whole before slicing it into quarters. Once you give it a quick wash, dry it with a kitchen towel. Then, you cut the base off and slice the iceberg into quarters.
Remove the outer leaves that are usually dirty or wilted, and rinse the head of lettuce. Cut it in half. Then, cut it in half again or into thirds if the lettuce head is big. You’ll get 4 or 6 lettuce wedges for the salad.
While toppings are what make this salad more than a lettuce head, you don’t want to overcrowd it! Add flavorful and small-sized toppings like chopped chives, parsley, corn, shredded cheese, chopped bell pepper, shredded carrots, cubed avocado, seeds, lentils, or croutons.
Yes! If blue cheese is not your cup of tea, you ran out of it, or just want to give this salad a twist, other great dressings to serve with wedge salad are classic Ranch dressing, avocado lime Ranch dressing, creamy cilantro lime sauce, or white wine vinaigrette.
Eating this salad for the first time can be intimidating. Use the fork to poke the center of the salad and hold the lettuce. Cut a bite-sized piece with the knife, starting at the tip closest to you. Take out the fork, use it to add toppings and dressing to that bite, and enjoy! If you don’t want the salad to fall apart too soon, cut each bite at a time.
What to Serve with Wedge Salad
This delicious salad pairs great with everything! To keep that steakhouse vibe, you can serve it with flank steak, beef kabobs, chicken kabobs, a simple baked salmon, or these kid-friendly Crispy Salmon Nuggets.
Classic Wedge Salad (Beginner Friendly)
Ingredients
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce
- ½ cup chunky blue cheese dressing
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 6 slices bacon, cooked crispy & crumbled
- ½ small red onion, ½ cup, thinly sliced
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Prep:
- Cut off the base of the iceberg lettuce, cut it in half, and once again in half or third to yield wedge-shaped pieces. Larger iceberg lettuces will yield 6 wedges, smaller heads will yield 4.
- Make the blue cheese dressing, if you haven’t made it already or purchased it, and refrigerate it until ready to serve.
- Cook the bacon slices in the microwave. Let them cool down and chop them on a cutting board into bits.
Assemble:
- Plate all the wedges on a platter or on individual plates.
- Spoon about 2 tablespoons of blue cheese dressing over each wedge. Sprinkle the bacon crumbles on top, and distribute the cherry tomatoes and red onion slices (if using). Grind black pepper over the top, to taste.
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Janie says
Love a good salad thats easy to make. This one was really delicious with the bacon and the dressing. I’ll be making this more often to bring for lunch at work.
kushi says
This salad looks interesting and delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Donalyn says
This salad made a wonderful lunch for us the other day. It is everything you want in a wedge salad and very easy to pull together – yum!
Andrea says
This wedge salad looks amazing and is bringing back lots of good memories of going out with friends. Now I can share this easy and delicious salad with my family.
Sisley says
This was a great midweek dinner and came together really fast. We will definitely be having it again.