My Iceberg Wedge Salad is the kind of side dish that looks fancy but takes almost no effort to pull together. Crisp iceberg lettuce, smoky bacon, and a creamy garlic blue cheese dressing come together in about 20 minutes flat. It’s the perfect way to add steakhouse flair to your weeknight dinner table.
Salads really enhance a meal. I love to add them to my table as a little something extra. A few standouts are my Tri Color Rotini Pasta Salad and my Chickpea Feta Salad. Give them a try.
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Why this Wedge Salad Recipe is a Keeper
This wedge salad earns a permanent spot in your dinner rotation because it’s fast, crunchy, and endlessly customizable. Here’s why you’ll keep coming back to it.
ONLY USE 2-4 OF THE MOST APPLICABLE FEATURES.
- Ready in 20 minutes: You get a restaurant-style salad on the table with minimal hands-on effort.
- Big crunch factor: Cold iceberg lettuce and crisp bacon give every bite serious texture.
- Make-ahead dressing: The garlic blue cheese dressing tastes even better after it chills, so you can prep it early.
- Easy to customize: Swap in your favorite toppings and turn it into a full meal with added protein.
- Serve with: Grilled Steak Skewers and my Boursin Mashed Potatoes.
Can I Make My Classic Wedge Salad Ahead of Time?
You can make the garlic blue cheese dressing up to two days ahead. Keep it covered in the fridge. Hold off on cutting the lettuce or chopping the tomatoes until closer to serving time. Iceberg wedges start to weep and lose their crunch if they sit too long.
Cooked bacon can also be made a day in advance and stored in an airtight container. When you’re ready to eat, just assemble everything and it’ll taste like you spent way more time on it than you actually did.
Pro Tip for the Salad
Chill your serving plates in the fridge for 10 minutes before you plate the wedges. Iceberg lettuce and cold dressing taste crisper on a cold plate.
It also keeps the whole salad from turning lukewarm while you’re plating four servings at once. It’s a small step that makes a real difference at the table.
Ingredient Notes for Salad and Toppings
A few ingredients in this iceberg wedge salad make a real difference, so here’s what you need to know before you shop.
This is an overview of key ingredients. Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- San Marzano or Roma tomatoes: These varieties have fewer seeds and less water, so they won’t make your salad soggy.
- Iceberg lettuce: Choose a head of iceberg lettuce that feels heavy and firm for the crunchiest wedges
- Buttermilk: This adds tang and thins the dressing to the perfect drizzling consistency.
Variations and Substitutions for the Creamy Dressing
This side salad recipe is a great base for whatever you’ve got on hand or however you’re feeling that day.
➡️ Swap the Dressing: Try a classic ranch or a tangy blue cheese vinaigrette if you want a lighter option.
➡️ Veggies: Add black olives, red onion, avocado, or red bell peppers for extra color and a briny bite.
➡️ Top: Hard cooked eggs to add protein and make the salad heartier.
➡️ Protein: Turn it into a main dish by adding grilled chicken or sliced steak on top.
➡️ Different Head of Lettuce: Use romaine or butter lettuce in place of iceberg if that’s what you have on hand.
Special Equipment Needed/Kitchen Tools To Make It Easier
You probably already own most of what you need for this wedge salad recipe, but a few tools make the process even smoother.
- Chef’s Knife: A sharp knife makes clean work of coring and quartering the lettuce without bruising it.
- Cutting Board: Gives you a stable surface for chopping tomatoes and bacon.
- Whisk: Helps you blend the dressing ingredients into a smooth, creamy consistency.
- Skillet: Cooks the bacon evenly so it turns out crisp and browned.
How to Make a Iceberg Wedge Salad
This wedge salad recipe comes together in just a few simple stages, from crisping the bacon to plating the wedges.
These are just highlights. Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Bacon: Cook the bacon in a skillet until it’s crisp, then chop it into small pieces.
- Dressing: Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, seasoning, garlic, and lemon juice for the dressing.
- Blue Cheese: Fold half of the blue cheese crumbles into the dressing and chill it briefly to let the flavors meld.
- Lettuce: Cut the wedge of iceberg lettuce into four wedges and arrange them on serving plates.
- Finish: Top each wedge with the homemade blue cheese dressing, bacon, remaining blue cheese, and chopped tomatoes before serving.
Prep Ahead and Short Cut Tips for the Traditional Wedge Salad
You can get almost the entire wedge salad ready ahead of time without losing that crisp, restaurant‑style crunch.
