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Make this classic wedge salad with blue cheese and bacon at home in minutes!

This recipe has everything you love in every bite: crisp lettuce, salty bacon crumbles, sweet juicy tomatoes, and a chunky blue cheese dressing!

What is a Wedge Salad?

A wedge salad is a classic American steakhouse salad made with lettuce, tomato, bacon, and blue cheese dressing. While it’s quite simple, it looks unique since you cut the head of lettuce in quarters and serve the rest of the ingredients over each “wedge”.

Instead of the classic salad with separated lettuce leaves you eat from a bowl, you need a fork and a knife to cut the lettuce wedge into pieces and enjoy its deliciousness in every bite.

What You Need

Lettuce is the base of this amazing Wedge Salad topped with bacon, tomato, and onion and drizzled with blue cheese dressing. Out.of.this.world! You'll find the ingredient measurements in the recipe card at the end of the post, but first, check what you need:

Iceberg lettuce: its tight and compact leaves are perfect for turning the lettuce head into wedges.
Chunky blue cheese dressing: it’s not wedge salad without it! Use store-bought or homemade dressing.
Cherry tomatoes: fresh, juicy, and delicious!
Bacon: yes, you want to find crispy bacon bits in every bite!
Red onion: my favorite for this salad. Shallots also work.
Ground black pepper: the final touch. Add it to taste.

How to Make Wedge Salad

Making this spectacular Wedge Salad is easier than it looks! Just cut the lettuce, add the toppings, and enjoy it! Check the steps:

Cut the lettuce
You’ll turn a head of lettuce into “wedges” by cutting 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 or make the blue cheese dressing, here is when you make it.
Cook the bacon
Now, you’ll cook the bacon in the microwave and then cut it into bits.
Assemble
Time to make this wedge salad happen! You’ll 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.

How to Wash Iceberg Lettuce for 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.

How to Cut Iceberg Lettuce into Wedges

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.

How to Eat a Wedge Salad

Yes, I know. This salad is super simple to make, but once it’s right in front of you for the first time, it can be intimidating! “Eat me without making a mess!”, says the salad, challenging you! Don’t worry. A knife and a fork are enough to win the duel!

Use the fork to poke the center of the salad and hold the lettuce. Cut a bite-size piece using the knife, starting from the tip closer 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.

More Toppings & Dressing for Wedge Salad

To customize this wedge salad to your taste and have a healthy side to serve quick and easy any given day, swaps and add-ins are more than allowed!

Toppings
While toppings are what make this salad more than a lettuce head, you don’t want to overcrowd it! Add flavorful and small-size toppings like chopped chives, parsley, corn, shredded cheese, chopped bell pepper, shredded carrots, cubed avocado, seeds, lentils, or croutons.

Dressings
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. Thick and delicious, they make any salad a tastier one!

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.

Craving chicken? Pair the salad with my delicious Lemon Garlic Chicken or Baked Chicken Pieces. Oh, wait! My Tortellini Soup is another great side you need to try. You’ll love it!

Classic Wedge Salad (Beginner Friendly)

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 5

Total Time: 15

Make this classic wedge salad with blue cheese and bacon at home in minutes!

5 from 8 votes

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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.