Recipes Worth Repeating

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipe Categories
  • Meal Plans
  • Lifestyle
    • Essential Oil Recipes
    • Photography
    • Blogger Resources
  • Travel
  • Press
  • Work With Me
    • Media Kit
    • Privacy Policy

Home » Recipes » Gluten Free » Romaine Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing

Romaine Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing

By Amanda Mason | July 12, 2019 | Updated July 22, 2019 | Gluten Free, Recipes, Salads

Jump to Recipe  ↓ Print Recipe  ❒
  • Facebook1
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest94
  • Yummly21
White bowl containing romaine lettuce topped with Havarti cheese and dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and salad tongs on table.

Looking for the best romaine salad recipe? Easy and delicious, this amazingly flavorful salad is made with a creamy Havarti cheese and crisp bacon and tossed in a rich vinaigrette dressing. It’s got the perfect blend of sweet, savory, and crunchy goodness. You’ll love every bite of it!

White bowl containing romaine lettuce topped with Havarti cheese and dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and salad tongs on table.

The Perfect Romaine Salad Recipe!

This salad is a huge crowd pleaser. I have a lot of really popular salads, like my Greek Kale and Quinoa Salad and this Autumn Chopped Salad, but this is the salad everyone always requests me to make the most. It’s crunchy, creamy, and so flavorful and has all the perfect blends of textures.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Romaine Salad 

  • Romaine Lettuce
  • Creamy Havarti Cheese
  • Bacon
  • Sunflower Seeds
  • Dried Cranberries

Romaine lettuce, Havarti cheese, bacon, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds on a wooden table.

Homemade Salad Dressing 

  • Canola Oil
  • White Wine Vinegar
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Garlic Cloves

Salt, sugar, garlic, white wine vinegar, and canola oil on wood table.

Making Homemade Salad Dressing

I’m a huge fan of making my own salad dressings. The flavor of this dressing, thanks to the white wine vinegar, compliments all of the others flavors in this salad – like the bacon, Havarti cheese, sunflower seeds, and dried cranberries. To make this tangy and bright vinaigrette, add all ingredients to a medium size bowl and whisk. Store the dressing in a container with a lid, or this salad dressing shaker, and store in the refrigerator.

Glass bowl containing a sweet vinaigrette dressing, whisk on table.

 

How to Make Romaine Lettuce Salad

  • Start by cutting the romaine lettuce. Rinse the chopped lettuce well and drain. I like to use this salad spinner to ensure all the liquid is gone. Set the chopped romaine lettuce in a large bowl.

Person chopping romaine lettuce on wooden table.

  • Next, fry up the bacon in the skillet. You want the bacon to be crispy in texture. Once the bacon is done cooking, chop with a knife on a cutting board into bite-size pieces.

Pan frying bacon in a skillet.

  • From there, crumble the creamy Havarti cheese into bite-size pieces.

Crumbled Havarti cheese on a wooden table.

  • Grab the big bowl containing the chopped romaine lettuce and add in the crumbled Havarti cheese and crispy bacon, as well as the sweet dried cranberries and crunchy sunflower seed kernels. Slowly drizzle on the zesty vinaigrette dressing.

Vinaigrette dressing being poured on salad in a glass bowl.

  • Toss with salad tongs to ensure all ingredients are well mixed. Serve immediately.

Salad tongs tossing romaine salad.

How to Cut Romaine Lettuce for a Salad

Yes, this is a “thing”. Apparently there is a method to cutting a head of romaine lettuce.

  • First, cut the head of romaine lettuce in half.
  • For both halves, cut out the bottom core in a triangle shape.
  • Then, cut each halves longways 2 times and then chop it from top to bottom.

Need a visual? Watch this video on How to Cut Romaine Lettuce.

Can I Add Chicken?

This salad is my go to “pair with any meal” salad but sometimes I just want to eat it as a meal. To add some protein, I’ll add either shredded rotisserie or diced chicken to this romaine salad.

Can I Make it in Advance?

You can, yes. Just don’t add the salad dressing on until you are ready to serve. The last thing you want is to bite into a soggy salad.

Turkey or Pork Bacon

The answer is either. This romaine salad is delish with pork bacon and it’s delish with turkey bacon. Have you ever cooked your bacon in the oven? If not, give it a try! It saves setting off the smoke detector and oil splatter burns. Check out this youtube video here: How to Bake Bacon in the Oven

White bowl containing lettuce, bacon, Havarti cheese, and sunflower seeds.

More Salad Recipes You’ll Love

  • Roasted Broccoli Salad with Pine Nuts and Feta
  • Apple and Berry Chopped Kale Salad with Citrus Basil Vinaigrette
  • Pear and Goat Cheese Bistro Salad

If you made this recipe, leave me a comment and give this recipe a star review! Also, snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #recipesworthrepeating and tagging me @recipesworthrepeating.

