Classic Wedge Salad

This recipe will take you to your happy place when you’re craving a steakhouse salad. It’s got everything you’d expect, from chunky blue cheese dressing to crunchy buttered croutons and porky bacon crumbles. This wedge salad delivers a crisp crunch and irresistible taste.

Every so often we all crave a loaded iceberg wedge salad.

You know, the ones piled high with blue cheese dressing and bacon crumbles? Also known as a steakhouse wedge salad, because it’s practically a requirement to have one on the menu of every beef-centric, sides a-la-carte restaurant in this nation.

This beloved iceberg lettuce recipe is the hedonistic, in-your-face, ANTI-SALAD. No one, myself included, would proclaim a wedge salad as healthy; certainly not one loaded with ingredients that come from the tippy-top of the food pyramid.

However, there’s no denying is HOW GOOD IT IS!

The classic iceberg wedge

Iceberg lettuce salads were practically the only salads I remember from my childhood.

My Mom would make her signature vinaigrette and add some cut tomatoes and cucumber to her iceberg lettuce recipe… et voilà! Back then, iceberg lettuce was king because it was a blank canvas and cheap. Although it wasn’t a nutritional powerhouse, iceberg was still lettuce.

It wasn’t until the 80s that “mixed baby greens” or “mesclun” became a “thing,”… but that’s another story, er… salad.

Traditionally, you’d see these iceberg wedge salads served as a side dish. For me, however, this hearty salad is definitely a fork and knife recipe and, therefore can easily act as a meal on its own.

Components of a wedge salad

• Iceberg Lettuce
• Crumbled Bacon
• Diced Tomatoes
• Blue Cheese Dressing
• Croutons
• Blue Cheese Crumbles
• Hard Boiled Egg

There are other optional ingredients you can certainly use in this salad, but these are the MUST-HAVES.

Personally, I like a bit of avocado and some grated carrots for color and crunch. These additions make me feel a smidge better about diving into this nutritionally deficient but absolutely OUTSTANDING iceberg wedge salad.

A word about croutons

You’re probably thinking, “Croutons? No big deal, I’ll pick some at the store.”

Don’t. Do. It. You deserve better.

Here’s my beef with store-bought croutons. They’re big — too big. And pointy-square (have you ever had a crouton rip the skin off the roof of your mouth? I have.)

Plus, you might get 5 or 6 croutons on a whole iceberg wedge salad serving — which means you’ve got a whole lot of bites that are DEFICIENT, if not downright DEVOID of croutons. That’s unacceptable.

My method ensures tasty, crunchy croutons in every bite that won’t rip the flesh from the roof of your mouth.

Best bread for croutons:

You can use any sturdy, country or sourdough bread, and preferably one that’s a little stale. Most fresh bakery bread is too soft and quickly becomes crumbs in a food processor.

I recommend Trader Joe’s sourdough, which produces perfectly uneven shreds of bread that, when toasted in the oven, are the epitome of crunchy bliss, especially on a wedge salad like this. And yes, you’ll get bits of crispy golden croutons in every bite.

Prepping the ingredients

You’ll want to prep all the ingredients BEFORE you start assembling your salads. Trust me, you don’t want to be frying bacon when everyone’s got a wedge of iceberg in front of them… The good news is most of the prep can be done up to a day ahead of time.

• Make the Croutons – toss a few slices of stale bread in the food processor, then toss the crumbs with olive oil and bake until crispy. The croutons will stay crunchy for days in an airtight container.
• Fry the Bacon – you can do this earlier in the day and keep the bacon out at room temperature. It will stay crisper this way.
• Make the Blue Cheese Dressing – This can be made several days ahead.
• Cook and Chop or Sieve the Eggs – I like to boil and peel the eggs in advance and keep them in the refrigerator until I’m ready to use them. Then sieve them at the last minute (instructions below.)
• Chop the Tomatoes – Best done at the last minute.
• Dice the Onions – You can do this in advance or at the last minute. If you’re sensitive to the sting of onions, soak the chopped alliums in ice water for 15 minutes, then pat dry. The flavors won’t be as sharp.
• Shred the Carrots – I use a box grater for this and it can be done a day ahead of time.
• Quarter the Iceberg Lettuce and Remove the Core – I recommend doing this just before assembling the wedge salad, to keep lettuce fresh with no brown spots.
• Don’t Chop The Avocado Until You’re Ready to Serve (you don’t want it oxidizing before you top the salad.)

