A classic steakhouse salad with a kick
This Wedge Salad with Horseradish Blue Cheese Dressing will likely ruin other wedge salads for you in the future. The building blocks are similar to a traditional wedge, starting with crisp iceberg lettuce, bacon, black olives, tomatoes, and a sprinkle of green onion. However, traditional hard boiled eggs get swapped out for perfectly jammy 6-minute eggs and the classic blue cheese dressing gets a spicy level up with horseradish blue cheese dressing. This steakhouse salad is easy to assemble and seriously delicious!
What ingredients you need to build a great wedge salad
- Iceberg lettuce - A classic wedge salad always starts with a wedge of crisp and cool iceberg lettuce, which holds it's own under all of the creamy ingredients that it gets dressed with
- Horseradish blue cheese dressing - My favorite blue cheese dressing has a spicy kick of horseradish to elevate the flavor
- Blue cheese crumbles - I love topping my wedge salad with additional blue cheese crumbles. Check out my guide for selecting a your preferred type of blue cheese below
- Bacon - Crunchy and salty bacon is a must for a classic wedge salad
- 6-minute eggs - Why would you hard boil an egg when you can have perfectly jammy yolks? Check out my easy process for perfectly jammy 6-minute eggs below
- Olives - I prefer whole black olives for this salad, but green olives are also nice if you prefer them
- Tomatoes - Juicy and sweet cherry tomatoes help cut through the sharpness of the horseradish and blue cheese
- Onions - I prefer to use green onions (scallions) on my wedge salad, however, you can swap these out for red onion if you prefer/can tolerate them in your diet
- Black Pepper - I love to finish this salad with a good crack of black pepper
What kind of blue cheese should I use?
Whether you refer to it by its American spelling, blue, or French spelling, bleu, this sharp and salty cheese is my favorite choice to use on a wedge salad. For this recipe, I use blue cheese in both the horseradish dressing and crumbled on top of the salad. The three varieties you will most often come across are the following, and all three are great options for this wedge salad.
- Roquefort – A sheep’s milk cheese originating in southern France, this cheese is lightly tangy, acidic, crumbly, and slightly moist with white flesh and distinctive veins of deep blue. This is one of the world’s best-known bleu cheeses.
- Gorgonzola – A cow’s milk cheese originating in Milan, Italy, this cheese is buttery, crumbly, and quite salty with white flesh and greenish-blue marbling. I find that Gorgonzola is a good option for those who may sometimes find the blue mold flavor of blue cheese overpowering as it tends to be somewhat milder in Gorgonzola, but is still sharp and nicely salty.
- Stilton – A cow’s milk cheese originating in England (produced in the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire), this cheese is soft and crumbly, with nutty and salty notes and delicate blue veins expanding from its center.
What kind of horseradish is best to use?
I prefer to use a prepared cream-style horseradish for this recipe, like this one, as it blends well into the creamy blue cheese dressing. However, if you are working around a dietary preference you can use plain grated or minced horseradish if needed. Just start with a smaller amount and adust for taste as desired.
How to make Perfectly Jammy 6-minute eggs
I prefer to use a properly jammy egg in this wedge salad, meaning the egg whites are cooked through and the yolk is only just starting to cook around the edges, leaving the golden center saucy, shiny, and perfectly jammy.
In order to accomplish this, bring your pot of water to boil over medium-high heat first before ever adding the eggs. Once the water reaches boil, gently lower your eggs into the water and cook for 6 ½ minutes (set that timer!), adjusting the heat to maintain a gentle boil if necessary. Once the timer goes off, use a slotted spoon to carefully transfer the eggs into an ice bath to chill for 2 minutes. Once cooled, crack, peel, and enjoy the jammiest eggs!
If you prefer your yolk cooked all the way through, this salad is still great with wedges of traditional hard boiled eggs.
What should I serve this Wedge Salad with Horseradish Blue Cheese Dressing with?
I love to serve this horseradish blue cheese wedge with classic steakhouse mains like juicy steak, grilled chicken, or barbequed shrimp. Some other dishes that it pairs well with are:
- Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak with Avocado Chimichurri
- Christmas Eve Lasagna
- Pressure Cooker Boneless Beef Ribs
What tools do I need to make this recipe?
