An Awesome Wedge Salad Recipe with a Twist

Wedge salads are wonderful, especially if you love blue cheese and bacon.  Typically, a wedge salad is served as a wedge of iceberg lettuce, but we are taking a different approach with this recipe!  For this particular wedge salad, we’re going to use a “wedge” or romaine lettuce, and grill it first.

This wedge salad is perfect for two people, and shares only one head of romaine lettuce.  If you want to make it into a meal with added protein, I suggest adding grilled chicken or steak.  Fish typically cannot stand up to the powerful flavor of blue cheese, and pork just typically doesn’t blend well with blue cheese, either.

If you’re grilling chicken or steak to add to the salad, a simple seasoning of salt and pepper should work perfectly!

Ingredients for this Grilled Romaine Wedge Salad:

• One Head of Romaine Lettuce
• Oil (such as grapeseed or olive)
• Blue Cheese Dressing (homemade or store-bought)
• Chunky, creamy Blue Cheese (such as Maytag or Danish)
• Crunchy, Thick Cut Bacon
• Fresh Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
• Thinly Sliced Red Onions (pickled or raw)
• Chopped Chives
• Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
• French Fried Onions (optional, but delicious)
• Finishing Olive Oil (just a fresh, delicious olive oil if you have it!)

If you are a blue cheese lover, chances are you could also be a wedge salad lover.  Wedge salads are a steakhouse staple; right alongside the ole caesar salad.  

This particular wedge salad is super easy to throw together, especially if you’re using store bought blue cheese.  If you want to get super into your cooking abilities and make your own blue cheese, there’s a recipe for that included!  This particular recipe makes a thick, super creamy, super chunky blue cheese dressing.  I recommend using as much as you want on your wedge salad; the flavor is awesome.

There’s another fun twist to this recipe. 🙂 So, the restaurant that Mark and I met at serves a killer wedge salad.  Their blue cheese is insane, and their bacon is local and really, really good.  But the best part?  French fried onions.  Seriously.  Like the old school ones that go on top of your green bean casserole at Thanksgiving.  They’re salty, crunchy, and just a really awesome addition to a wedge.

Additionally, pickled shallots add a pop of acidity to help balance the richness and saltiness of the dish, but raw shallots are equally pleasing.  And no wedge salad is complete without a hit of fresh tomatoes!

How to Make the Best Grilled Wedge Salad:

1. Rub oil on the grill before turning it on.  Oiling the grates of the grill prevent the romaine from sticking, and help it grill more evenly! And definitely don’t add oil after the grill is already on.  Add the oil before doing anything else.  Just pour about a tablespoon of oil onto a paper towel, and rub the paper towel along the grill grates until they are coated in oil.
2. Make the grill nice and hot.  You want the grill marks to be apparent on the romaine, so heating the grill to medium-high heat helps that happen without completely wilting the romaine as it cooks!
3. Use good quality ingredients, and ingredients that YOU love.  Wedge salads don’t take a lot of technique, but quality ingredients do matter.  I suggest using great quality blue cheese, your favorite thick-cut bacon,  and juicy, ripe tomatoes to start.  As long as you use really good toppings and toppings that you love, you’re set!  The following are my suggestions:
   • Blue Cheese Crumbles
   • Fresh Tomatoes
   • Raw Red Onions or Shallots
   • Pickled Red Onions or Shallots
   • Crunchy French Fried Onions
   • Flaky Sea Salt
   • Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
   • Chives
   • Crunchy Chopped Bacon (a must)

What to Pair with a Wedge Salad with Romaine:

Grilled meats work really, really well with wedge salads.  As I said above, I would lean more towards grilled chicken or grilled filet or strip if you’re looking to top this salad with protein.  Grilled pork chops would work if the wedge salad was treated more as a side dish, too! 

I hope you love this recipe! It’s such a fun twist on a steakhouse classic wedge salad.  If you get a chance to make it, I would LOVE to see it on Instagram!  Feel free to tag me & follow me for more recipes!  If you love it, I would love a comment and rating down below, too!  And feel free to reach out to me with any specific questions; I am more than happy to help with anything!

xx Sara 

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Grilled Romaine Wedge Salad for Two

Author Sara

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Servings 2 salads

A twist on the classic wedge salad! This grilled romaine wedge salad is packed with flavor and classic wedge salad toppings, and is perfect for two people.

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

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Ingredients

 

For the Grilled Romaine Wedge Salad ::

• ▢ 1 head romaine lettuce
• ▢ 2 tbsp. olive oil (or grapeseed oil)
• ▢ 1/3 cup blue cheese dressing
• ▢ 1/4 cup chunky blue cheese crumbles (Maytag or Danish)
• ▢ 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (or grape tomatoes)
• ▢ 2 slices crunchy thick-cut bacon, chopped
• ▢ 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
• ▢ 2 tbsp. finely chopped chives
• ▢ 1/4 cup roughly chopped french fried onions
• ▢ pinch flaky sea salt
• ▢ pinch freshly cracked black pepper
• ▢ drizzle finishing olive oil optional

For the Small Batch Blue Cheese Dressing ::

• ▢ 3 tbsp. creamy blue cheese (Maytag or Danish)
• ▢ 1 1/2 tbsp. buttermilk
• ▢ 1 1/2 tbsp. sour cream
• ▢ 1 tbsp. mayonnaise
• ▢ 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
• ▢ 1/4 tsp. hot sauce
• ▢ 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• ▢ 1/8 tsp. sugar
• ▢ salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

For the Grilled Romaine Wedge Salad ::

• Wash and thoroughly dry the head of romaine lettuce. Slice the head of romaine in half lengthwise.
• Oil the grates of the grill (or grill pan).* Turn the grill (or grill pan) to medium-high heat.
• Brush both the cut sides and back sides of the romaine halves with oil. Grill on each side for 2-3 minutes, until grill marks have formed. Transfer the romaine to a large platter.
• Divide the blue cheese dressing between the salads, then divide the remaining toppings between each salad.
• Sprinkle a touch of flaky sea salt onto each salad, then generously top with freshly cracked black pepper and a drizzle of finishing olive oil (if desired).

For Small Batch Blue Cheese Dressing ::

• Mash the creamy blue cheese into the buttermilk and sour cream until fully combined. Stir in the mayonnaise until creamy.
• Stir in red wine vinegar, hot sauce, garlic powder, and sugar. Taste, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to blend while you make the grilled romaine salad, if possible.

Notes

*To oil the grill grates, pour 1-2 tablespoons of oil onto a folded paper towel, and rub the oil onto the grill grates.

Nutrition

Serving: 1salad | Calories: 357kcal

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