How to cook and sieve a hard boiled egg

This might seem excessive, and I’ll preface it by saying you DO NOT NEED TO DO THIS, but this is a great way to get very fine — even fluffy — minced egg to top this wedge salad recipe.

1. Hard boil an egg, by bringing a small pan of water to a boil, adding the egg and cooking for 6 minutes. Drain the water & rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and cool the egg enough so you can handle it.
2. Crack the shell and remove it.
3. Place the egg in a mesh sieve and using the back of a spoon (or your clean fingers, press the egg through the sieve, scraping the outside of the sieve as the egg is pressed through. Continue in this method until all of the egg has passed through the mesh.

It turns hard-boiled eggs into the consistency of couscous, and it’s the perfect topping for this iceberg wedge salad.

How to make a wedge salad:

1. Remove any wilted or discolored leaves from your iceberg lettuce.
2. Cut the head of lettuce into quarters; turn on its side and cut out the core.
3. Place the wedge of lettuce on to plates and ladle the blue cheese wedge salad dressing over each portion.
4. Add the tomatoes, carrots, red onion and blue cheese crumbles.
5. Finish the wedge salads with crumbled bacon, egg, slices of avocado and a flurry of crunchy breadcrumbs.

Another fun way to serve this recipe is to let individuals assemble their own wedge salad. Transfer individual ingredients to smaller bowls and arrange the bowls along with the lettuce wedges on a large platter so guests can help themselves to their favorites.

Tips on assembly:

• Dollop the wedge salad dressing over the iceberg lettuce salad before adding other ingredients. It’ll help the rest of the goodies STICK. Some toppings will still fall pell-mell down the slope of greens, but at least with a hearty dollop of blue cheese dressing, they stand a better chance of clinging to the peak of lettuce.
• Please don’t overdo it on any of the toppings. Yes, I know you like bacon, but trust me, all of these ingredients interplay so well in this iceberg lettuce recipe that you’ll want equal parts of everything.

Variations

• If you’re not into homemade blue cheese dressing, make a simple ranch dressing with buttermilk, mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice or vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, kosher salt, black pepper and fresh herbs.
• Add sunflower seeds or toasted nuts for extra texture and flavor.
• Sprinkle the salad with chopped chives to cut the richness of the wedge salad dressing.
• Add cucumbers and sprouts or micro greens.
• Instead of using iceberg lettuce, try a head of romaine cut into quarters.

FAQs

This tasty dish is filling enough to be a meal on its own, but traditionally, this iceberg wedge was just the start of a larger dinner.

What to serve with the wedge salad recipe:

• Steak – Duh! Try it with a cast iron ribeye or filet mignon.
• Slice some rotisserie chicken to serve on the side.
• It’s delicious with Crunchy Salmon Cakes.
• Try it with pork chops.
• You’ll love the iceberg lettuce salad with these grilled lamb kebabs.

You should have seen the look on my husband’s face when I set these iceberg wedge salads on the table for dinner. It was simultaneous joy and disbelief.

“I haven’t had a wedge salad since the last time I went to a steakhouse — and how many years ago was that?” as he sprinkled on more croutons and blue cheese. “We should do this more often,” he muffled between bites.

I concur. It’s an indulgence, but worth every calorie.

More classic salad recipes:

• Tangy Friseé Lardons Salad
• Summer Strawberry Poppyseed Salad
• Goat Cheese Salad with Spinach and Bacon

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