- A cutting board
- A chef's knife
For the Horseradish Blue Cheese Dressing you will also need:
For the 6-minute eggs you will also need:
- A medium saucepan
- A slotted spoon
- A large bowl + ice water (to make an ice bath)
*You can cook the bacon according to your preference, but I generally bake it on a baker's half sheet pan covered with aluminum foil, then drain on a paper towel-lined plate
Are you looking to upgrade to your cooking tools or replenish your pantry? Check out my kitchen tools shop page and pantry staples shop page to find my must-have kitchen tools, pantry items, and other Whip & Wander favorites.
Looking for more salad inspiration?
Love this Wedge Salad with Horseradish Blue Cheese Dressing? Here are some of my other favorite salad recipes:
- Radicchio Salad with Blue Cheese, Green Olives, and Candied Walnuts
- Caesar Salad with Spicy Roasted Chickpeas, Jammy Eggs, and Avocado
- BBQ Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Jalapeno Ranch
- Burger Salad with Cheese-Stuffed Meatballs and Special Sauce
- Creamy Kale Salad with Raspberries and Feta
Wedge Salad with Horseradish Bleu Cheese Dressing
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Salads & Dressings
- Method: Oven / Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Wedge Salad with Horseradish Bleu Cheese Dressing will likely ruin other wedge salads for you in the future. The building blocks are similar to a traditional wedge, starting with crisp iceberg lettuce, bacon, black olives, tomatoes, and a sprinkle of green onion. However, traditional hardboiled eggs get swapped out for perfectly jammy 6-minute eggs and the classic blue cheese dressing gets a spicy level up with horseradish blue cheese dressing. This steakhouse salad is easy to assemble and seriously delicious!
Ingredients
For blue cheese horseradish dressing:
- 6 tbsp whole milk
- 4 tsp Champagne vinegar (may sub for white wine vinegar)
- 2 ½ oz blue cheese, crumbled
- 118 g (about ½ cup) sour cream
- 74 g (about ⅓ cup) mayo
- 2 tbsp horseradish cream
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp garlic powder -- OR -- 1 teaspoon garlic-infused olive oil
For the 6-minute eggs:
- 4 large eggs
For the remainder of the salad:
- 2 head iceberg lettuce, quartered
- 8 strips cooked bacon (cook according to your preference)
- 40 g (about ½ cup) green onion, chopped
- 80 g (about ½ cup) pitted black olives
- 95 g (about ½ cup) cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- Optional: crumbled bleu cheese, to top
- Optional: cracked black pepper to top
Instructions
- Cook bacon according to your preference. I prefer to cook it on an aluminum foil-lined baker's half sheet at 425 degrees F (220 C) for about 20-22 minutes, flipping once. Then transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to cool. You can cook the bacon however you prefer though. Once cool, crumble and reserve to the side.
For the Blue Cheese Horseradish Dressing:
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the milk and Champagne vinegar together with a fork. Allow to rest for 5-minutes to thicken slightly.
- Add the crumbled blue cheese, mashing it down with the tongs of the fork to break down slightly.
- Add the sour cream, mayo, horseradish cream, pepper, salt, and garlic powder (or garlic-infused olive oil). Stir until well combined then cover and transfer to the fridge until ready to use.
For the 6-minute eggs:
- Bring a medium pot of water to boil over medium-high heat. Once the water reaches boil, gently lower the eggs into the water and cook for 6 ½ minutes (set that timer!), adjusting the heat to maintain a gentle boil if necessary.
- Once the timer goes off, use a slotted spoon to carefully transfer the eggs into an ice bath to chill for 2 minutes.
- Once cooled, crack and peel the skin off. I like to slice the eggs in half just before I plate them.
For the remainder of the salad:
- Plate the quartered wedge and top each portion with the reserved blue cheese horseradish dressing, crumbled bacon, green onions, olives, tomatoes, and the reserved 6-minute eggs (sliced in half before plating).
