BLT Salad

Entree salads are a fantastic weeknight meal and entree sandwiches make excellent flavor profiles for these creations. That’s why when you make these BLT salads your whole family will have happy tummies. The simple profile of Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato coupled with my Homemade Garlic Croutons, sharp cheddar and a creamy garlic dressing is a win across the board.

Bacon chips are going to be something you want to make on the regular. The technique is a bit of an extra labor step but it’s soo worth it. As long as you have a good set of tongs you will get it done easy enough. And you can use it in so many ways – like on my Jalapeño Popper Pizza. For this salad recipe, I used a Peppered thick cut bacon. You absolutely need a thick cut bacon, but you can skip the peppered if you don’t want that punch of flavor.

The dressing is going to be one of those that you want to save for lots of other dishes. It’s an easy one to pull together and so tasty. It would make a great veggie dip all the way to baked potatoes and wings even. The real key ingredient to a great salad dressing is fresh chives. Chive is that “thing” that makes a dressing exactly what you want with a big old bowl of salad!

This is a true entree salad in that it’s the whole meal deal. You have your proteins from the bacon and cheese, all your veggies from the lettuce and tomato and then your carbs from the croutons and dressing. Speaking of the croutons, I have included my recipe for making them, but you can absolutely use some pre-made croutons. Just be sure that they a thicker, “Texas toast” style, as they are intended to take the place of the bread in a BLT.

Now Let’s Get Cookin’!

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BLT Salad

A hearty entree salad loaded with bacon, lettuce and tomatoes, all with a delicious creamy garlic dressing.

Course Entree Salad, Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword american cheese, bacon, bean salad, BLT, cherry to, creamy garlic dressing, croutons, entree salad, homemade croutons, lettuce, romaine lettuce, salad for dinner, tomato

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 1 20oz pkg Thick Cut Peppered Bacon cut into 1inch pieces
• 3 Romaine Hearts chopped
• 10 oz Sharp Cheddar Block Cheese cut into ½inch cubes
• 2 cups Cherry Tomatoes halved
• 2 cups Garlic Croutons see recipe below

For the Creamy Garlic Dressing

• ⅔ cup Mayonanaise
• ½ cup Sour Cream
• 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
• ½ tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Pepper
• ½ cup Fresh Chives finely chopped
• ¼ cup Heavy Cream
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Instructions

• Whisk together dressing ingredients in a mason jar. Secure lid and place in refrigerator until ready to serve (up to 10 days). *Add more heavy cream if you prefer a "looser" dressing
• In a large saute pan over medium high heat, add bacon pieces in a single layer, each laying flat. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, flipping each individually to preserve the "chip". Remove to cool on a paper towel covered plate. *Note, cook in batches if you cannot fit them all in the pan flat at the same time.
• In a large mixing bowl, add romaine, cheese, tomatoes, croutons, and ¾ of dressing. Toss to evenly coat and mix.
• Serve with an extra drizzle of dressing, as desired.