➡️Prep the Iceberg: Cut the head into wedges up to 24 hours ahead. Wrap each wedge in a dry paper towel and store in an airtight container. This keeps them cold, crisp, and ready to plate.
➡️Make the Dressing Early: Blue cheese or ranch dressing actually tastes better after a few hours in the fridge. Mix it the morning of or even the day before.
➡️Cook the Crispy Bacon in Advance: Bake or air‑fry the bacon, crumble it, and store it in a container lined with a paper towel. It stays crisp for two-three days.
➡️Prep Toppings: Dice tomatoes, slice onions, and chop fresh chives ahead of time. Store each separately so nothing gets soggy.
➡️Chill the Serving Plates: If you want that restaurant feel, pop your individual plates in the fridge for 10 minutes before serving. Cold plates keep the wedge crisp longer.
Is Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing Required?
No, ranch, buttermilk dressing, or a lighter creamy vinaigrette all work. Readers often ask if they can skip the blue cheese crumbles; absolutely, just add extra bacon or cherry tomatoes for texture.
How to Store and Use Leftover Wedge Salad Recipe
- Storing: Leftover wedge salad can be stored, but it keeps best when you break it down into its components. If the salad is already dressed, scrape off as much of the dressing and toppings as you can, then wrap the iceberg wedge in a dry paper towel and tuck it into an airtight container. Store the bacon, tomatoes, and dressing separately so they stay fresh and don’t soften the lettuce further.
- Using Leftovers: Use in sandwiches, wraps, or on top of baked potatoes.
Expert Tips for Making Iceberg Wedge Salad Recipe
The concept of the salad is very simple. The best way to make it exceptional is to use high quality fresh ingredients.
➡️ Keep the Lettuce Ice‑Cold: Chill the whole head of iceberg for a few hours before cutting. Cold lettuce stays crisper, holds its shape better, and gives you that restaurant‑style crunch.
➡️Pat the Wedges Dry: Moisture makes dressing slide off. Blot each wedge with a paper towel so the creamy dressing clings beautifully.
➡️Adjust the Dressing: If your blue cheese dressing is too thick, whisk in a splash of buttermilk to make it pourable without losing richness.
➡️ Dress Right Before Serving: Add dressing at the last minute so the wedge stays crisp and the toppings stay fresh.
➡️Finish with Fresh Herbs: A sprinkle of chives or extra black pepper makes the salad feel polished and restaurant‑worthy.
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Iceberg Wedge Salad
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Ingredients
Salad
- 1 Head Iceberg lettuce, cored and quartered
- 3 San Marzano tomatoes, seeded and chopped, or Roma
- ½ cup Blue cheese Crumbles
- ½ pound Bacon, cooked and chopped
Garlic Blue Cheese Dressing
- ¼ cup Mayonnaise
- ¼ cup Sour cream
- ¼ cup Buttermilk
- ¼ teaspoon All Purpose Seasoning
- 1 clove Garlic, chopped
- ½ Lemon, juiced
- ½ cup Blue cheese crumbles
Instructions
Salad
- Using a chef's knife, core the iceberg lettuce, and cut it into four even quarters. Arrange the wedges on four serving plates.
- In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon for 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally, until crisp and browned. Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate to cool, then chop it into small pieces.
Garlic Blue Cheese Dressing
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, All Purpose Seasoning Blend, garlic, and lemon juice until smooth and well combined, about 1 minute.
- Using a spoon or spatula, fold ½ cup of the blue cheese crumbles into the dressing until evenly distributed.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dressing for at least 10 minutes to let the flavors meld, if time allows.
Assemble
- Spoon the desired amount of garlic blue cheese dressing evenly over each lettuce wedge.
- Top each wedge with the chopped bacon, the remaining ½ cup blue cheese crumbles, and the chopped tomatoes.
Christina’s Notes
- Cutting Tips: Cut the lettuce into quarters with a sharp knife no longer than 15 minutes before serving.
- Topping Ideas: Top wedge salad with crumbled bacon, black olives, red bell peppers, seasoned croutons, hard cooked eggs, carrots, cucumber, or red onion. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Protein: Make it a meal by adding chicken or steak to the salad.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
What could you use if a couple people don’t like blue cheese
A nice thick homemade ranch dressing is always a good choice.
This looks delicious!! Bacon really does make everything better! 😉