Classic Blue Cheese Wedge Salad: A Timeless Recipe with Creamy Homemade Dressing

Welcome, fellow blue cheese enthusiasts! If you, like me, are captivated by the sharp, salty, and utterly delicious flavor of blue cheese, then get ready to elevate your salad game. This isn’t just any salad; it’s the iconic Blue Cheese Wedge Salad, perfected with a homemade, unbelievably creamy blue cheese dressing that will tantalize your taste buds. This recipe brings together a symphony of textures and flavors – the crisp coolness of iceberg lettuce, the savory crunch of bacon, the richness of hard-boiled eggs, and the refreshing burst of fresh tomatoes and green onions, all bathed in a luxurious dressing. It’s a dish that promises both elegance and satisfaction, making it a perfect appetizer, a delightful side, or even a light main course. Prepare to fall in love with this classic all over again!

Why This Blue Cheese Wedge Salad Will Become Your New Favorite

There’s a reason the wedge salad has remained a beloved classic on menus across the globe. It’s a testament to how simple, high-quality ingredients can create something truly extraordinary. Our rendition of the Blue Cheese Wedge Salad is designed to highlight every fantastic element:

• Unrivaled Creamy Dressing: The homemade blue cheese dressing is the star of the show. It’s incredibly rich, tangy, and packed with genuine blue cheese flavor, striking the perfect balance without overpowering the other components. This creamy dressing truly sets our recipe apart.
• Crisp & Refreshing Base: A cold, crisp wedge of iceberg lettuce provides the perfect foundation, offering a satisfying crunch with every bite that stands up beautifully to the decadent dressing. The distinct texture of iceberg is irreplaceable in a true wedge salad.
• Perfectly Balanced Toppings: We’ve carefully selected toppings that complement the blue cheese dressing – salty, crispy bacon, tender hard-boiled eggs, juicy tomatoes, and fresh green onions. Each adds a layer of flavor and texture that makes every forkful exciting and adds a vibrant visual appeal.
• Effortless Elegance: Despite its gourmet appeal, this salad is surprisingly simple to prepare, making it ideal for weeknight dinners, entertaining guests, or adding a touch of sophistication to your weekend brunch. It’s a dish that looks impressive but requires minimal fuss.
• Customizable Comfort: While we stick to the beloved classics, this recipe also leaves room for your personal touch. Add grilled chicken, steak, or perhaps some candied pecans for an extra crunch. It’s a versatile foundation for your culinary creativity.

The Enduring Appeal of the Classic Wedge Salad

The wedge salad is more than just a salad; it’s an American institution, often associated with steakhouses and classic diners. Its origins can be traced back to the early 20th century, gaining significant popularity in the 1950s and 60s. The brilliance of the wedge salad lies in its simplicity and bold presentation. Instead of torn or chopped greens, a whole quarter of an iceberg lettuce head is used, providing a substantial, satisfying base that acts as a natural “bowl” for all the delicious toppings. This unique presentation not only makes it visually striking but also ensures every bite delivers that unmistakable, refreshing crunch that only iceberg can offer.

Traditionally, a wedge salad is adorned with a rich, creamy dressing – most famously blue cheese – alongside crispy bacon bits, ripe tomatoes, and sometimes chives or green onions. This combination creates a harmonious blend of textures and tastes: the coolness of the lettuce, the salty, fatty bacon, the juicy acidity of the tomato, and the pungent, creamy dressing. It’s a dish that embodies comfort food with an upscale twist, reminding us that sometimes, the simplest ideas are truly the best. The blue cheese wedge salad is a testament to simple ingredients coming together to create a profoundly satisfying culinary experience.

Crafting the Perfect Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

While a good wedge salad relies on fresh ingredients, the dressing is undeniably the star. A homemade blue cheese dressing takes this salad from good to absolutely phenomenal. Our recipe calls for a blend of sour cream and buttermilk, creating a luscious, tangy base that perfectly carries the robust flavor of blue cheese. Making your own dressing allows you to control the quality of ingredients and tailor the flavor profile to your exact liking, ensuring a fresh and vibrant taste that store-bought dressings simply can’t match.

