Classic Blue Cheese and Bacon Wedge Salad
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This Classic Blue Cheese and Bacon Wedge Salad Recipe is fully loaded with crumbled bacon, diced tomatoes, and red onions, drizzled with a delicious homemade blue cheese dressing with buttermilk, and garnished with crispy fried shallots.
Why you’ll love this Wedge Salad Blue Cheese recipe!
Ingredient notes
- Shallots | When cooked, shallots have a mild, slightly sweet flavor and make a delicious accompaniment to salads and other dishes.
- Oil | I like to use vegetable oil to get crispy fried shallots, but feel free to use your preferred frying oil.
- Lettuce | A full head of iceberg lettuce makes about four salads. Choose a head that is large and firm, without any noticeable dark spots.
- Tomatoes | Add juicy and sweet diced grape tomatoes for a pop of color and flavor.
- Red onion | Sprinkle the wedge with finely diced red onion for subtle bitter notes.
- Bacon crumbles | Fried and crumbled slices of crispy bacon are always delicious with blue cheese dressing.
- Dressing | My Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing with buttermilk is delicious on this salad! It’s made with simple ingredients, like sour cream, black pepper, garlic powder, and– of course– blue cheese.
- Balsamic Vinegar| Put this recipe over the top with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. You may also omit this element if preferred.
- Blue Cheese | If you’re a fan of blue cheese, don’t forget to complete the salad with extra blue cheese crumbles!
How to make a Wedge Salad
This perfect salad recipe leaves no room for excuses– It’s delicious, packed with fresh ingredients, simple to make, and customizable to your taste!
STEP 1 | Prep and fry shallots
Start this recipe by slicing the shallots crosswise into thin rings or lengthwise into thin strips. Next, add the shallots and vegetable oil to a skillet over medium heat, using a spatula to stir the shallots until the slices are separated.
Cook and stir for about 5 minutes until the shallots are tender. Then, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking and stirring for a couple more minutes until the shallots are golden brown.
With a slotted spoon, move the shallots to a paper towel-lined plate to cool completely.
STEP 2 | Prep the lettuce
This recipe isn’t quite the same without adequately preparing the iceberg lettuce. First, remove any outermost leaves that appear wilted.
Give the lettuce head a quick rinse under cold water and dry it off with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel.
STEP 3 | Slice wedges
Next, grab a cutting board and slice the head in half from top to bottom through the core. Then, place each half cut side down and cut it in half again through the core.
Now, you have four iceberg wedges. Slice off a thin section of core stem end and place the wedges on individual plates, or chill until ready to use.
STEP 4 | Add dressing and toppings
Next, carefully drizzle each wedge with at least two tablespoons of the creamy blue cheese dressing and evenly sprinkle the fresh tomatoes, red onion, and bacon on top.
If desired, drizzle a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar on top.
STEP 5 | Garnish and serve!
Finally, garnish each salad with a mound of crispy fried shallots and add extra blue cheese crumbles, if desired. Then, serve fresh and enjoy!
tips
- To fry shallots, always start in a cold pan with vegetable oil. This helps ensure the shallots get crisp and golden brown without burning.
- Keep a close eye on the shallots because they can quickly burn!
- For the best results, remove any excess water from the head of lettuce with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel.
Try more of my restaurant-inspired salad recipes! Transport to a tropical cafe by the beach with my Grilled Chicken Salad with Mango Dressing or Citrus Grilled Shrimp Salad. And if you’re a fan of the restaurant BRAVO, you’ll fall in love with this Copycat Grilled Salmon Salad, complete with shoestring potato sticks!
Variations and substitutions
- Blue Cheese Varieties. Choose the blue cheese flavor profile that best fits your taste for this dressing. If you like the stronger, more intense blues, try Stilton blue cheese. For a milder flavor, use Danish Blue or Gorgonzola.
- Not a Blue Cheese Fan? No Problem! Try another dressing, like parmesan dressing, ranch, or my creamy Basil Buttermilk Dressing.
- Salad Greens and Lettuce Varieties. A wedge salad is the perfect salad to make with iceberg lettuce. However, if you don’t love iceberg lettuce, try this recipe with a head of romaine instead. You won’t get the same crispiness of a traditional wedge salad, but you will still have the delicious crumbled bacon and blue cheese combo.
- More Delicious Toppings. Add more of your favorite salad toppings, like crisp croutons, sliced mushrooms, cucumbers, grated parmesan cheese, and fresh broccoli.
- This recipe calls for grape tomatoes, but cherry tomatoes will do the trick!
- Add an extra step and make homemade balsamic reduction for a ticker, sweeter drizzle instead of pure balsamic vinegar.
Storage tips
- Although best enjoyed freshly made, you can keep leftover wedge salad in an airtight container to save for later. If the salad is already topped with the dressing and balsamic when stored, the ingredients will wilt within 24 hours.
