Here the classic wedge salad is transformed with creamy ranch dressing, crushed potato chips, and blue cheese crumbles. It’s simple yet stunning!
Of all flavors in the world, my favorite is smoky. To me, it’s the lost sixth taste: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, savory, and SMOKY. Right? For someone who eats mainly vegetarian, it’s a difficult favorite flavor, since smoky is so often associated with meat. So, Alex and I tend to use smoked paprika a lot in our recipes to add that smoky, savory meaty undertone to vegetarian dishes. We’re always looking for new ways to infuse smoke into a dish.
How to make wedge salad
A few weeks ago I had a girls night at a restaurant in Indianapolis called Oakley’s Bistro. When I saw the menu featured a wedge salad with smoky ranch, I knew exactly what I wanted to order. Chef Steve’s take on a wedge salad covered the crispy iceberg lettuce with an insanely smoky ranch dressing, blue cheese, sundried tomatoes, and crushed potato chips. It was a huge hit at our table, and I knew immediately that I wanted to create a version for the home kitchen.
Related: 10 Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes
Two methods for smoky ranch dressing
For the smoky ranch dressing, we created two versions: one using smoked paprika that everyone can make, and one using our new favorite toy: our smoking gun! What’s a smoking gun? I first saw one demonstrated at the IACP conference in New York. The gun is used to cold smoke the food–that is, it injects a smoky flavor without applying heat. We’ve been using it to smoke just about everything: popcorn, potato chips, salmon, and yes: ranch dressing. If you don’t have a smoking gun (which, we assume you don’t!), you can use the smoked paprika version of the dressing. You definitely don’t need a smoking gun to make this recipe, but it’s really fun to have around.
Our version of smoky ranch is made with our classic and delicious Homemade Ranch Dressing, mixed with a bit of smoked paprika. Drizzle the dressing over a crisp wedge of iceberg lettuce. Then top it with sundried tomatoes, blue cheese crumbles, chives, and a few crumbled potato chips. It’s an easy side dish recipe that takes no time to put together, but seems elegant and classy. It’s perfect for entertaining and the grilling season ahead! Serve it with a veggie burger or pizza and a glass of rose for a carefree meal al fresco.
Looking for more healthy side dish recipes?
This wedge salad is a tasty healthy side dish recipe; here are a few more side dish recipes we love:
- Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Pomegranate
- Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
- Incredible No Mayo Potato Salad
- Strawberry Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Classic Greek Salad
- Cucumber Salad with Vinegar
- Classic Vegan Potato Salad
- Grilled Romaine Lettuce
- Perfectly Creamy Polenta Recipe
- Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
- Best Popover Recipe
- Peach & Burrata Caprese Salad
- Arugula & Tomato Burrata Salad
This recipe is…
This wedge salad recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free.
Wedge Salad with Potato Chips
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 1)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Here the classic wedge salad is transformed with creamy ranch dressing, crushed potato chips, and blue cheese crumbles. It’s simple yet stunning!
Ingredients
For the smoky ranch dressing
- Homemade Ranch Dressing
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
For the salad
- 1 small head iceberg lettuce
- 4 sundried tomatoes
- 2 chives
- 1 handful potato chips
- 2 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles
Instructions
- Make the Homemade Ranch Dressing and stir in the smoked paprika.*
- Slice the iceberg head into wedges (4 for a small head, 6 for a large head).
- Thinly slice the sundried tomatoes and chives. Crumble the potato chips.
- Place each wedge on a plate and garnish with dressing, sundried tomatoes, chives, chips, and blue cheese crumbles.
Notes
For the smoking gun option: Place the dressing in a bowl and cover in plastic wrap, then place the smoking gun inside the bowl and smoke for a few minutes.
- Category: Salad
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Wedge Salad, Smoky Ranch, Ranch Dressing, Smoky, Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Creamy Ranch, Wedge, Lettuce
About the Authors
Sonja Overhiser
Cookbook Author and writer
Sonja Overhiser is author of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best healthy cookbooks of 2018. She’s host of the food podcast Small Bites and founder of the food blog A Couple Cooks. Featured from the TODAY Show to Bon Appetit, Sonja seeks to inspire adventurous eating to make the world a better place one bite at a time.
Alex Overhiser
Cookbook Author and photographer
Alex Overhiser is an acclaimed food photographer and author based in Indianapolis. He’s host of the food podcast Small Bites and founder of the recipe website A Couple Cooks. Featured from the TODAY Show to Bon Appetit, Alex is author of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best vegetarian cookbooks by Epicurious.
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