Ingredients for a Superior Dressing

• Sour Cream: Provides richness and a creamy texture, balancing the tanginess of buttermilk. Full-fat sour cream will yield the creamiest result, giving the dressing its luxurious body.
• Buttermilk: Adds a delightful tang and helps thin the dressing to the perfect consistency. The acidity of buttermilk brightens the overall flavor. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a substitute by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup and filling the rest with regular milk (up to 1/3 cup), letting it sit for 5-10 minutes until it slightly curdles.
• Red Wine Vinegar: A touch of acidity brightens the flavors and cuts through the richness of the cheese and cream, adding a subtle complexity to the dressing.
• Finely Minced Shallot: Offers a delicate oniony flavor, more subtle and refined than regular onion, adding depth without harshness. The fine mince ensures it integrates smoothly into the dressing.
• Real Salt: Essential for seasoning and enhancing all the other flavors. Don’t underestimate the power of proper seasoning to bring all components into harmony.
• Blue Cheese Crumbles: The hero ingredient! Use a good quality blue cheese that you enjoy the taste of. Some varieties are milder (like a Danish Blue), others are more pungent (like Roquefort or Stilton). Crumbled is best for texture and ensures even distribution of flavor.

Tips for the Best Blue Cheese Dressing:

1. Mash Some Cheese: For an extra creamy dressing with more integrated flavor, mash about half of the blue cheese crumbles into the sour cream before adding the buttermilk and other ingredients. This releases more of its flavor and creates a smoother, more uniform consistency while still leaving some crumbles for texture.
2. Taste and Adjust: Always taste your dressing before serving. Palates vary, so you might want to add a touch more salt, vinegar, or even a pinch of freshly ground black pepper to suit your preference. A tiny bit of sugar can also balance the tang if needed.
3. Chill for Flavor Development: Allow the dressing to chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (or ideally, a few hours) before serving. This allows the flavors to meld and deepen, resulting in a more harmonious and delicious dressing. Making it ahead of time is a great strategy.
4. Consistency is Key: If the dressing is too thick for your liking, add a tiny splash more buttermilk, one teaspoon at a time, until it reaches your desired pourable consistency. If it’s too thin, a little more sour cream or even a tablespoon of mayonnaise can help thicken it slightly.

Assembling Your Ultimate Wedge Salad: Beyond the Basics

Once your dressing is chilling, it’s time to prepare the other components of your salad. Each element plays a crucial role in creating the perfect bite, offering a delightful contrast in texture and flavor to the rich dressing.

The Crisp Iceberg Lettuce

Iceberg lettuce is non-negotiable for a true wedge salad. Its high water content makes it incredibly crisp and refreshing, providing the perfect textural contrast to the creamy dressing and other toppings. Its sturdy structure holds up beautifully to the dressing without wilting immediately.

1. Core Removal: To easily remove the tough core, firmly smack the stem end of the lettuce head against a countertop. Twist and pull out the core. Alternatively, simply use a sharp knife to cut out the core in a cone shape.
2. Rinse and Drain: Rinse the inside of the cored lettuce under cold water to clean it. Turn it upside down in a colander or on paper towels to drain thoroughly. Excess water can dilute your dressing and make the salad soggy, so ensure it’s well-drained. Pat dry with paper towels if necessary.
3. Portioning: Cut the head into quarters or eighths, depending on your desired serving size. Quarters are traditional and offer a substantial portion, while eighths are great for smaller appetites or as a side dish.
4. Keep it Cold: Store the prepared wedges in the refrigerator until ready to assemble to maintain maximum crispness. A truly cold wedge is key to a refreshing salad.

Perfectly Cooked Bacon

Crispy, salty bacon is an essential topping that adds a savory depth and delightful crunch to every forkful. Here’s how to get it just right:

1. Pan-Fried: Cook bacon strips in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. This method gives you control over the crispness. Drain excess fat on paper towels.
2. Oven-Baked (Recommended): For less mess, more even cooking, and consistently flat strips, arrange bacon strips on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil (for easy cleanup). Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 15-20 minutes, or until desired crispness, flipping once if needed.
3. Crumble: Once cooled slightly (it will crisp up further as it cools), crumble the bacon into small pieces.

Hard-Boiled Eggs

Diced hard-boiled eggs add a lovely richness, creamy texture, and a boost of protein to the salad. For perfect hard-boiled eggs:

1. Boiling Method: Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and cover with cold water by about an inch. Bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat, then immediately turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let sit for 10-12 minutes for firm yolks.
2. Ice Bath: Transfer eggs to an ice bath (a bowl of ice water) immediately after cooking. This stops the cooking process and makes them significantly easier to peel.
3. Peel and Dice: Once cooled, peel the eggs under cold running water (this helps remove stubborn shells) and dice them into uniform pieces.

