My fully loaded wedge salad is a salad even salad haters can’t resist! With hearts of iceberg lettuce piled high with goodies like bacon, eggs, croutons, black olives, creamy blue cheese dressing, it’s positively irresistible.
this is a ‘hearts of lettuce’ salad, 2.0!
The main attraction of hearts of lettuce salads, back in the day, was that they were easy, crunchy, and drenched in creamy Russian or Thousand Island dressing. I’ve swapped out a chunky blue cheese dressing for my version, and topped it with everything under the sun (or in the fridge.)
this fun wedge salad can be prepped ahead for a crowd
It’s the perfect salad for entertaining because you can set it and forget it ~ these crisp wedges will never wilt! Everybody gets excited when they see this platter of crunchy iceberg wedges loaded up with so many tempting toppings. It makes a vibrant centerpiece for a buffet, brunch, or barbecue, and even salad snubbers will race to grab a slice of this fresh veggie pie.
how to slice iceberg into wedges for salad
- Remove any loose or damaged outer leaves from a head of iceberg lettuce.
- Slice the head of lettuce in half, lengthwise, through the core.
- Slice each half into 3 equal wedges. Note: if your head is small, simply slice into quarters.
- I keep the core intact until after I’ve sliced the wedges, which keeps them from falling apart. You can trim the cores now, but make sure your wedges hold together.
- I’ll remove any more loose leaves before arranging the wedges, cut side up, in a circle around a jar of dressing, it makes a pretty presentation.
is iceberg lettuce healthy?
It’s got a bad rap, but all lettuce is good for you, and iceberg is no exception. Iceberg’s not as nutrient dense as darker leafy greens like kale and spinach, but it still contains important vitamins, and it’s definitely not junk food!.
- It’s low in calories, high in fiber and super hydrating.
- It’s a great choice if you’re trying to lose weight because it will fill you up without extra calories.
- It keeps longer than most salad greens, which is a boon.
- Recent studies suggest iceberg might contain an important cancer-fighting compound, so don’t give up on it just yet.
- Now as for the blue cheese dressing…that’s another story 🙂
One of the fun things about this salad is that you don’t have to be neat, in fact, the more chaotic, the better. The colorful toppings tumbling down and around the wedges invite you to dig right in.
toppings for a loaded wedge salad
The key here is to make sure everything is small, or finely chopped.
- crisp crumbled bacon
- black olives
- red bell peppers
- seasoned croutons
- hard cooked eggs
- carrots
- cucumber
- red onion
- tomatoes
- garbanzo beans (canned)
are you a salad person too?
- Spring Salmon Salad Platter
- Great Island Curried Chicken Salad Plate
- Spring Salad with Eggs and Creamy Tarragon Dressing
- Chopped Chef Salad
- Mediterranean Bean Salad
- Tossed Salad Niçoise with lemony tarragon dressing
- Salmon Cobb Salad
Fully Loaded Wedge Salad
Ingredients
- 1 head iceberg lettuce
dressing
- 1/2 cup sour cream, about 6 ounces
- 3 ounces soft Blue Cheese or Gorgonzola
- 1 Tbsp buttermilk, or regular milk
- juice of 1/2 lemon, more to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
toppings
- crumbled bacon
- minced red onion
- finely chopped bell pepper
- finely chopped cucumber
- finely chopped carrots
- chopped croutons
- chopped cherry tomatoes
- finely chopped hard cooked egg
- chopped or sliced black olives
- garbanzo beans
Instructions
- Put the dressing ingredients together in a small food processor and process briefly until combined, but still lumpy. Add salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste, and add more milk if you'd like a thinner dressing. Add more lemon juice if you like.
- Wash and dry your head of lettuce. Remove any loose or browned leaves. Slice the head in half, through the core. Slice each half into 3 wedges, so you have a total of 6 wedges. Remove any bit of core from the bottom of each wedge. Do this shortly before serving your salad, because the lettuce can start to turn brown once cut.
- Arrange your lettuce on a platter and drizzle each wedge with a little of the dressing. Scatter the toppings on top of the wedges and all around them.
- Serve immediately with extra dressing.
- Note: You can make individual salad plates instead of the platter if you like.
Notes
Make this fully loaded wedge salad your own ~
- I think I’ll try this with wedges of radicchio next time.
- Use heads of romaine lettuce, halved lengthwise and grilled, as the base for a summer loaded salad. Add some grilled corn, too ~ yum!
- Go traditional with a nice homemade Russian or Thousand Island dressing.
Nutrition
Wow, this Fully Loaded Wedge Salad is really impressive! What an AMAZING idea! Beautiful presentation! This is really very tasty! I definitely want to try it. Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
I just can’t get over how bright and festive this looks! What a great recipe to wow my guests at my mom’s upcoming 75th birthday party. Can’t wait to try!
I grew up eating iceberg lettuce and as I got older I always considered it to be inferior to the other lettuces. But you are right, it’s still good for you! I love wedge salad and your beautiful salad is no exception!! I can’t wait to try your recipe!
What an amazing explosion of flavors! I haven’t made a wedge salad before, but I love the idea of it!
Just pinned this gorgeous, scrumptious, salad of ALL salads! Yummm Sue…one can never go wrong with a wedge salad…and why not LOAD it up?! That’s how I prefer all salads…gimme ALL the veggies! Thanks for the salad inspiration 🙂
Thanks Traci ~ and why can’t all recipes be LOADED??
I have never stopped loving iceberg lettuce, so this is right up my alley! I think I might just like the whole platter for myself 🙂
It’s hard to beat that crunch 🙂
I love, love, love a good wedge salad and this one looks GOOD!
It’s hard to make a wrong turn with bacon and blue cheese dressing…
What a terrific idea for a crowd! This would be devoured in a flash at our house. No need for a heavy dinner – I could eat just this salad and be a happy girl!
Exactly, it’s definitely main course salad material, that’s how I had mine. And I think this is the perfect salad for any party, thanks for stopping by Tricia <3
That’s a huge head of iceberg salad. I first thought they were the flat jeroma cabbage. The topping makes the salad!
My head was pretty standard, but when you cut it up like that it does go a long way. I wondered about other types of greens to use, and I do think larger heads of radicchio might work.
I would skip the croutons, but otherwise this looks like a perfect salad for me. I love wedge salads and order them often in restaurants. Thanks for the shout-out for my loaded cauliflower soup!
I’ve now got ‘loaded’ recipes on the brain, so good!