We recently met up with some friends at one of our favorite local restaurants, Joe’s Farm Grill. It has lots of outdoor seating (with heaters) and it was so nice to sit out under the canopy of trees and twinkle lights and catch up with our friends. This Wedge Style BLT Salad was inspired by the one I ordered at Joe’s for it converted me to a wedge salad lover forever!
It was the blue cheese that always scared me off. I thought I didn’t like it. Turns out turning 40 years old can really open up your palate because I’m finding that I’m so much more open to trying new foods than I used to be! I think the combination of tangy cheese, creamy dressing, salty bacon, garlic croutons, and sweet tomatoes won me over.
I used halved baby romaine lettuce heads instead of the traditional iceberg because I find that it has a bit more flavor. The layers of concentric leaves are so pretty! I had some Sungold tomatoes from my garden that were just ripe. We’ve had just enough warm days this winter, and my beloved tomato plant is still hanging on!
For this Wedge Style BLT salad, you’ll also need to cook up some nice crisp bacon to crumble. Fresh lemon juice brightens up the flavor beautifully, and crushed croutons add the perfect buttery crunch. You can even make your own – we love these Rustic Buttery Garlic Croutons.
A tip about the croutons: I love crushing them up over my salads! They stick to the dressing better, and you don’t have to worry about them bouncing off the tines of your fork when jabbing it into the salad. They tend to soak up the dressing more readily and all the flavors blend together so nicely when they take a bit of a beating first. Try it!
For the blue cheese dressing, I found a really good recipe from Inspired Taste that had really great reviews. The only changes I made were to double the fresh lemon juice, and I added some dried dill weed that I had leftover from my summer garden. It really was outstanding and so easy to make!
This salad made me so happy! After I shot these pictures, I couldn’t wait to sit down and dig in. It was so fresh and crisp, and just bursting with flavor. I think it would look so lovely to have a whole platter of these beautiful wedges all dressed up for a nice dinner with friends. If you were really feeling fancy, you could even lightly grill the romaine lettuce before topping. This adds a really subtle smokiness to all the other flavors going on.
To make this Wedge Style BLT Salad your own, you could add sliced avocado, grilled chicken, or crispy onion straws… okay, next time I’m definitely doing all that! Enjoy, friends!
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Wedge Style BLT Salad
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 salads 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Wedge Style BLT Salad makes me so happy! I think the combination of tangy cheese, creamy dressing, and salty bacon won me over.
Ingredients
For the Blue Cheese Dressing
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 3 ounces crumbled blue cheese
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 4 turns of the pepper mill
To Assemble
- 2 heads baby romaine lettuce
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup crushed croutons
- Optional: lemon wedges, blue cheese crumbles, salt, and pepper
Instructions
For the Blue Cheese Dressing
- In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, crumbled blue cheese, parsley, dill weed, lemon juice, and pepper. Stir together, pressing the blue cheese against the side of the bowl to release flavor into the dressing. Taste, and season as needed.
To Assemble
- Wash, dry, and drain lettuce heads. Slice lengthwise in half.
- Top each half with blue cheese dressing, tomatoes, bacon, and croutons.
- If desired, add additional blue cheese crumbles, salt and pepper, and a squeeze of fresh lemon over the top.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 357
- Sugar: 5.5g
- Sodium: 665mg
- Fat: 26g
- Saturated Fat: 9.1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15.3g
- Trans Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 7.4g
- Protein: 14g
- Cholesterol: 42mg
Shirley says
I have been wanting a salad for a long time but I’m tired of the same ole same ole. When I saw this I felt like I drooled just a tad and omg I can’t wait to get to the store because this looks awesome! I love romaine and all the ingredients, including the blue cheese. I usually don’t do salads in the fall or winter months because they just don’t appeal to me but this has me going!