This Healthy Wedge Salad Recipe is topped with a lower-calorie tangy buttermilk-blue cheese dressing and combines iceberg lettuce with radicchio and romaine. It’s topped with crispy onions and bacon for added crunch.
The wedge salad is definitely one of my favorite salads.
Typically they consist of a wedge of iceberg lettuce with loads of blue cheese dressing and crumbles of bacon on top. The iceberg wedge is the perfect vessel for that dressing because when it’s cut open there’s an instant formation of nooks and crannies for that dressing to seep down into.
It’s crispy and refreshing, but also after a while, the wedge salad can become a bit boring. It’s also definitely not the most nutritious salad.
This version changes things a bit.
How to Make a Healthy Wedge Salad
This Healthy Wedge Salad is bit more nutritious with the addition of two new lettuces to the mix – radicchio and romaine.
If you’re not familiar with radicchio, it looks like a small head of red cabbage but it’s actually a chicory, and has just a slightly bitter, crisp taste. I love how it livens the traditional wedge salad.
I’m also lightening up the wedge salad by making a tangy buttermilk-blue cheese dressing.
Buttermilk may sound fattening but it’s actually low in fat, high in protein and calcium, and contains probiotics – those beneficial bacteria that help keep your digestive system happy and healthy.
I’m combing it with Greek yogurt and a bit of blue cheese to make it decadent and creamy. A splash of vinegar gives it that great tang.
One thing I’m not skimping on is the bacon.
It’s my feeling that you can’t mess around too much with the classic version. If you’d like to lighten things up even further, you can leave out the bacon, halve the amount of bacon, or swap it out with turkey bacon.
Or, make it extra delicious by adding some air fryer pork belly or crispy prosciutto.
To take this Healthy Wedge Salad over the top, I’m also adding some delicious, crispy red onions. Take note and be sure to spread the onions out well on piece or parchment or a plate while they are cooling, otherwise, they will all stick together and turn into one big mass.
Wedge Salad wine pairing
- The bleu cheese and bitter radicchio in this salad call for a sweeter white wine like Riesling.
More salad recipes
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Healthy Wedge Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Buttermilk-Blue Cheese Dressing
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 2 Tablespoons chopped chives
- 3 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
Crispy Onions
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 red onion (thinly sliced)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 Tablespoon honey (or maple syrup)
- 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Salad
- 1 head radicchio
- 1 head iceberg lettuce
- 1 heart romaine
- 6 strips bacon (cooked and crumbled)
Instructions
Buttermilk-Blue Cheese Dressing
- Add all ingredients to a small mason jar. Shake well to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Crispy Onions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and a pinch of salt. Stir and arrange in a single layer.
- Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 10 minutes, add in the honey and vinegar. Stir and cook for an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Increase heat to high and cook for 1 – 3 minutes, until onions become crispy. Immediately remove the onions piece of parchment or dinner plate and spread apart so the onions do not form together in one big mass.
Wedge Salad
- Quarter each of the lettuces. Place one quarter of each lettuce on a plate, drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with bacon and crispy onions.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2015. It was updated in 2019 to add new photographs, and again in 2023 to add new content. The wedge salad recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
Gorgeous photography!! And this recipe? Love!!! My picky college boy would devour this one. Saving for when he comes home!
Anything with bacon is devourable – Right?!
Erin, I LOVE this twist on a wedge salad–absolutely fabulous!
Thanks so much Kristen! I’m a huge fan of the caramelized shallots!
I absolutely LOVE wedge salads, and I love your creative twist! Anything a bit healthier after the holidays is a plus for sure
I totally agree Heather! I’m so ready to dive into some veggies!!!
YUM I love a good wedge salad! This looks amazing. I need to try this dressing. I have a feeling I’ll want to put it on everything.
I love that you add radicchio to this wedge salad! And I love that you don’t skimp on bacon. This salad looks so flavorful!
This is my favorite! You make it look beautiful and taste wonderful. Thank you.
Thank you so much!