If you love a BLT sandwich, you need to try this Chopped BLT Salad recipe. Turn the bread into croutons and toss bacon, lettuce and tomatoes in a creamy dressing for the perfect flavorful bite!
30 minutes
Minimal prep
You’ll Learn: How to make use of the leftover bacon grease
Worth It: It’s a satisfying twist on the classic BLT
Bonus: Easy to tailor to common diets
Why You’ll Love this recipe
- BLT in a bowl – There is nothing I love more in the summer than BLT with crispy bacon, fresh lettuce and a juicy, ripe tomato. This BLT salad takes all of the best parts of the sandwich and combines them in a fresh and delicious salad.
- Summer produce favorite – This is one of my favorite ways to use in season tomatoes. This recipe makes tomatoes the superstar, and it is so delicious when they are at their peak.
- Great for parties – This salad is an awesome option for your summer potlucks or picnics! You can make a big batch of this salad for a great hearty and refreshing entree or side!
Serving suggestions
This bright and flavorful salad is a hearty meal on its own OR can be a delicious side dish. It is a wonderful thing to serve at a summer barbecue with other salads like a grilled watermelon salad or summer corn salad.
If you want to serve this BLT salad recipe as the main dish, you can add extra protein to this dish. I like to make some grilled chicken to slice and toss into the salad. Balsamic Grilled Chicken, Grilled Ginger Lime Chicken, or Marinated Grilled Chicken Thighs would all be so delicious added into this salad.
If you want to make this for meal prep, make a batch of cast iron chicken, cut it into strips and toss it with the other ingredients. Then, wait to toss the salad in the dressing until just before you are ready to serve.
For another chopped salad, try this pepperoni pizza chopped salad next.
Salad Ingredients
- Thick cut bacon – I love thick cut bacon for this salad! It’s heartier, and the bigger pieces are so good alongside the tomatoes and croutons.
- Hearty bread like sourdough – sourdough is my favorite because it adds flavor and has an amazing crunch with a chewy texture
- Ripe tomatoes or cherry tomatoes – if tomatoes are in season, definitely use ripe fresh tomatoes! If it’s not peak season, a greenhouse tomato like a cherry tomato or grape tomato is great
- Romaine lettuce or iceberg lettuce – you can use either lettuce here, I just love a crunchy fresh lettuce for this salad. Butter lettuce would also be great
- Mayonnaise – mayo is the base of the dressing for your salad. I prefer mayo, but you could also make a dressing with sour cream or greek yogurt as the base.
- Olive oil – a bit of oil thickens and smooths out your dressing
- Apple cider vinegar – vinegar is going to brighten up the dressing for great flavor
- Sugar – a touch of sugar sweetens everything up
- Black pepper – I used black pepper to season this dressing slightly
Ingredient Substitutions
There are many different ways to change up this BLT salad recipe! You can easily turn this into a delicious BLT pasta salad.
Skip the croutons, boil 8oz of your favorite pasta like bowtie and toss with the salad ingredients! You may want to double the amount of BLT salad dressing because the pasta really soaks up liquid.
Make this salad gluten free by using your favorite gluten-free bread in place of the sourdough for the croutons. Keep the salad low carb or keto by omitting the croutons.
You can use turkey bacon instead. Turkey bacon does not leave grease behind when cooked so you will need to use some oil to toast the bread cubes into croutons for the salad. You can also put them on a baking sheet in the oven instead.
I find the bacon grease to add plenty of flavor to the homemade croutons, but you can also add some garlic powder or onion powder if you would like.
A classic BLT sandwich does not include any cheese, but I think it would be a delicious addition to this salad. I would personally use cubed cheddar cheese or crumble goat cheese to compliment the other ingredients.
Feel free to add any extra vegetables that you like to make the salad a little heartier. I like to add things like fresh chopped cucumber, bell pepper or red onion.
Lastly, if you do not want to use the simple dressing written here, you could use buttermilk ranch or make this homemade ranch dressing recipe for a super flavorful option.
How to make
Step 1: Cook bacon strips and toast croutons
To begin, heat a frying pan over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook bacon until crispy.
Then, using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from the skillet. Leave the bacon grease behind.
While the bacon is cooking, cut the bread into bite-sized pieces. After cooking the bacon, reduce heat to low and toast the bread cubes in the bacon grease until golden brown.
Step 2: Chop other ingredients
Then, dice the tomatoes and sprinkle with a little kosher salt, chop the bacon and cut the romaine lettuce into shreds.
Place tomatoes, toasted breast, bacon, and lettuce in a large bowl.
Step 3: prepare salad dressing and toss it all together
To prepare the salad dressing, whisk together the mayo, olive oil apple cider, vinegar and sugar. Pour over salad and toss to coat completely.
Top with fresh cracked black pepper and either finely chopped chives, dill or fresh parsley.
make ahead and storage
This salad is best enjoyed as soon as it is made to ensure that the bacon and the croutons remain crispy.
To make this chopped BLT salad ahead of time, I recommend making it as written here, but do not toss in the dressing. Store in the fridge until you are ready to combine and serve.
Although I find that this salad tastes best when enjoyed within 24 hours of cooking, you can save the leftovers. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Check out these other summer salad recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Chopped BLT Salad
Ingredients
- 4 strips thick cut bacon
- 2 slices hearty bread like sourdough
- 2 medium ripe tomatoes
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- Fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon from the pan, but leave the grease behind.
- While the bacon is cooking, cut the bread into cubes.
- After cooking the bacon, reduce heat to low and toast the bread cubes in the bacon grease until golden brown.
- Dice the tomatoes and sprinkle with a little kosher salt, chop the bacon and cut the romaine lettuce into shreds.
- Place tomatoes, toasted breast, bacon, and lettuce in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk together the mayo, olive oil apple cider, vinegar and sugar. Pour over salad and toss to coat completely. Top with fresh cracked black pepper and either finely chopped chives or fresh parsley.
Recipe Notes
- I like to use thick cut bacon, but you can use thin or regular bacon or even turkey bacon
- If using turkey bacon, you will need a bit of oil for toasting the bread
- Garnish with fresh chives to add even more flavor this salad
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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