Fresh Tomatoes and Green Onions

These vibrant additions provide crucial freshness, color, and a slight tang or sharp bite to cut through the richness of the dressing and bacon:

• Tomatoes: Choose ripe, firm tomatoes that are in season for the best flavor. Cherry or grape tomatoes halved also work wonderfully and add a sweet burst. Slice them into wedges or dice them, depending on your preference for presentation and ease of eating.
• Green Onions: Thinly slice the green parts for a mild, fresh onion flavor and a beautiful pop of color. They add a subtle allium note without being too overpowering.

Bleu Cheese Wedge Salad

All my bleu-cheese lovers, you are welcome for this one. This salad has all the bells and whistles and it is YUM!

Print Pin Rate

Course: Salads

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes minutes

Ingredients

Bleu Cheese Dressing

• 1/3/ cup plus 1 T sour cream
• 1/3 cup plus 1 T buttermilk
• 4 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup finely minced shallot
• 3/4 tsp real salt
• 4 oz bleu cheese crumbles

Salad

• 1 head iceberg lettuce
• 3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and diced
• 8 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
• green onions, sliced
• tomatoes, sliced
• more bleu cheese crumbles for the garnish

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Gently mix dressing ingredients together, cover, and refrigerate while you prepare the res of the salad.
• Take the head of iceberg lettuce and slam the core on the countertop to loosen the core, or cut out the core.
• Rinse the inside with water, and turn it back upside down to drain. When drained, cut in either 4 or 8 portions depending on how big you want the serving size.
• On a serving platter or individual plates, assemble the salad in this order: wedge of iceberg, bleu cheese dressing, egg, bacon, tomatoes, green onion, more blue cheese crumbles.

Notes

Make sure you have both a fork AND a knife when you eat this. ENJOY!

Tips for the Best Blue Cheese Wedge Salad Experience

To truly master this classic salad and ensure every bite is perfect, keep these tips in mind. They’ll help you achieve that steakhouse-quality wedge salad every time:

• Chill Everything: Ensure your iceberg lettuce is thoroughly chilled and crisp, and the dressing has had ample time to cool and for flavors to meld in the refrigerator. A cold salad is a good salad, and a cold wedge salad is a great one!
• Quality Blue Cheese: The dressing’s flavor hinges significantly on the quality of your blue cheese. Don’t shy away from investing in a good quality variety that you enjoy eating on its own. Stronger blues will yield a more pungent dressing, while milder ones will be more subtle.
• Don’t Overdress: While it’s tempting to drench your wedge, a generous but not excessive amount of dressing allows the other flavors and textures to shine. You can always add more at the table, but you can’t take it away!
• Freshly Crumbled Bacon: Cook your bacon just before serving for the best crispness and flavor. Pre-cooked bacon can lose its texture and become chewy or stale.
• Serve Immediately: For optimal crispness and flavor, assemble and serve the salad just before eating. Iceberg lettuce, once dressed, can start to soften, compromising the signature crunch.
• Sharp Knife: Use a sharp knife to cut your lettuce wedges cleanly. This helps prevent bruising and keeps the edges crisp, contributing to better presentation and texture.

Delicious Variations and Creative Additions

While the classic Blue Cheese Wedge Salad is perfect as is, it’s also wonderfully versatile, allowing for creative twists and additions. Feel free to experiment with these ideas to make it uniquely your own or to cater to different tastes:

• Proteins: Add grilled chicken breast, steak (especially delicious with blue cheese!), or even shrimp to transform it into a more substantial main course. Leftover roasted turkey or ham can also be excellent.
• Other Cheeses: If blue cheese is too strong for some palates, consider a milder gorgonzola or even crumbled feta or goat cheese for a different flavor profile. Crumbled cotija cheese can also add a salty, briny kick.
• Avocado: Sliced or diced avocado adds a creamy texture and healthy fats, complementing the richness of the dressing and other toppings beautifully.
• Nuts: Toasted walnuts, pecans, or candied pecans can add an extra layer of crunch and nutty flavor, providing a pleasant contrast.
• Croutons: Homemade garlic croutons provide a fantastic textural element and absorb some of the dressing for an extra flavor burst.
• Red Onion: For those who prefer a stronger onion bite, thin slices of red onion can be a great addition. Soak them in cold water for 10 minutes to reduce their sharpness if desired.
• Hot Sauce: A dash of your favorite hot sauce in the dressing can give it a little kick and an exciting layer of spice.
• Chives: For an even milder onion flavor and elegant garnish, finely chopped fresh chives are a wonderful alternative to green onions.

