The Cooper's Hawk Chopped Wedge Salad is one of our favorite restaurant salads, and we're big fans of steakhouse wedge salads at other restaurants too. This classic wedge salad is an ode to all of the wedge salads we love. We loaded it with bacon, blue cheese, tangy marinated red onions, tomatoes, and blue cheese dressing. I like to drizzle a little bit of the marinade from the red onions over the salad too, so it kind of has two salad dressings...who doesn't love extra dressing?
Your wedge salad shopping list:
- Bacon
- Cherry or grape tomatoes
- Crumbled blue cheese. If you don't like blue cheese, you can leave it off or replace it with a different type of cheese. Fresh parmesan or feta would be great alternatives.
- Red onion
- Dressing and marinade ingredients: olive oil, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, milk, mayonnaise, greek yogurt or sour cream, fresh garlic, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, ground cayenne, crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper
Here's how you make this salad.
This classic wedge salad is loaded with bacon, blue cheese, tangy marinated red onions, tomatoes, and blue cheese dressing.
- Make the onion marinade and add the onions.
You might think, "Do I really need to marinate the onions?" YES, yes you do. Red onions tend to be a little overbearing on their own, but they're SO GOOD in this marinade, plus the marinade tastes amazing drizzled over the top of the finished salad.
To make the marinade, combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, fresh garlic, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper in a jar or bowl with a lid.
Add thinly sliced red onions to the jar or bowl with the marinade and place in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve the salad.
- Make the blue cheese dressing.
This dressing is so easy and tastes so much better than store-bought blue cheese dressing. To make it, combine mayonnaise, greek yogurt or sour cream, blue cheese crumbles, Worcestershire sauce, milk, a dash of hot sauce, garlic powder, ground cayenne, black pepper, and salt.
If you don't like blue cheese, just omit it. This dressing still tastes great without it.
- Cut the lettuce.
If there are any wilted leaves on the outside of your head of lettuce, peel them off and discard them. Cut the head of lettuce in half, then cut each half in half (to make fourths). Finally, cut the butt end off each wedge.
- Compile the wedges and serve!
Top each wedge with crumbled bacon, tomatoes, blue cheese, blue cheese dressing, and the marinated red onions. I like to drizzle a little bit of the onion marinade over the top. It's sooo good!
Need some recipes to pair with this wedge salad?
- Garlic Parmesan Angel Hair Pasta
- Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Plantain Crust Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks (Gluten Free)
Classic Wedge Salad Recipe: FAQs
Yep! This recipe is great without blue cheese. Just omit blue cheese from both the dressing and the salad toppings. This salad would be great topped with fresh parmesan cheese or feta instead!
A wedge salad is usually made with un-chopped iceberg lettuce. A wedge of iceberg lettuce is topped with a variety of toppings and cut with a fork and knife while it's being eaten.
You can, but this dressing is really good, easy, and made with several typical pantry ingredients. If you use a store-bought dressing, pick a good one. The dressing really makes this salad.
Classic Wedge Salad Recipe
This classic wedge salad is loaded with bacon, blue cheese, tangy marinated red onions, tomatoes, and blue cheese dressing. It's fast, easy, and tastes like the steakhouse wedge salad from your favorite restaurant.
4
servings20
minutes0
minutes745
kcal20
minutesIngredients
- For the red onions:
½ large red onion, sliced thinly
¾ cup olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
Juice of ½ lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
- For the blue cheese dressing:
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup greek yogurt or sour cream
2 tablespoons milk (use whatever you drink)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Dash of hot sauce
2.5 ounces crumbled blue cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
- For the salad:
8 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
Directions
- First, make the onion marinade. Combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, fresh garlic, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper in a jar or bowl with a lid. Add the red onions and place in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve the salad.
- Combine mayonnaise, greek yogurt or sour cream, blue cheese crumbles, Worcestershire sauce, milk, hot sauce, garlic powder, ground cayenne, black pepper, and salt, and set aside.
- If there are any wilted leaves on the outside of your head of lettuce, peel them off and discard them. Cut the head of lettuce in half, then cut each half in half (to make fourths). Finally, cut the butt end off each wedge.
- Top each wedge with crumbled bacon, tomatoes, blue cheese, blue cheese dressing, and the marinated red onions. I like to drizzle a little bit of the onion marinade over the top too.
- Serve and enjoy!
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