Pinch and Swirl

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Romaine Wedge Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese

Filed Under: Fall & Winter, Salad, Spring & Summer

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Romaine Wedge Salad served on a gray platter

Why should Iceberg Wedge Salad get all of the wedge salad fun?

When I saw iceberg lettuce on our list of the week’s CSA share, I decided to make wedge salads. But when we picked up the share it was a big, beautiful head of romaine instead and I thought, “Why not?”

I admit that wedge salads take some effort to eat, more of a knife and fork situation than your typical salad. But the crunch, the blue cheese, the bacon (or pork belly!) – trust me, it’s worth the effort. 

The lettuce swap is one twist in this wedge salad, the croutons are another. We happened to have a loaf of sourdough bread, but I couldn’t bear to turn on the oven (It’s still really hot here!) So I decided to pan fry fresh bread cubes in butter. They turned out so well that I’ll be making them often – crispy on the outside, soft in the middle.

This salad is hearty enough to make a light meal on its own, but we often serve it along with my favorite turkey meatloaf.

Print Recipe

Romain Wedge Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese

You'll have dressing left over - use it for other salads or as a raw vegetable dip.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time5 mins
Total Time15 mins
Course: Salad
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 recipe Homemade Ranch Dressing
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 slices sourdough bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 4 slices thick bacon cut crosswise into thin strips
  • 1 large head romaine lettuce quartered lengthwise into wedges
  • 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese
  • finely chopped chives optional

Instructions

  • Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sourdough cubes; cook and stir until cubes are lightly browned on all sides. Remove from skillet and reserve.
  • Add bacon to same skillet; cook and stir until bacon is crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towel to drain.
  • Carefully rinse and dry romaine wedges, doing your best to keep them intact.
  • Arrange romaine wedges on a platter. Drizzle desired amount of dressing on salad and sprinkle with remaining ingredients. Serve.
Tried this recipe?I'd love to see it! Tag me on Instagram at @pinchandswirl or leave me a comment and rating below.

 

About Marissa

The best food happens at home. I love delicious food prepared simply with fresh ingredients and that’s just what you’ll find here! You can count on me for well tested, easy, mouthwatering recipes designed for home cooks.

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Comments

  6. Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says

    Simple and delicious. Here I sit with wool pants, a heavy sweater AND shoes but I would devour this salad in a minute!

    Reply

  12. KevinIsCooking says

    Well hello there! I could grind on this no problem and mainly because you were brilliant enough to ditch the tasteless Iceberg lettuce. To me it’s just water…
    Ranch and bleu cheese crumbles sound great and how could they not be married with bacon. Yum on all counts! The micro chives all perfect and so beautiful on this.
    We do lots of grilling here in the heat and salads are always welcomed. 🙂

    Reply

  13. Beeta Hashempour says

    This wedge salad looks perfect, Marissa! I love both ideas of swapping the iceberg for romaine (I always buy romaine so that works out perfectly for me) and the idea of pan frying the croutons. I can imagine those croutons to just be as perfect as you described with the crusty exterior and chewy interior. Beautiful and delicious-looking salad, Marissa!

    Reply

    • Marissa says

      Thank you, Beeta. The pan-fried croutons really are a keeper. And it’s much more convenient for me as I don’t tend to keep traditional croutons on hand.

      Reply

  14. Dorothy Dunton says

    Hi Marissa! What perfect timing! I picked up two really nice heads of organic Romaine yesterday and a piece of Amish bleu and I always have good thick bacon on hand! It is definitely salad weather here. I started pan frying croutons for the very same reason as you.

    Reply

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