Serving Suggestions for Any Occasion

This Blue Cheese Wedge Salad is incredibly versatile and can fit into various meal settings, from casual family dinners to elegant gatherings:

• Classic Steakhouse Side: The most iconic pairing! Serve alongside a perfectly grilled steak, prime rib, or even a juicy burger. The fresh, tangy salad cuts through the richness of the meat.
• Appetizer: A beautiful and refreshing starter for a dinner party, holiday meal, or any special occasion. Its elegant presentation is sure to impress guests.
• Light Lunch: Especially when topped with grilled chicken, steak, or even some chickpeas for a vegetarian option, it makes for a satisfying and flavorful lunch.
• BBQ or Potluck: A refreshing contrast to richer grilled foods, it’s always a crowd-pleaser at outdoor events. It’s easy to transport components and assemble on site.
• Weeknight Dinner Upgrade: Elevate a simple weeknight meal with this gourmet-tasting yet easy-to-make salad. It adds a touch of special to the everyday.

Storage and Make-Ahead Tips

To enjoy your Blue Cheese Wedge Salad at its very best, it’s ideal to assemble it just before serving. However, you can certainly prepare individual components in advance to make meal prep quicker and easier:

• Dressing: The blue cheese dressing can be made up to 3-4 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. In fact, its flavor often improves over time as the ingredients meld and deepen. Give it a good whisk before serving.
• Bacon: Cooked and crumbled bacon can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two, or refrigerated for up to 5 days. Reheat briefly in a skillet or microwave to restore crispness if desired, or enjoy cold.
• Hard-Boiled Eggs: Peeled hard-boiled eggs can be stored whole in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5-7 days. Dice them just before assembling the salad to maintain freshness.
• Lettuce: Keep the head of iceberg lettuce whole and unwashed in the refrigerator until you’re ready to cut and assemble the salad to maintain its crispness. Once cut, wrap unused portions tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for a day or two.
• Tomatoes and Green Onions: Slice these just before serving for optimal freshness and vibrant flavor.

Crucial Tip: Do not dress the salad until ready to serve. The acidity and moisture from the dressing will cause the iceberg lettuce to wilt quickly, making it less crisp and enjoyable. Assemble the components on individual plates, then generously spoon over the dressing and toppings.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I use a different type of lettuce for a wedge salad?

While iceberg lettuce is traditional and provides the signature crunch and sturdy wedge shape, you can experiment with other sturdy greens like romaine for a slightly different texture. However, it won’t be a classic “wedge” salad in terms of structure and crispness. Iceberg’s unique high-water content and tightly packed leaves are key to the authentic wedge experience.

How can I make this dressing healthier?

You can try substituting some of the sour cream with plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt for a lower-fat, higher-protein option. This might alter the flavor and consistency slightly, making it a bit tangier or thinner, but it can still be delicious. You could also use a light sour cream or buttermilk alternative.

What if I don’t have shallots for the dressing?

If you don’t have shallots, you can use a very small amount of finely minced red onion or even a tiny pinch of onion powder. Shallots offer a milder, sweeter onion flavor than regular onions, so use alternatives sparingly to avoid overwhelming the delicate balance of the dressing.

Is this blue cheese wedge salad gluten-free?

Yes, this recipe is naturally gluten-free! All the core ingredients – iceberg lettuce, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, green onions, and the homemade blue cheese dressing – are typically gluten-free. Just ensure any store-bought ingredients (like bacon) don’t have hidden gluten additives if you are highly sensitive or have celiac disease.

How can I make the bacon extra crispy?

Baking bacon in the oven is one of the easiest ways to get perfectly crispy, flat strips. Lay strips on a wire rack placed over a foil-lined baking sheet (for easy cleanup) and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway, until golden brown and crisp. This allows the fat to drip away, promoting maximum crispiness.

There you have it – the ultimate guide to creating a Blue Cheese Wedge Salad that rivals any steakhouse version. With its refreshing crunch, savory toppings, and irresistible creamy blue cheese dressing, this salad is sure to become a cherished recipe in your culinary repertoire. Don’t hesitate to try it and experience this timeless classic for yourself. Happy cooking and even happier eating!