One of my favorite parts of dinner at a steakhouse is a trip to the salad bar! This is my recreation of everything I love about a Steakhouse Salad Bar Salad, crisp romaine and lots of veggies, chopped bacon, croutons, cheese, and my Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing! Customize it to your liking, this classic salad is easy and even better made a home!
- Make it your Own! - This is exactly how I pile my plate at the steakhouse salad bar, never skimping on the bacon bits, croutons, cheese, sharp red onions (my favorite) and the super thick creamy dressing! This is a fun salad to make at home, and customize any way you like!
- Feels Indulgent but uses Fresh, Wholesome Ingredients - Lots of healthy vegetables balance this salad, while your richer ingredients are all made from scratch!
- Love Awesome Salads? We do too! Try this Blackened Chicken Chopped Salad and this Blue Cheese Apple Walnut Salad.
Jump to:
Ingredients & Substitutions
Healthy fresh vegetable meet crispy bacon, homemade croutons, and your favorite salad dressing.
- Lettuce - A salad bar salad typically uses romaine or iceberg lettuce, something crisp and crunchy.
- Vegetables - I like to include the very standard tomato, cucumber, carrot, and plenty of red onion, which give the salad that signature punch balanced by the creamy dressing. This is, of course, totally customizable and you can use more or less of whatever you like.
- Bacon - Freshly cooked bacon is even better than the bacon bits you'll get at a restaurant. Bake it in the oven for easy, even cooking with less mess!
- Croutons - It's pretty simple to make homemade croutons out of any kind of crusty bread.
- Cheese - The blue cheese dressing has lots of fresh cheese, but I also like to add shredded cheddar!
- Dressing - My favorite part about a steakhouse salad bar is the super thick creamy dressings! I recommend my Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing, which is also amazing with Easy Dry Rub Chicken Wings! Store-bought ranch, Parmesan Peppercorn, or even Caesar or something similar would be good too!
See recipe card below for full quantities.
Instructions
Cook up your bacon and croutons, mix up the dressing, and chop your veggies!
Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Lay the bacon strips on one sheet pan and toss the bread with the oil and seasoning on another.
Step 2 - The croutons will bake about 10 minutes and the bacon will take about 15 to 25 minutes, depending on thickness.
Watch both carefully, check on them often, and take out when done.
Step 3 - If making, use this recipe for Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing and refrigerate until ready.
You can also use any store-bought dressing you like.
Step 4 - Wash and chop or shred your vegetables and cheese.
Step 5 - Toss the lettuce with about HALF of each ingredients and a bit of the dressing.
Arrange on a platter or bowl and then top the salad with the remaining ingredients and another drizzle of dressing.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Toss with Half, Top with Half - The trick to salad presentation is not letting all the ingredients fall to the bottom of the bowl! Add about half of each ingredient when tossing the lettuce with the dressing, then arrange the other half over the top. This gives you a gorgeous, full-looking salad!
- How to Adjust a Salad for Any Size Group - This salad serves about 2 to 4 people, depending on how many other side dishes there are. But, any salad can easily be adjusted up or down to serve any size party. Just grab a small handful of lettuce, about the amount you think one person would eat, and toss it in your bowl. Count out those little handfuls for your amount of people, then just adjust the toppings to look right. Salad measurements don't need to be exact! The Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing is way more than enough for this salad, you can make a half batch if you don't want much leftover.
- Dinners to Serve with this Salad - Obviously a steak dinner would be perfect, or try it with my Grilled Steak Kabobs. It would also be great with grilled or roasted chicken, skillet burgers, Panko Crusted Salmon, a pasta dinner like this Rigatoni Pasta Bake, these Stuffed Shells with Sausage Spinach Sauce or my Spicy Rigatoni with Meat Sauce. It's a great big salad to serve with soup too!
- Storage - Extra salad with the dressing doesn't store very well, so try to eat it the day it's made. You can store extra veggies or bacon in the fridge, and extra croutons in an airtight container on the counter for a few days. Extra dressing can keep in the fridge for a week and can be used on any salad.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! If making ahead, you can make the croutons ahead and just store them on the counter for a few days. Bacon can be cooked ahead and refrigerated and serve cold or microwaved for a few seconds to warm. The dressing is great to make ahead and will last up to a week in the fridge. The lettuce and veggies can all be added to a bowl, then just top with the bacon, croutons and dressing just before serving.
This is a salad bar salad so you can customize, add or omit anything you want! Broccoli, bell peppers, radishes, pea pods, olives, or sunflower seeds would all be great additions. You can use different cheeses such as feta, blue cheese, or Parmesan. And you can use any type of store-bought or homemade dressing you like. Try my basic Easy Vinaigrette in a Jar!
Yes! Add a few more hearty protein rich ingredients like chicken, chopped deli meat, avocado, sunflower seeds or hard boiled egg and this salad is a dinner on its own!
More Favorite Salad Recipes!
Love this Recipe?
If you made this recipe, I'd love to hear how you liked it! Be sure to leave a star rating by clicking the stars in the recipe card, or leave a comment below!
Join the Email List for new recipes delivered straight to your inbox!
Steakhouse Salad Bar Salad
Hit the stars to rate this recipe!
Print Pin RateIngredients
For the Croutons
- 2 cups crusty bread cubed
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
For the Salad
- 5 strips bacon
- 4 cups romaine lettuce chopped
- ½ cup cherry tomato cut in half
- ½ cup cucumber sliced
- ⅛ cup carrot shredded
- ⅛ cup red onion sliced
- ¼ cup cheddar cheese shredded
- ¼ cup Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing or any dressing of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉. Toss the cubed bread with olive oil, garlic powder and oregano on a sheet pan. Lay out the bacon strips on another sheet pan. Bake both in the oven, the croutons will take about 10 minutes and the bacon will take about 15 to 25 minutes (depending on thickness). Flip and check often, and take out each when done.
- Wash and chop the lettuce and vegetables. Make the Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing recipe if using and refrigerate until ready.
- Transfer the cooked bacon to a plate and chop when slightly cooled.
- Toss the lettuce and about HALF of each ingredient and a bit of dressing. Add to a serving platter or bowl and arrange the remaining ingredients over the top with another drizzle of dressing!
Notes
- Make Ahead - Dressing can be made ahead and refrigerated a few days. Croutons can be made ahead and kept in an airtight container on the counter.
- All ingredients are optional and customizable. Broccoli, bell pepper, olives, peas, sunflower seeds, hard-boiled eggs, chicken, avocado, feta or blue cheese, or any type of salad dressing are some great variations.
Leave a Review