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There’s an interesting story behind this BLT Salad Recipe! Anyone can make a BLT salad (the name is a dead giveaway of the ingredients and it’s basically a deconstructed sandwich) but not every BLT dressing is created equal! A few years ago, we attended my husbands’ cousin’s wedding and their reception was in a fancy hotel in Washington state.
There was a salad on the menu and the dressing tasted just like a favorite salad of ours (Creamy Cucumber and Tomato Salad) except it was served over a bed of greens and I thought – “YAAAASSSS! This is brilliant!” Why not put the same tasty dressing on every salad possible? Why not put it on a BLT salad loaded with fresh lettuce, crispy bacon, bright tomatoes and of course croutons (and these were homemade by the way!).
The dressing for this salad is spot on and my Mom mmm’d her way through her bowl. It was an instant win because it has the same familiar family-favorite dressing but it’s served in a really exciting way. I venture to call this our new house salad; ‘Natasha’s House Salad.’ I won’t lie – I kinda like the sound of that! 😉
Ingredients for BLT Salad:
12 oz sliced cooked bacon*
1 to 2 cups croutons (click here for croutons recipe)
1 lb (3 cups) tomatoes (any kind)
1 medium/large head of lettuce,** chopped, rinsed and spun dry
* I baked ‘ma bacon on a foil lined baking sheet for about 14-15 min at 400˚F. Thick cut bacon can take closer to 20 min.
**Photographed is a Boston lettuce (also known as bibb or butter lettuce). You can also use romaine, or green leaf.
For the Creamy BLT Salad Dressing:
3 Tbsp mayo
4 Tbsp sour cream
1 large garlic clove, pressed
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt, or to taste
1 to 2 Tbsp milk, or add to desired consistency
How to Make the Best BLT Salad:
1. Make the dressing first to allow the flavors to meld. In a small bowl, combine 3 Tbsp mayo, 4 Tbsp sour cream, 1 pressed garlic clove, 1/4 cup chives, 1/8 tsp black pepper and 1/4 tsp salt (or season to taste). Stir together with a fork then add 1 to 2 Tbsp milk, or add milk to desired consistency. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine lettuce, tomatoes, bacon and croutons. Just before serving, drizzle with dressing (adding it to taste) and toss to combine. You may or may not use all of the dressing depending on how large your head of lettuce was. I had a tablespoon or so left over.
This BLT Salad is easy peasy and you have one ridiculously tasty salad! Enjoy this my friends! 🙂
BLT Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for the BLT Salad:
- 12 oz sliced cooked bacon*
- 1 to 2 cups croutons
- 1 lb 3 cups tomatoes (any kind), sliced
- 1 medium/large head of lettuce, ** chopped, rinsed, dried
Instructions
- Make the dressing first to allow the flavors to meld. In a small bowl, combine 3 Tbsp mayo, 4 Tbsp sour cream, pressed garlic clove, 1/4 cup chives, 1/8 tsp black pepper and 1/4 tsp salt (or season to taste). Stir together then add 1 to 2 Tbsp milk, or add milk to desired consistency. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine lettuce, tomatoes, bacon and croutons. Just before serving, drizzle with dressing (adding it to taste) and toss to combine.
Notes
**Great lettuce options: Boston/bibb/butter lettuce, romaine, or green leaf lettuce.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
What is your families all-time favorite salad? We get into grooves where we make the same salad all the time for an entire season because we love it so much! Are you the same way?
This recipe looks so fresh and delicious
It really is! I hope you love it Colleen!
Oh my! My stepson just remarked that if you diced up some turkey, ham and cheese that it could also be a club salad! Will have to try that out too!
Hi Natasha, I made this tonight it was so delicious. My 8 year old daughter love it. Thank you very much for the recipie. The dressing was so simple but very good.
You’re welcome! I am so glad you enjoy the recipe!
I was craving a salad after a weekend of Thanksgiving leftovers. This BLT salad was just the ticket! So easy and delicious. It was a big hit with my husband, too! I love your blog, Natasha!
I’m so glad to hear that you liked this salad Patty 😬. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Natasha,
I’m trying to make the dressing for this salad for tomorrow but don’t have milk on hand. But..I do have buttermilk. Do you think it will be ok if I use that to thin the dressing?
Hi Lulu,nI haven’t tried buttermilk, but you might try this method which I used for my other BLT salad recipe: In a medium bowl, combine chopped tomatoes with all of your salad ingredients, minus the milk. Stir to combine and set aside for 10 minutes allowing the tomatoes to release their juiciness. This scrumptious and easy concoction is your dressing. You could even just leave the milk out. It will be a little harder to stir it all together but it will coat the salad well even without the milk.
YAY!!! this second dressing recipe is the one I am searching for but cannot find!! The one with the tomatoes as part of the dressing!! Can you please post it for me, or point me in the right direction?? Please and thank you!!
