Wedge Salad
This easy wedge salad is all about the toppings! Crisp iceberg lettuce covered with savory bacon, crunchy walnuts, tangy red onions and blue cheese crumbles, sweet dried cranberries, and creamy ranch dressing, with a maple balsamic glaze that takes it over the top. Don’t be surprised if your family starts requesting SALAD for dinner!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Soup & Salad
- Method: Bowl
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 head iceberg lettuce
- ½ – 1 lb bacon
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ red onion
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
- 3–4 oz blue cheese or Gorgonzola
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- Homemade Ranch Dressing
Instructions
- Roughly chop the bacon into small pieces and cook in a skillet over medium low heat, turning and stirring now and then to ensure the bacon cooks evenly and doesn’t burn.
- Meanwhile, measure vinegar and maple syrup in a small saucepan and bring just to a simmer. Allow the glaze to cook while the bacon cooks. The glaze is done when it coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Meanwhile, prepare your lettuce. Remove the outer leaf and cut out the core. Cut into 4 wedges, cutting each wedge in half. Divide between four dinner plates.
- Slice the red onion thinly, or dice it.
- Top the wedges evenly with red onion, chopped walnuts, cheese and dried cranberries.
- When the bacon is done, remove with a slotted spoon and top the salads.
- Drizzle with Homemade Ranch Dressing and glaze.
Notes
- Cut big lettuce wedges into smaller wedges. Part of the fun of a wedge salad is cutting the lettuce, but every time I try that with a big wedge, I make a huge mess. Simple workaround: cut the wedge into two smaller wedges for each plate.
- Keep the toppings small. This is part of the beauty of a wedge salad too, but it’s also for functionality. Big toppings will get flipped off the plate or tossed across the room by accident. Keep them small and they’ll stick to the dressing that’s on the plate. (The only exception is the slices of red onion, and you should put those on first so they’re underneath the other toppings).
- Prep the salad components ahead for a crazy fast dinner. The bacon and maple balsamic glaze can both be made ahead of time, reducing time in the kitchen. In fact, you can also cut the lettuce into wedges ahead of time. If you do all three, dinner prep will literally take 5 minutes, tops.
- Store toppings separately. For lunch the next day, pack the lettuce (pre-chopped) separately from the toppings. You can mix the dressing and glaze together to save a container. When you’re ready for lunch, just mix it all up and shake well (with the lid on, mind you).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 511
Find it online: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/winter-wedge-salad/