What happens when you put a twist on the classic wedge salad? You get a crisp slice of chilled iceberg lettuce covered in creamy and indulgent blue cheese dressing, and piled high with crumbled bacon, crunchy croutons, and fresh cherry tomatoes — in other words, the best wedge salad you’ve ever tasted.
The key to an amazing wedge salad is chilling the iceberg lettuce in the freezer until the very last moment — not to the point where it’s frozen, just so that it’s at maximum freshness and crispness to balance out the richness of that blue cheese and bacon. But every wedge salad recipe will tell you that — we’re talking about an even more innovative twist.
Usually when you make a wedge salad, you cut the head of iceberg lettuce into quarters and put the other ingredients on top. But anyone who has actually tried to eat one knows that it takes quite a bit of hacking away to cut that wedge into manageable bites — and has probably wondered whether the wedge salad is simply the invention of some lazy chef.
Which is why this recipe reinvents the wedge salad — with just one little spin on how you cut the lettuce. We slice the head into discs (rather than triangular wedges). The presentation is just as eye-catching, but your toppings won’t go sliding off the plate, and the salad will much more pleasant to eat.
This easy recipe has all of the elements of the ultimate wedge salad, but we’ve also seen the innovative people of the internet putting all kinds of other non-traditional goodies on their wedge salads: cranberries, avocado, sliced hard boiled eggs, apple, leftover rotisserie chicken, red onions, and nuts.
Any way you slice it, this is a killer wedge salad. So go wild, and serve yours as a fresh steakhouse-inspired side dish or a healthy lunch.
Wedge Salad
Serves 4
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 10 Minutes
Ingredients
- 1 head iceburg lettuce, cut into discs
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup blue cheese crumbles, divided
- 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 3 – 4 slices cooked bacon, chopped
- cherry tomatoes (red, yellow, or a mix of both)
- croutons
- chives, chopped
Directions
- Remove the outer leaves from the head of lettuce and cut it into disc-shaped slices.
- Rinse each slice gently under cold water and place them on a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Allow any excess water to drain, then place the lettuce slices in the freezer to get them extra cold and crispy while you prepare the dressing.
- In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, blue cheese crumbles, and white wine vinegar, and whisk until they’re well combined.
- Place a lettuce slice on a plate and spoon the dressing over the top. Top it with crumbled bacon, grape tomatoes, and croutons, and the remaining blue cheese. Garnish the wedge salad with chopped chives.
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