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This Romaine Salad with Queso Fresco is a great salad to make when you need an accompaniment to a Mexican dinner, such as enchiladas, tacos, or burritos. Queso cotija is a crumbly, dry cow’s milk cheese with a pronounced salty flavor. A little bit goes a long way. Cotija can be purchased in small rounds or large blocks, and it is often used crumbled or grated as a topping for burritos, soups, salads, and tacos. You can often buy it crumbled or grated.
Though if you substitute feta for the queso, suddenly you can think about Greek meals. And maybe Ricotta salata? Italian! Goat cheese. Now you can think Mediterranean! Anyway, this Romaine Salad with Queso Fresco really is just a lovely green salad with onions and peppers and a simple clean vinaigrette that goes with lots of things. And leave off the cheese if you want just a simple salad.
Vidalias are sweet onions, available April through early September, are sweeter than regular white, yellow, or red onions, and while they still have an oniony flavor, it’s not nearly as sharp. Read all about vidalias and what you can do with them here.
This makes it a nice onion to use in salads when you are introducing onions to kids or to people who think they don’t like onions (many people just get nervous that onions will be too strong—they add so much flavor to dishes, both raw and cooked, that they are a shame to miss out on. Use Vidalias, or other sweet onions, as a gateway onion.
This is the perfect simple salad to make when you need an accompaniment to a Mexican dinner.
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How to Make Romaine Salad with Queso Fresco
In a large bowl combine the lettuce, celery, onion, and bell pepper.
Add the dressing and toss to combine.
Transfer to a serving bowl, and sprinkle over the queso fresco.
More Side Salad Recipes
- Black-Eyed Pea Salad
- Romaine, Kale, and Broccoli Salad
- Spicy Greens Salad with Gochujang Dressing
- Arugula, Orange and Pomegranate Salad
- Nicoise Salad
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Romaine Salad with Queso Fresco
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoons minced shallots
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
For the Salad
- 6 cups slivered romaine lettuce
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery
- ½ Vidalia onion very thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup crumbled queso cotija
Directions
- In a small bowl or container combine the rice vinegar, olive oil, shallots, mustard, and salt and pepper. Stir or shake to combine.
- In a large bowl combine the lettuce, celery, onion, bell pepper, then add the dressing and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl, and sprinkle over the queso fresco.
Notes
Nutrition Information
The nutrition values are provided as an estimate. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a qualified healthcare professional.
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