Easy Recipe for BLT Salad
My family adores anything with bacon. Bacon makes everything better, right? The salad is chock full of colors, textures, and a plethora of veggies. As many textures, flavors, and veggies that I can pack into a salad, that happier I am. My favorite are the big tomato slices. Almost daily for the past 10 years, I eat one tomato. You know what they say, a tomato a day keeps the doctor away. Something like that. Having juicy tomatoes with the crunchy cucumber slices, crisp carrots, and the little bursts of flavor and color from the peas and corn scattered about, is my idea of a great salad.
But what really makes a salad is the dressing. No matter how good the greens and veggies are, the dressing is the make-it-or-break-it element. And this dressing is a definite make-it. You can just use your favorite store-bought ranch dressing, but making your own takes about 1 minute. And after trying homemade ranch, you’ll never need those powdered ranch dressing mix packets again. Or shall I say packets of sodium and garlic powder.
BLT Salad Ingredients
To make this easy recipe for BLT salad, you’ll need:
Bacon Salad greens Tomatoes Cucumber Carrots Corn Peas Mayonnaise Sour cream Buttermilk Fresh parsley Lemon juice Olive oil Green onion or chives Garlic
How to Make BLT Salad with Ranch Dressing
Making a BLT salad from scratch is so easy! I love that the dressing can be prepared in advance and eaten throughout the week. Here’s a look at how the salad is prepared:
Can I Use Different Veggies?
Of course! You can customize your BLT salad however you see fit. However, I recommend keeping the salad greens, tomato, and bacon — otherwise you’d be missing one of the key components of a BLT.
Can I Make This Vegetarian?
Yes! That’s what I did. Simply use your favorite vegan bacon and cook according to package instructions.
Tips for the Best BLT Salad
Low-fat swaps: For the dressing, you can use lite/reduced fat versions of the mayo and sour cream (or try Greek yogurt). I did, and the dressing is still plenty creamy, thick, and luscious, with just the right amount of tang from buttermilk. Adjust the flavors: Like all dressings, adjust the seasonings, salt, and flavor balance to your taste. If you think it needs a dash more lemon, buttermilk, oil, salt, or whatever it is, add it to taste. Leftover dressing: The recipe makes just over 1 cup dressing and extra will keep easily for a week in the fridge. It’s great to have around to do double duty as a veggie dip, or I’m sure it would make a fabulous chicken marinade.
More Summer Salad Recipes:
Beef Taco Salad— Loaded with crisp romaine lettuce, sweet corn, juicy tomatoes, and more! It comes together in just 20 minutes and is topped with the most incredible cilantro lime dressing. Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes!
Chopped Chicken Salad — An EASY chopped salad with so much FLAVOR and CRUNCH topped with PERFECT juicy oven-baked chicken that’s ready in 15 minutes!! Homemade honey apple cider vinaigrette adds the finishing touch!!
Balsamic Watermelon Cucumber Salad — An EASY, healthy, and light salad with watermelon, cucumber, arugula, goat cheese, candied nuts, and drizzled with a homemade balsamic glaze!!
Loaded Greek Salad — An amped up version of a classic Greek salad with avocado, artichokes, garbanzo beans, and more!! The tangy Greek salad dressing is ready in seconds and is a major flavor booster!
Salmon Niçoise Salad with Basil Vinaigrette — An ELEGANT French-inspired salad with juicy salmon, tender potatoes, soft-boiled eggs, crispy haricots verts, and more. And it’s all drizzled with a super FLAVORFUL fresh basil vinaigrette!
Crunchy Peanut Salad with Chicken — Crispy fried chicken with crunchy cabbage, carrots, peanuts, cilantro and the EASIEST and BEST homemade peanut sauce that coats every bite!!