Hi Laurie, you can check my Dressing recipes here for options.
ohmygosh… I got so excited, I didnt even comprehend what you had posted! LOL I got it now, thank you!!!
Hi Natasha, I made this salad for my book club meeting last night. I just returned from a vacation to Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro, so going grocery-shopping jet-lagged is never a good idea. I kept forgetting things! and had to substitute green onion for the chives and wanted to make your croutons but ran out of time, so store-bought it was. 11 people, huge bowl of romaine with cocktail tomatoes and heaps of cooked bacon – GONE! It was a huge hit, as have been all your recipes. Thanks again, it was good to get out of my usual Caesar salad mode too. 🙂
I’m all smiles reading your comment! Thank you for sharing your amazing review! 🙂
Hi Natasha, Can you recommend a brand of mayo for this recipe. Thanks! Kandy
Kandy, we usually buy Kirkland mayo from Costco, but “Best Foods” or your favorite regular mayo brand would work fine.
FYI: Best Foods Real Mayonnaise west of the Mississippi; but it is known as Hellman’s Real Mayonnaise, east of the river.
Very yummy salad!! It’s on my list for my son’s bday party:)
I love this mess less way of cooking bacon👍
Thank you Alina, bacon makes everything taste better 😋. Happy Birthday wishes to your son 🎉.
This salad is so good i loved it so much. This is something that i’ll continue to make often. Thanks so much for sharing this with us.
You are welcome Rosa, thank you for sharing that with us 😀.
I was wondering if once you have it all combined with dressing and all and you serve it but there is still some left over can you refrigerate the salad? How long does it typically last?
Hi Rosa, this salad is really best eaten after it’s made. The croutons readily absorb moisture and will become mushy overnight and the lettuce will start to wilt. Also, the bacon will soften from moisture and will lose it’s crispy appeal. I would definitely suggest dressing only as much as you want to eat and leave the remaining salad refrigerated without dressing. Also, I would personally keep the bacon and croutons in separate zip-loc bags and leave croutons at room temperature since they can absorb moisture from the refrigerator.
Hey Natasha!
I was wondering if you happen to have any weekly meal plans? I recently got married and trying to make a routine to go shopping all at one time to make it much easier than going to the store everyday if I don’t have something for the recipe or need to do something else. Just curious if you might have something like that (:
Hi! I don’t have anything like that currently. I was doing them in my newsletters for awhile but not on my blog, but it’s a great suggestion! thank you! 🙂
Wow this looks so awesome, like all of your recipes, btw!! I love the fresh ingredients and will try to make this salad on the weekend. 🙂
I love that you are a Christian! If you are interested, please read my testimony of how God healed me from cancer, I´d be very happy 🙂
https://thatchristiangirl.com/2016/09/09/my-testimony/
Thank you for that great complement! I did just read through your testimony and that is amazing! God is so good! Praise the Lord! Thank you so much for boldly sharing that with others. 🙂
The salad looks really good. I just love the tomatoes you used. I think this salad would be perfect For me and my daughters diet.
Thank you Vicki, let me know how you like it 😀
Now, I will not be having a headache on thinking my next salad routine!
Hi, Natasha! On your link to your cousin’s wedding, there is picture from desert table. A backing sheet cake with poppy seed layer cought my eye. Would you happen to have a receipe?
Thank you so much!
Love your site!
Natalie
Hi Natalie, I had no part in making the desserts for the wedding so I really don’t. I am visiting those same relatives next month so I will try to remember to ask 🙂
I made this salad for a big party, and this salad was gone so fast I didn’t even get a chance to try it!
Ha!! That’s awesome!! Well, maybe not so awesome for you. lol. 😉
Thank you for this recipe. I make something similar but this is an upgraded version. One of my “must try” this week !
I hope you LOVE it!! 🙂
You are welcome, let me know how it turns out 😄.
I have a question, will it be too soggy if I mix it all together and will want to eat leftovers the next day?
Irene, yes it would turn soggy, especially with croutons in there. Salads with lettuce and croutons are best eaten shortly after being mixed with the dressing.
This looks soooo good, Natasha! I have always wanted to make a BLT salad as well instead of the usual sandwich. Simple, yet makes so much sense!. I love all the components in this salad with the creamy dressing. Great job! 😉
Oh you should definitely try it!! I think it’s more enjoyable than eating a sandwich and you definitely get alot more greens and tomatoes this way 🙂 Enjoy!!
Looks delicious. Yummy. Great salad. Thank you for all your work on the website.
Thank you so much for your wonderful and encouraging feedback 🙂
Love the dressing I tried it and it was so amazing. 👌🏼👍🏼
Oh that’s awesome!! I’m so happy you liked it 🙂