Description
BLT Salad with Creamy Ranch Dressing – We unpacked all the classic flavors of a BLT sandwich and put it into a salad. This main dish salad is always a crowd pleaser! (Gluten free, dairy free)
Ingredients
Scale
For the Gluten Free Croutons
- 6 Slices gluten free bread, diced
- 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Optional: 1 Tbsp fresh herbs (like rosemary) or 1 tsp dried herbs (like dill or rosemary)
For the Salad:
- Croutons (see above)
- 12oz smoked bacon (I like uncured/nitrate free)
- 8-10oz chopped romaine lettuce
- 8-10oz grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 avocado
- 1 green onions, sliced
- 3-4 Tbsp fresh herbs, such as cilantro (can sub parsley or basil)
- To serve: Ranch Dressing or your favorite salad dressing
Instructions
- Preheat & Prep. To start, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Get out 2 baking sheets and line one with foil.
- Bake The Bacon. Arrange slices of bacon on the foil-lined baking sheet closely together but not overlapping. Put bacon in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until bacon has reached your desired crispness.
- Make The Croutons. Right after you pop the bacon in the oven, start on the croutons. In a large bowl, combine diced bread, olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs (if using). Stir to coat well and spread the bread out on the remaining baking sheet. Give the baking sheet a shake to distribute the bread well. (You don’t want any large clumps)
- Bake Croutons. Put the croutons in the oven with the cooking bacon and bake croutons 10-15 minutes, or until they’re golden. I like to stir my croutons halfway through the cook time to allow them to cook evenly. Let croutons cool slightly and crumble the crisped bacon for your salad.
- Assemble The Salad. Add lettuce to a large bowl. Top with croutons, crisped & crumbled bacon, tomatoes, avocado, green onion, and fresh herbs. Drizzle with ranch dressing and stir to coat.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy right away. Leftover croutons will keep in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days. Dressing will stay fresh in the fridge up to 1 week.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Dish, Salad
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 402
- Sugar: 24.8 g
- Sodium: 583.3 mg
- Fat: 17.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 52 g
- Fiber: 13.3 g
- Protein: 16.1 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg