Classic Wedge Salad - melissassouthernstylekitchen.com (2024)

This Classic Wedge Salad recipe is made with crisp iceberg lettuce wedges, drizzled with homemade blue cheese dressing, bacon crumbles, cherry tomatoes and red onion. It’s not only delicious, but it has an appealing presentation to boot. It’s easy to assemble and serves as a vibrant and tasty accompaniment to countless entrees.

Easy Wedge Salad Recipe

What is a wedge salad? This salad is the type of side dish you may have enjoyed at some point in a steakhouse. It’s a delicious alternative to making a mixed greens salad and the toppings aren’t complicated. You can also scale the amount of wedge salads to the size of the gathering with ease. Iceberg lettuce seems to have become lost in an abundance of gourmet and fancy greens that are now available in markets. While I adore all of those greens, and include them regularly in our diet, wedge salads must be made with the iconic iceberg lettuce we all know from childhood. Mainly, because it’s consistent in texture and it has the unique ability to hold together when topped with a generous drizzle of creamy blue cheese dressing. How to make a quick Wedge Salad: (Scroll down for full printable recipe.)

• Bleu Cheese Dressing – This should be made first and chilled to allow the flavors to marry.
• Lettuce – Iceberg lettuce fully cleaned and dried. Use a sharp knife to slice into wedges.
• Toppings – Cooked and crumbled bacon, cherry tomatoes, red onion and bleu cheese crumbled over the top of each wedge after drizzling with dressing.

How to Make the Best Classic Wedge Salad Recipe

• Kitchen tools you’ll need: Sharp knife and cutting board, medium bowl, whisk, lemon juicer, measuring cups and spoons.
• What lettuce do you use for wedge salad? A wedge of Iceberg lettuce is classic. Choose large firm, heads of lettuce. Clean thoroughly and dry to remove all excess water. Remove any wilted or browned outer leaves to clean the inner leaves then gently rinse and pat dry with a paper towel.
• How do you cut a wedge salad? Depending on the size of the head of lettuce, use a sharp knife to cut through the middle from top to bottom then into 4 or 6 wedges. It’s also important to leave the core intact, so the lettuce wedge will hold together.
• I typically season the iceberg lettuce lightly with salt and black pepper when assembling, but you shouldn’t do this in advance. Alternatively, you could skip the seasoning and allow each person to season their own wedge salad.
• Is it bleu cheese or blue cheese? Fancy imported brands tend to call themselves bleu cheese while creamy domestic Maytag refers to its product as blue cheese. This is one of those home cooked kitchen moments that there’s no need to stumble as they’re all delicious, whatever they’re called.
• Blue cheese varies in levels of flavor. For milder blue cheese crumbles choose Danish Blue or Gorgonzola cheese. For a medium level of flavor use American made Maytag Blue for the dressing.
• Please note that Roquefort and Stilton will result in a stronger flavor. Choose your favorite, but as always, start with a quality blue cheese. You may enjoy this article on Delishably discussing how to select the best blue cheese.
• Make the blue cheese dressing one day in advance to give the flavors time to marry.
• You can also drizzle this wedge salad with homemade buttermilk herb Ranch dressing or even a Caesar dressing, if desired.
• To expedite assembly, slice the cherry tomatoes and red onion and place into separate Ziploc bags and chill. You can also cook the bacon in advance. Doing so, will expedite the process of assembling the salads just before serving.
• Wedge Salads are best made and eaten fresh.

Southern Side Dishes to Serve with Wedge Salad

While wedge salads go with a variety of entrees, I wanted to give you just a few ideas for make-ahead menu planning:

• Tender and flavorful Teriyaki Steak Bites.
• Puff pastry wrapped Beef Wellington.
• Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin is stuffed with a flavorful creamed spinach filling.
• Mini Barbecue Cheddar Meatloaves can be made for supper any day of the week.
• Bacon Wrapped Top Sirloin Medallions are a steakhouse favorite you can make at home.
• Oven BBQ Chicken Breasts are juicy and tender.
• Chicken and Broccoli Stuffed Shells with Alfredo Sauce can be assembled in advance and baked when you’re ready.

Thanks for visiting come back soon!

Disclosure ~ If a purchase is made using one of the affiliate links on this website we may earn a small commission atno additional cost to you. Thank you!

Helpful Kitchen Items:

• Mixing Bowls
• Knife and Chopping Board
• Measuring Set
• Colander