Make sure you get all the latest tasty goodness straight to your inbox by signing up to receive my weekly email for the latest and greatest recipes!

White bowl containing romaine lettuce topped with Havarti cheese and dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and salad tongs on table.
Print
Romaine Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
0 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 

Easy and delicious, this amazingly flavorful salad is made with a creamy Havarti cheese and crisp bacon and tossed in a rich vinaigrette dressing. It's got the perfect blend of sweet, savory, and crunchy goodness. You’ll love every bite of it!

Course: dinner, Lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Homemade Salad Dressing, Romaine Salad, vinaigrette dressing
Servings: 8
Calories: 354 kcal
Author: Amanda Mason
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
  • 2 heads Romaine lettuce
  • 1/2 wedge Havarti cheese, crumbled
  • 1 package bacon, pork or turkey
  • 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, unsalted
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
Homemade Salad Dressing Ingredients
  • 1.5 cup Canola oil
  • 1 cup white wine vinegar
  • 10 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon salt
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
Instructions
Homemade Salad Dressing
  1. Combine all ingredients for the salad dressing and put in a container that has a tight lid. Shake dressing well and chill in the refrigerator.

Romaine Salad
  1. Chop the romaine lettuce and place in a large boil.

  2. Cook the bacon per package directions until crispy.

  3. Combine all remaining salad ingredients in the large bowl with the lettuce.

  4. When the salad dressing has chilled, toss the salad with dressing immediately before serving.

Recipe Notes
  • Store any leftover salad dressing in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition Facts
Romaine Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing
Amount Per Serving (8 people)
Calories 354 Calories from Fat 189
% Daily Value*
Fat 21g32%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 49mg16%
Sodium 2019mg88%
Potassium 621mg18%
Carbohydrates 26g9%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 19g21%
Protein 18g36%
Vitamin A 13630IU273%
Vitamin C 6.7mg8%
Calcium 63mg6%
Iron 2.9mg16%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Update Notes: This post was originally published in April 2013, but was re-published with updated step-by-step instructions, pictures, and tips in July 2019.

Comments | Be the first!
Tagged with:Bacon, Dressing, romaine lettuce, sunflower seeds, Vinaigrette

About Amanda Mason

Hi! I'm Amanda, the founder and creator behind Recipes Worth Repeating! Simply put, I focus on creating delicious recipes for everyone. I offer variety. I offer convenience. I offer yumminess! And that's why people keep coming back. The recipes I create are absolutely worth repeating.

Founded in 2012, Recipes Worth Repeating grew from people routinely asking me to email them the recipe for my latest dish. Recipe development comes naturally to me and I find cooking relaxing. Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, I developed a passion for cooking at an early age and I love to showcase a variety of recipes on my blog.Creating delicious new recipes, still photography, and video for Recipes Worth Repeating is the driving force behind what engages my readers to keep coming back for more recipes they will love.

Subscribe

Get the latest delicious goodness straight to your inbox!

« Easy Deviled Eggs
Roasted Parmesan Green Beans »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Hey! Nice To Meet You!

I'm Amanda! Welcome to my little corner of the internet. I'm a wife, mother of two, lover of all things food and wine, and photographer. Here at Recipes Worth Repeating, you're going to find the most delicious and easy to make gluten free recipes everyone will love! Read More…

Stay updated!

Get all the latest tasty goodness straight to your inbox!

Most Popular

Loaf of sliced Blueberry Lemon Bread topped with a lemon glaze.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

posted in Breads, Breakfast, Desserts, Gluten Free, Recipes, Snacks

11 sugar cookies consisting of Christmas tree, snowflake, and candy cane sugar cookies on a cooling rack.

25 Christmas Cookie Exchange Recipes

posted in Desserts, Recipe Roundups, Recipes

Dehydrated beef jerky on a white counter.

Teriyaki Beef Jerky

posted in Beef, Dehydrator Recipes, Gluten Free, Healthy Eating, Meat & Poultry, Recipes, Snacks

White bowl containing creamy tomato basil soup.

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

posted in Gluten Free, Recipes, Soups & Stews

Bowl of Potato Cheese Soup, spoon in bowl topped with cheese, bacon, and onions.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

posted in Recipes, Soups & Stews

Recipe Search

Get the latest

Get all our latest recipes straight to your inbox!

Featured

Cast iron skillet containing backed creamed spinach recipe on counter.

Creamed Spinach

posted in Gluten Free, Recipes, Sides

Jar filled with dehydrated cinnamon apples, apple rings on table.

Dehydrated Cinnamon Apples Recipe

posted in Dehydrator Recipes, Gluten Free, Healthy Eating, Recipes, Snacks

Connect with me

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Categories

Archives

Logos of places where Recipes Worth Repeating was seen on

Copyright © 2012-2019 Amanda Mason/Recipes Worth Repeating

  • 1
  • 94
  • 21