Wedge Salad
on Apr 24, 2025
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Crunchy iceberg lettuce wedges, crispy bacon, juicy tomatoes, and a creamy, tangy thick blue cheese dressing. Perfection!
A wedge salad is a classic salad made with a wedge of iceberg lettuce, typically topped with blue cheese dressing, bacon, and maybe some other vegetables. You will find wedge salads at steakhouses, seafood restaurants, diners, and other old-school establishments. I find them very hard to resist! This version is dressed with a lively blue cheese dressing made with a splash of red wine vinegar.
It makes a great side dish or appetizer, but frankly, I prefer tucking into it as a main course (this is a knife-and-fork salad!). The creamy richness of the dressing, juicy tomatoes, and the crispy saltiness of the bacon play so well against the cool crispness of the dense, crunchy lettuce. I think this indulgent classic salad deserves center stage!
Table of Contents
Wedge salads probably originated in steakhouse restaurants during the 1950s. The dense chunks of iceberg lettuce are well-suited to the creamy dressing and generous toppings. Try different kinds of blue cheese and see which one you like best: some options include Roquefort, Maytag, Gorgonzola, and Stilton.
Keep the toppings chopped or crumbled fairly small so you can cut into the lettuce wedge and get a bit of each topping, plus some of the dressing, with every bite. Smaller toppings will stick better to every forkful.
Wedge salads are a perfect pairing or appetizer for lots of main dishes. Classic choices are pulled pork, roast chicken, or grilled or pan-seared ribeye steak. See below for more recipe suggestions.
Ingredients
- Bacon – For most of us, a wedge salad is a great vehicle for bacon! You can use thick or regular-cut bacon for this.
- Sour cream – Adds richness and creaminess.
- Mayonnaise – More richness, more creaminess!
- Crumbled blue cheese – Some of the blue cheese will be blended into the dressing, and some will be sprinkled over the top.
- Red wine vinegar – Vinegar adds acidity and brightness to the creamy, rich dressing. You can substitute white wine or cider vinegar if you don’t have red wine vinegar.
- Scallions (green onions) – Use both the white and green parts. If you prefer, you can use half a small onion, thinly sliced.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste – Make sure your blue cheese isn’t very salty before adding extra salt. Freshly ground pepper is what I always use, and here it really makes a difference, especially since the lettuce base of the salad is so mild.
- Iceberg lettuce – Cool and crisp, the star of the show. Iceberg is the most popular version of the crisphead lettuce family. It has a high water content, which makes it very crunchy, but it doesn’t have a lot of flavor or nutritional value (but that’s not why we love wedge salads!). If your head of iceberg is particularly large, you can cut it into 6 wedges.
- Cherry tomatoes – Red are classic, but you can use any color cherry or grape tomatoes.
How to Cut Lettuce for Wedge Salad
Remove any wilted outer leaves from the head of iceberg lettuce. Rinse and pat the head of lettuce dry. Cut the head in half through the core using a large, heavy knife. Then cut each half again through the core into two or three wedges, depending on the size of the heart and the size of the portions you wish to serve. Cut the bit of the core from the bottom of each wedge.
How to Make Wedge Salad
- Cook the bacon: Line a plate with paper towels. In a skillet over medium heat until crispy, turning as needed, about 5 minutes total. Drain the bacon on the paper towels, and then crumble or chop the bacon when cool.
Kitchen Smarts
You can also think about baking your bacon or making bacon in the air fryer instead of cooking it in a skillet.
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, 1/4 cup blue cheese, vinegar, and scallions. Whisk or blend with a fork vigorously until combined. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. (The dressing can be made up to 5 days ahead of time.)
- Build the salad: Place a wedge of iceberg lettuce on each of 4 salad plates. Divide the dressing over the lettuce wedges, and top with equal amounts of the cherry tomatoes. Add the bacon. Top with the rest of the blue cheese.
Variations
Add some extra ingredients to make this even more of a fully loaded wedge salad!
- Sliced or diced hard-boiled eggs
- Sliced or cubed avocado
- Thinly sliced red or yellow onion, in addition to or instead of the scallions
- Diced tomatoes instead of halved cherry or grape tomatoes
- Sliced cucumbers
- Additional blue cheese crumbles
- Try Avocado Ranch Dressing, Caesar Dressing, or Ranch Dressing instead of the blue cheese dressing. Or use homemade Italian Dressing, and then just add a generous handful of blue cheese crumbles.
- Try feta or goat cheese instead of blue cheese.
- Add cubed cooked chicken or cooked shrimp to make it a main course salad.
- Add some croutons for even more crunch and flavor.
What to Serve With a Wedge Salad
More Green Salad Recipes
- A restaurant-quality Classic Caesar Salad is oh-so-easy to make at home!
- The Spinach and Radish Salad with Feta looks great on a plate and is a perfect side salad.
- The Mixed Green Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing recipe layers a robust, Asian-inspired dressing over boldly flavored greens.
- With a Caesar-like dressing, this Escarole Salad is a sure hit at any dinner table.
- Seasonally perfect, this Winter Salad includes arugula, red onion, radish, celeriac, and chickpeas.
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Wedge Salad
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese (divided)
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 scallions (trimmed and minced; white and green parts)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
- 1 head iceberg lettuce (cut into 4 wedges; see Note)
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- Cook the bacon. Line a plate with paper towels. In a skillet over medium heat until crispy, turning as needed, about 5 minutes total. Drain the bacon on the paper towels, and then crumble or chop the bacon when cool.
- In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, 1/4 cup blue cheese, vinegar, and scallions. Whisk or blend with a fork vigorously until combined. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
- Place a wedge of iceberg lettuce on each of 4 salad plates. Divide the dressing over the lettuce wedges, and top with equal amounts of the cherry tomatoes, bacon, and the rest of the blue cheese.
