Romaine Wedge Salad with Bacon Ranch Dressing
Romaine Wedge Salad with Bacon Ranch Dressing- Fresh romaine hearts are sliced in half then topped with fresh veggies, cheddar cheese, and a homemade bacon ranch dressing.
June 15, 2021 by Nicole Collins
Guys...
I kind of feel like I'm phoning it in today.
Don't get me wrong, today's recipe is freaking delicious. But it's so simple, I almost feel guilty calling it a recipe.
I've talked to you guys before about how I oftentimes test and prepare recipes at least a couple of weeks in advance. And if time allows, sometimes I pre-write my posts a couple weeks in advance too.
Well, that's not the case today. And that hasn't really be the case lately, to be honest. I've been having kind of a hard time sitting down and writing.
The recipe creation/photographing/editing part has been going full force. But, I've been finding it hard to get the motivation to sit down and actually prepare the posts.
In fact, I picked an easy recipe to share today only because I'm itching to go back to Netflix and binge watch my latest show.
Though I may be taking things a little easy today, I think we all need that sometimes. And though it may not look like much, I promise you you're going to love today's new recipe.
Today, we're making Romaine Wedge Salad with Bacon Ranch Dressing!
This recipe is my little spin on a classic wedge salad. Traditionally, wedge salad consists of iceberg lettuce cut into quarters, topped with bacon, tomatoes, and cheese, then drizzled with blue cheese dressing. I don't want to yuck someone else's yum, but I'm not a fan of either iceberg lettuce or blue cheese dressing. So, we're mixing things up with some of my favorites for this mega easy dish.
Let's start with the dressing. This dressing whisks together super quickly by using sour cream, mayonnaise, milk, and a mix of dried spices. Now, this dressing is pretty thick, especially after it sits in the fridge for a bit. I love it that way, but if you like a thinner and more traditional dressing, add a splash more milk.
In a traditional wedge salad, bacon is one of the primary components that is used to top the salad. But for our version today, we're going to mix the bacon right into our dressing. So, we'll start by making some super crispy bacon. Softly cooked bacon isn't going to work here. We need it crispy crunchy. We'll mince it up, and it gets mixed right into our dressing. I like putting the bacon in the dressing, because it guarantees we get a taste of bacony goodness in every single bite!
After the dressing is made, we're basically finished. All that's left to do is assemble. To start, we'll slice a couple romaine hearts in half lengthwise to create our “wedges”. Now, I've always preferred romaine lettuce to iceberg lettuce, because I love dark green leafy greens. Iceberg lettuce is just a little too light for me. So, I love how much extra flavor we get in this salad simply by exchanging our lettuce variety.
Once we have our romaine hearts halved, we're going to load them up with all of that creamy bacon ranch dressing. The dressing is also what helps the rest of our ingredients stick to the lettuce. So, we'll finish these salads up by topping them with diced tomatoes, thinly sliced shallot, and shredded cheddar cheese.
And, that's it! The salad is ready to devour!
I don't know why, but there's something extra special about a salad that you have to eat with a knife and fork. It feels fancier somehow. Which is pretty amazing considering how easy and humble this salad is.
Despite being ridiculously easy, this salad packs tons of flavor! The veggies are crisp and bright. The dressing is smooth and creamy. And the minced bacon hiding in the dressing adds a savory and unexpected pop of goodness that anybody would love.
Alright, everyone. I can't wait to hear what you think of these salads!
I hope you enjoy. And, let's eat!
Romaine Wedge Salad with Bacon Ranch Dressing
Serves: 4 Print
Ingredients:
For the Bacon Ranch Dressing:
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp milk (I used 1%)
¼ tsp dried chives
¼ tsp dried parsley
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp dill weed
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
2 slices bacon, cooked til crispy and minced
For the Salad:
2 romaine hearts
½ cup shredded cheddar
1 tomato, small diced
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
Directions:
Make the Bacon Ranch Dressing: To a mixing bowl, add sour cream, mayo, milk, chives, parsley, garlic powder, salt, dill, onion powder, pepper, paprika, and minced bacon. Stir to combine. Set aside in the fridge to chill at least 1 hour.
Assemble the Salad: Slice each romaine heart in half lengthwise. Drizzle each half with dressing. Top each half with shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, and sliced shallots. Serve immediately.
Recipe notes:
*This dressing is pretty thick and can get even thicker if it sits in the fridge longer than an hour. If you'd like a thinner consistency, add another splash of milk.
*If you're not serving all of these salads at once, wait to dress and top them until you're ready to serve.
