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Easy BLT Salad with Homemade Croutons

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My Easy BLT Salad with homemade croutons, is a family favorite. Simple to prepare and packed full of flavor, this is a great tasting way towards achieving your 5-a-day.

Easy BLT Salad

Easy BLT Salad

This Easy BLT Salad is a regular feature in my weekly dinner plan, as it is so easily adapted to suit everyone’s tastes around the table.

I enjoy salads year round, but during the Spring and Summer months I tend to eat them much more frequently, probably because I’m able to get fresher ingredients at our local farmers market during those times.

This recipe for a Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Salad with Homemade Croutons is especially delicious, and a hit with my family.

My favorite version of this BLT Salad Bowl recipe includes crispy bacon, shredded cheese, sweet tomatoes and is topped with delicious, homemade, buttery baked croutons – perfect for added crunch!

When is comes to BLT Salad Dressing, you can enjoy this Simple BLT Salad with any salad dressing, My personal favorites are a tangy buttermilk ranch or honey mustard dressing.

Easy BLT SaladHow to make BLT Salad:

  • Preheat the oven to 350F.
  • Tear the head of lettuce into bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl.
  • Cut the tomatoes in half and add to the salad.
  • Sprinkle the salad with shredded cheddar cheese.

Easy BLT SaladCook the bacon:

  • Heat a large frying pan over medium heat.
  • Chop the raw bacon into bite sized pieces, then cook in the skillet, stirring occasionally (very carefully to avoid the hot grease), until the bacon reaches your desired level of crispness.
  • Remove the cooked bacon from the frying pan and drain on paper towels until cooled to room temperature.

Easy BLT SaladMake the croutons:

  • Place the whole wheat bread on a baking sheet.
  • In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and garlic powder; stir well.
  • Use a silicone pastry brush to brush the butter mixture over both sides of each slice of bread.
  • Use a serrated knife to slice the garlic buttered bread into 1/2-inch squares.
  • Scatter the squares across the baking sheet. Bake the croutons at 350F for 10 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom.
  • Use tongs or a fork to flip each crouton, then return to the oven for another 5 minutes until golden brown on the second side.
  • The croutons are done baking when they are golden brown on both sides and crispy.
  • Transfer the croutons from the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

Easy BLT SaladFinish the salad:

  • Right before serving, toss the croutons and bacon into the salad.
  • Serve with creamy salad dressing of your choice on the side.
Easy BLT Salad

Easy BLT Salad ingredients & variations:

  • BACON: I like to use a pound of thin cut bacon, as thin cut crisps up really well. You can use any variety or flavor of bacon, regular, smoked, maple cured, whatever flavor you enjoy.
  • LETTUCE: I recommend a head of romaine or green leaf lettuce as they have great crunch. But again, use the lettuce you like to eat.
  • TOMATOES: when it comes to tomatoes I like the sweet flavor of cherry or grape tomatoes. If using larger tomatoes, chop them up first.
  • SHREDDED CHEESE: I use a strong cheddar cheese which pairs great with the salty bacon. You can use any variety of shredded cheese.
  • WHOLE WHEAT BREAD: makes great tasting croutons with really good crunch. You can use white bread if you prefer, or any other variety of bread.
  • GARLIC BUTTER: I use melted butter mixed with some garlic powder to add flavor to my croutons before baking. The garlic is entirely optional and if you prefer you can leave it out.
  • BLT SALAD DRESSING: You can use any flavor of creamy salad dressing with this salad. My preference is always a buttermilk ranch or honey mustard dressing as they pack a punch of flavor.

Additional ingredients you may want to add:

Using this salad as a base, you can add in other flavors and ingredients as this is a really versatile recipe. Make this salad your own but here are some ideas to get you started:

  • Add in some cooked chicken, a great way to use up leftovers from the weekend roast dinner.
  • Pack in those good oils by making a BLT salad with avocado.
  • Vary the veggies, add extra sweetcorn, grated carrot or thinly sliced green onions for extra crunch.
  • Use any leftover salad ingredients the next day to make a great tasting BLT Salad Sandwich.

Easy BLT SaladServing suggestion:

When serving this salad to my family I like to put all the ingredients into separate bowls on the dinner table. That way everyone can adapt the salad and add the salad dressing to suit their own tastes.

This is a great tasting salad, that can be served as a main course as I have done here. However, this recipe is easily adapted and cut back to make a smaller appetizer or great tasting side salad.

Recipe tips:

  • After cooking the bacon to crisp, cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Ready to add to other salads, or to top a baked potato later in the week.
  • Croutons are a great make ahead element and can be easily stored in an airtight container on the counter top. I like to make extra, so that I have them handy to add to other salads or to sprinkle over soups throughout the week.

Try these other great tasting main dish salads here at When is Dinner:

Yield: 8

BLT Salad with Homemade Croutons

BLT Salad
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 large head of lettuce romaine or green leaf lettuce recommended, washed and dried
  • 10 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes washed and dried
  • ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 of pound bacon thin cut
  • 4 slices whole wheat bread
  • 1/3 cup of butter melted
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Creamy salad dressing of choice for serving on the side buttermilk ranch or honey mustard recommended

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Tear the head of lettuce into bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl.

Cut the tomatoes in half and add to the salad.

Sprinkle the salad with shredded cheddar cheese.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat.
Chop the raw bacon into bite sized pieces, then cook in the skillet, stirring occasionally (very carefully to avoid the hot grease), until the bacon reaches your desired level of crispness.
Remove the cooked bacon from the frying pan and drain on paper towels until cooled to room temperature.
Set aside.

Place the whole wheat bread on a baking sheet.
In a small bowl, combine the melted butter and garlic powder; stir well.
Use a silicone pastry brush to brush the butter mixture over both sides of each slice of bread.

Use a serrated knife to slice the garlic buttered bread into 1/2-inch squares.
Scatter the squares across the baking sheet.

Bake the croutons at 350F for 10 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom.
Use tongs or a fork to flip each crouton, then return to the oven for another 5 minutes until golden brown on the second side.
The croutons are done baking when they are golden brown on both sides and crispy.
Transfer the croutons from the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.

Right before serving, toss the croutons and bacon into the salad.

Serve with creamy salad dressing of your choice on the side.

Notes

Makes 4 dinner size servings, or 6-8 side salad servings.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 503Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 1252mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 3gSugar: 7gProtein: 25g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment below & if you recreate this recipe, be sure to share a photo on Instagram. Tag me @when.is.dinner and hashtag #whenisdinner!

 

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LeAnn Harbert

Friday 24th of May 2019

Looks good, my sons would really like to have this.

Wanda B

Wednesday 22nd of May 2019

What a yummy bowl of goodness this is! I would have no trouble having this on m own or sharing.

Leela

Wednesday 22nd of May 2019

I could eat this a few times a week.

Shirley

Sunday 19th of May 2019

This looks very good I love salad

polly

Saturday 18th of May 2019

Sounds and looks so yummy. Great dinner idea for hot summer nights!

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