- If you want to make this salad in advance, it’s best to store the prepped ingredients in separate containers, then toss them all together just before serving, keeping them fresh and crisp.
Frequently asked questions
Unlike chopped salads, where a lot of the work has been done for you already, you’ll need to grab a knife and fork to tackle a wedge.
The best way is to start by cutting the wedge down the middle, so you have two large pieces on your plate. From there, cut bite-size pieces of crunchy iceberg lettuce as you go, drag them through the blue cheese dressing and toppings, and savor the flavor with every forkful!
The key to crisp lettuce is the right amount of airflow and moisture. So, restaurants store their lettuce in specialized bins for air circulation. You can get the same results at home by using a bin designed to hold the lettuce and prolong freshness.
Most wedge salads on restaurant menus cost more than a typical salad. This is because blue cheese, bacon, and other key ingredients are more expensive than others used for garden or Caesar salads. Luckily, this homemade wedge salad is made affordably in your own kitchen!
Crumbling blue cheese is pretty simple, but it can be a little messy. You can break up the wedge into small pieces and continue crumbling it with your fingers, then clean up the mess afterward. Or you can place the cheese in a plastic bag and crush it by pressing with your fingers outside the bag for minimal cleanup!
Looking for more Dressings from Scratch?
A dressing made with fresh ingredients takes any simple salad to the next level, and making salad dressing is easier than you think!
So, before you grab another bottle from the grocery store, try more of my homemade dressing recipes and experience the fresh flavor without loads of preservatives and artificial ingredients:
Serving suggestions
This classic steakhouse salad pairs best with tender and juicy steak, of course! Try my Grilled Sirloin Steak basted with a sweet, tangy Asian barbecue sauce or simply seasoned New York Strip.
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Wedge Salad with Crispy Fried Shallots
Ingredients
- 2 shallots sliced thin
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 head iceberg lettuce
- 1 cup grape tomatoes diced
- ½ cup finely diced red onion
- 6 slices bacon fried and crumbled
- ½ cup blue cheese dressing see notes
- 4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar optional
- blue cheese crumbles optional4
Instructions
- Slice the shallots either crosswise into thin rings or lengthwise into thin strips. Add the shallots and vegetable oil to a skillet and place over medium heat. Use a spatula to stir the shallots until the slices are separated. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes until tender.
- Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking and stirring a couple more minutes, until the shallots are golden brown. Watch carefully and do not burn! Remove the shallots with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate and cool completely.
- Rinse the head of lettuce and remove the outermost leaves. Cut the lettuce in half through the core, then cut each half into two wedges. Trim the bottom core and place each wedge on a plate.
- Drizzle each wedge with 2 tablespoons (or more) of the blue cheese dressing. Evenly sprinkle the diced tomatoes, red onion, and bacon over the dressing. If desired, drizzle 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar over top.
- Garnish each salad with a mound of crispy fried shallots. Add extra blue cheese crumbles, if desired.
Notes
- To fry shallots, always start in a cold pan with vegetable oil. This helps ensure the shallots get crisp and golden brown without burning.
- Keep a close eye on the shallots because they can quickly burn!
- For the best results, remove any excess water from the head of lettuce with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel.
Nutrition
Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Beyond the recipe: Blue Cheese and Bacon Steakhouse Salad
I ate my first wedge salad at a dinner I co-hosted for out-of-town clients a few years ago at Knoxville’s most popular upscale restaurant of the time.
What I remember most about the salad was the perfect combination of gorgonzola, Benton’s bacon, tomato, tangy buttermilk dressing, and balsamic vinegar on a crisp lettuce wedge–This wasn’t your classic salad recipe!
First– I’ve never been a big fan of blue cheese.
Second– I thought the only tasty way to eat an iceberg lettuce salad was with fresh tomatoes, garden cucumbers, and Ranch dressing.
Third– I was very, very wrong. Wedge salads are seriously good!
Thankfully, the waiter that evening insisted the wedge was definitely the best choice for our table, and so my love for the classic wedge and a good blue cheese dressing was born right then and there.
About Sheila Thigpen
Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, Food Writer
Sheila Thigpen is the publisher of Life, Love, and Good Food — a Southern food blog — and the author of Easy Chicken Cookbook and The 5-Ingredient Fresh and Easy Cookbook. After 20+ years in the publishing industry, she retired in 2018 to focus on her own creative endeavors full time. She and her husband live near the beautiful Smoky Mountains and have a precious little granddaughter who has stolen their hearts. As an influencer, Sheila has collaborated with brands like Creamette, Kroger, HERSHEY’S, Hamilton Beach, Garafalo Pasta, OXO, Smithfield, Valley Fig Growers, and more.
