Baby Romaine Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
Easy and elegant – the classic wedge salad. Topped with a lightened blue cheese dressing, this recipe takes the ho-hum dinner salad to new heights.
As salad dressings go, blue cheese is one that tops the calorie-loaded list. The amount of mayonnaise typically used in this rich and creamy dressing supplies the bulk of the calories. Of course, the blue cheese contributes to the calorie count as well.
I realize opening a bottle of store-bought blue cheese dressing is easier than making it but let me share some numbers that might prompt you to give this recipe a try. In addition to calories, I evaluated the total fat, saturated fat, and sodium content of ten store-bought blue cheese dressings, averaged them, and compared the numbers to my homemade recipe. Check out the results – calories were reduced by 50%, total fat by 57%, saturated fat by 33%, and sodium by 31%.
These reductions were achieved by relying more on reduced-fat sour cream and low-fat buttermilk and less on mayonnaise for the creamy, rich texture of blue cheese dressing. I also cut back a bit on the amount of blue cheese. Because the flavor is so intense and pungent, a little blue cheese goes a long way. If you can’t find blue cheese in your market, look for Roquefort, Gorgonzola, or Stilton.
Beyond the nutritional benefits, the fresh flavors of this homemade blue cheese dressing beat bottled versions every time. And it only takes 4 minutes to make.
To your health,
Darlene
BABY ROMAINE WEDGE SALAD with BLUE CHEESE DRESSING
Yield: 6 servings
Serving Size: 2 small lettuce wedges with 2 tablespoons dressing
Prep: 10 minutes
Ready: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup cultured low-fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
3 baby (Artisan) Romaine lettuce heads
6 tablespoons diced red onion
12 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, buttermilk, mayonnaise, lemon juice, sugar, salt, pepper, and granulated garlic until smooth. Add blue cheese and stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
To prepare one serving of wedge salad, wash a head of baby Romaine lettuce and pat dry. Cut lettuce head lengthwise into four quarters. Arrange two small lettuce quarters on a plate and drizzle with 2 tablespoons dressing. Top with 1 tablespoon diced red onion and 4 grape tomato halves.
Nutrition Information per Serving
104 Calories, 6 g Total fat, 2 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 13 mg Cholesterol, 253 mg Sodium, 9 g Total carbohydrate, 2 g Dietary fiber, 4 g Total sugars, 0 g Added sugars, 4 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 117 mg (10%) Calcium, 5 mg (30%) Iron, 98 mg (2%) Potassium
© 2022 RECIPES MADE HEALTHY BY DARLENE ZIMMERMAN, MS, RD LLC
Hi Sheryl! So glad you liked the blue cheese dressing. It was a hit at my house too. I actually tested that dressing three times. Each time it got a little better. Needless to say we had a lot of blue cheese dressing in our refrigerator recently 😋.
So delicious. Sheryl made this with dinner last night.