- Finish with the optional additional crumbled blue cheese and a few cracks of black pepper, if desired.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Nutrition info was calculated assuming that each individual salad serving would use approximately 4 tablespoon dressing. Leftover dressing is not calculated in the estimated total nutrition.
9/21/21 This recipe was updated and may no longer fit specified dietary preferences from previous versions of this post.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 540
- Sugar: 7 g
- Sodium: 1321 mg
- Fat: 45 g
- Saturated Fat: 15 g
- Carbohydrates: 8 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 26 g
- Cholesterol: 243 mg
Abby @ WinsteadWandering says
I love the idea of adding horseradish to a dressing recipe! That extra kick sounds amazing.
Nicoletta @sugarlovespices says
I don't think I've ever had a wedge salad, but I'm loving the flavors and textures going on here (minus the bacon). Definitely on my lunch menu!
Tina says
Bacon and bleu cheese! I love this too, especially in a salad. Sometimes I keep cooked bacon in the fridge to sprinkle on everything?
Helene says
What's champagne vinegar? That sounds intriguing.
It's great to see horseradish in salad, it's not that common of an ingredient and I think it does indeed go well with bleu cheese. Imagine this salad with a pumpkin soup at the side for dinner. 😀
Whip & Wander says
It's a very milk white vinegar made from champagne. Similar to a white wine vinegar, which you can substitute if needed.
Elaine @ Dishes Delish says
I absolutely adore wedge salad!! I love that you added horseradish to the dressing. Talk about genius!! I know what hubby and I are going to be eating this weekend!! Beautiful and delicious!
Whip & Wander says
They are my favorite salads! I think the horseradish gives the dressing a nice kick. I hope you love it!
Jessica Robinson says
This salad looks and sounds so flavorful! We grew horseradish on my parent's farm and we LOVE blue cheese! YUM!
Whip & Wander says
Nice, I bet having access to fresh horseradish was great! The fresh stuff is always so tasty!
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy says
YUP...I need this type of meal for sure. Healthy eating is the way to get 2018 started...and this looks like a great dinner option for sure.
Analida at ethnicspoon.com says
This salad looks fantastic! I have made it my mission to make more homemade salad dressing this year and I can't wait to try yours. Thanks for sharing!
Whip & Wander says
Same! Everytime I buy a bottle of dressing I feel silly because homemade dressing is so easy and tasty to make.
Katherine D'Costa says
Wedge salad is my absolutely favorite salad and I pretty partially to thick, rich bleu cheese dressing. But I totally think the horseradish gives it a fresh take.
Jessy Freimann says
Oh my goodness, you had me at horseradish- I love that flavor and it mixes so deliciously well with all the components in the salad!
Carrie Ditton says
What a great lunch option! And I a, a HUGE blue cheese fan. I am going to make this for my ladies luncheon this week!
Christine says
My husband and his family love wedge salads, so I'd love to make this recipe for them! I'm excited to try it out. Looks so delicious!
Amanda Mason says
This looks delicious! I love good wedge salad but THIS looks and sounds like a gourmet wedge salad...Like something I want to make for Christmas!! I love this recipe!
Tatiana says
Combination of ingredients is just the way I love it. Crunchy , salty, fresh and juicy! Everything ! Needless to say I am a big fan of salads in general
Carol Borchardt says
Wow, this sounds and looks absolutely delicious! I love that you used horseradish. I've never heard of horseradish in a salad dressing but I'll be it's amazing. Great dish for steak night at home!
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
Is it crazy that I've never had a wedge salad?! I LOVE salads so I' not sure why I haven't had one! This looks yummy!
Analida Braeger says
I love all the ingredients in this. I would make a meal out of this. Thanks for sharing!
Magen says
This made me so hungry! But anyway I have got to give this a try. I eat a lot of salads and I need something new in my life. This is a nice little twist on the traditional.
dixya @food, pleasure, and health says
i love that horseradish dressing but im still getting used to the idea of bleu cheese.
Cathy says
This looks amazing! I also love the idea of the garlic-infused olive oil. This definitely sounds like the perfect lunch salad to get a bit of refreshment half-way through the work day. 🙂