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Inspired by the classic steakhouses, this Iceberg Wedge Salad is smothered in creamy blue cheese dressing and topped with bacon, tomatoes, and more blue cheese crumbles. It’s fresh, crunchy, and totally delicious.
There’s nothing more old-school cool than a hunk of iceberg lettuce, (or crisphead lettuce, as it was known years ago) served on a chilled plate and topped with my favorite crunchy, fatty, and salty toppings.
I like to make homemade blue cheese dressing with buttermilk, sour cream, good mayo, and fresh scallions. Make it a day or two ahead of time, and let all those flavors meld together and get even more delicious.
It’s absolutely perfect alongside a steak or plate piled high with crab legs, but it’s just as spectacular on its own as a main course, just as long as you load it up with the good stuff.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Blue cheese: You’ll need some for the salad dressing and more to scatter on top. If you don’t care of blue cheese, substitute ranch dressing and shredded cheddar cheese.
- Buttermilk: Adds beautiful acidity to the dressing. You can make your own by pouring 1 cup full-fat milk into a bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes to curdle and thicken.
- Iceberg lettuce: It’s okay to substitute wedges of romaine or simply add these toppings to the salad mix of your choice.
- Bacon: You can fry bacon and crumble it or substitute ¼ cup of bagged real bacon crumbles.
- Red onion: Soaking the chopped onion in ice water will keep them extra crisp and remove some of the onion’s heat.
Step-by-step instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, add blue cheese, sour cream, buttermilk, scallions, and lemon juice into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the scallions are finely chopped. Pour the dressing into a bowl and mix in the mayonnaise by hand. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill until serving time.
- Meanwhile, place the onions in a small bowl filled with ice water for a few minutes before plating. This makes them super-crisp and takes away some of their heat, too.
- To assemble the wedge salad, cut the head of iceberg lettuce into fat slices and place it in the center of individual salad plates.
- Pour the dressing over each wedge, then sprinkle the red onion, crumbled bacon, and diced tomatoes over each wedge.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: One large head of iceberg lettuce is enough for 4 wedges of salad.
- Storage: Store the dressing covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Definitely make the dressing ahead; even a few days is perfectly fine. You can get the toppings ready, too, and refrigerate them in separate containers until needed. But cut the lettuce into wedges a few minutes before you plan to serve.
- Wash before you serve: Cut your slices, run cold water over each quarter, using your fingers to gently separate the leaves to let the water inside. Or place the quarters in a bowl of cold water, gently swishing them to loosen any bad stuff trapped inside. Let drain on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels and pat dry.
- Make it your own: Make this salad any way you want. Substitute halved grape tomatoes, hard-boiled egg pieces, croutons, or fried onion strings.
Recipe FAQs
It’s called a wedge salad because the salad is built on a wedge of lettuce.
Cut the lettuce into quarters with a clean, sharp knife, no longer than 15 minutes before you plan to serve the salad. This keeps the edges from turning brown from air exposure. If you have a huge head, you may need to cut the lettuce into six, or even eight slices. Bigger is better, though.
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Wedge Salad
Ingredients
For the blue cheese dressing:
- 3/4 cup blue cheese crumbles divided (4 ½ ounces) (see note 1)
- 1/4 cup buttermilk (see note 2)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 scallions coarsely chopped, green parts only
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the wedge salad:
- 1 head iceberg lettuce (see note 3)
- 4 slices cooked bacon crumbled (about 1 ounce, see note 4)
- 2 large tomatoes diced
- 1 small red onion peeled and minced (see note 5)
- 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles (1 ½ ounces)
Instructions
To make the blue cheese dressing:
- In the bowl of a food processor, add ½ cup blue cheese crumbles, sour cream, buttermilk, scallions, and lemon juice into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the scallions are finely chopped.
- Pour the dressing into a bowl and mix in the mayonnaise by hand. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. If you prefer a chunky blue cheese dressing, add more crumbles.
To make the wedge salad:
- Fill a small bowl with ice water and add onions. Remove with slotted spoon when ready to serve.
- Cut iceberg lettuce into 4 wedges; place on plates and spoon dressing over. Top with bacon crumbles, tomatoes, and red onions. Garnish with remaining blue cheese crumbles.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Blue cheese: You’ll need some for the salad dressing and more to scatter on top. If you don’t care of blue cheese, substitute ranch dressing and shredded cheddar cheese.
- Buttermilk: Adds beautiful acidity to the dressing. You can make your own by pouring 1 cup full-fat milk into a bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes to curdle and thicken.
- Iceberg lettuce: It’s okay to substitute wedges of romaine or simply add these toppings to the salad mix of your choice.
- Bacon: You can fry bacon and crumble it or substitute ¼ cup of bagged real bacon crumbles.
- Red onion: Soaking the chopped onion in ice water will keep them extra crisp and remove some of the onion’s heat.
- Yield: One large head of iceberg lettuce is enough for 4 wedges of salad.
- Storage: Store the dressing covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Definitely make the dressing ahead; even a few days is perfectly fine. You can get the toppings ready, too, and refrigerate them in separate containers until needed. But cut the lettuce into wedges a few minutes before you plan to serve.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
The ingredient list contains scallions when giving the method for making the dressing it makes no mention of the scallions but does mention chives. Are the scallions interchangeable for chives in this recipe?
Hi Missy, thank you so much for pointing that out! I’ve corrected it in the post. Yes, I would probably use about 2 tablespoons of chives instead in this dressing, adding more to taste. Thank you again! – Meggan