Grilled Wedge Salad

Grilled Wedge Salad is the perfect side dish for your summer dinner. It makes a great light lunch or appetizer, too.  With iceberg lettuce, tempeh bacon, and creamy cashew dressing, this recipe is super easy to make, and it's vegan and gluten free.

Vegan Grilled Wedge Salad

Fresh vegetables weren’t abundant in my meals when I was growing up (it all came from cans or frozen bags), but we did always have iceberg lettuce and tomatoes in the fridge, and salads with them were made frequently. My dad was in the Air Force, and we were stationed in England for a while, and I remember my mom’s pure horror at the fact that only leafy lettuce was available. There was no iceberg to be found anywhere.

I now prefer leaf lettuce, and I don't have iceberg too much as an adult. I can’t even remember the last time I bought it. But I years ago I saw some at Trader Joe’s, and bought a head – mostly for nostalgic reasons. My plan had been to make lettuce cups with it, but I was flipping through a magazine and came across a recipe for wedge salad. Why not veganize that instead?

You might be asking why someone would grill lettuce. But I ask, why wouldn't you? I'll grill pretty much anything in the summer months!

I had never had a wedge salad before going vegan. I always loved cheese, but I had a fear of bleu cheese. (Isn’t it made with mold?) Bleu cheese and any salad dressings made with it were off my menu. Since I don’t know what it tastes like, it’s not something I can veganize. Instead, I like to use store-bought vegan cheese, along with my homemade, tangy buttermilk-style dressing.

How to Make a Vegan Grilled Wedge Salad

This salad is super easy to make!

• First you cut your lettuce into quarters through the root. Be sure to leave the root intact so that the leaves don't fall off the wedges.
• Then you brush the lettuce and tomato slices with a little oil so they won't stick to your grill.
• You place the bacon, lettuce, and tomato slices on a grill heated to medium-high.
• The bacon should be cooked for about 5 minutes per side, and the vegetables should be cooked for about 2 minutes per side, until grill marks appear.
• Assemble your salad by placing the lettuce wedges on 4 plates along with the tomato wedges. Crumble the tempeh bacon over the salads and top with the dressing and the sliced scallions. Top with the crumbled vegan cheese, if using.

If you don't have an outdoor grill, you can use a grill pan on your stovetop.

How to Customize Your Grilled Wedge Salad

You an easily make this salad your own!

• If you don't want to use iceberg lettuce, you can use two romaine hearts.
• You can use sliced baked tofu instead of tempeh.
• Any type of dressing can be used instead of Vegan Buttermilk Dressing.
• If you're using cheese, you can use any type you like. Walnut Parmesan would be great here.

Tempeh Bacon

I use my homemade vegan Tempeh Bacon in this recipe. If you're not in the mood to make your own (and to be honest, I'm not always in the mood myself!), you can use store bought. I like Lightlife's Tempeh Smoky Bacon. Upton's Naturals Bacon Seitan would be great here, too. If you follow a gluten-free diet, make sure your bacon is gluten-free. Some tempeh bacons are made with soy sauce, which contains wheat, and of course, seitan is pure gluten.

Vegan Buttermilk Dressing

I originally created my Vegan Buttermilk Dressing recipe for this salad. Since then, I make it all the time and pour it over lots of different types of salads. If you don't want to make your dressing, you can use store-bought. Daiya and Follow Your Heart both make bleu cheese dressings that would work well on this salad.

Grilled Wedge Salad

Dianne

Vegan Grilled Wedge Salad is the perfect light meal for warm evenings, and it makes a great appetizer, too. 

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Servings 4 side salads

Calories 209 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Salad

• 1 head iceberg lettuce
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 large tomatoes cut into wedges
• 1 recipe Tempeh Bacon or 8 ounces of your favorite vegan bacon
• 2 scallions thinly sliced
• ¼ cup your favorite vegan cheese crumbled or shredded, optional
• ½ cup Vegan Buttermilk Dressing

Instructions

 

• Cut the head of lettuce into quarters through the root. Leave the root intact to ensure that the lettuce won’t fall apart during grilling.
• Brush the lettuce and tomato quarters with the oil.
• Turn your grill to medium-high, or heat a grill pan on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Place the tempeh bacon, on the grill for about 5 minutes per side, or until it begins to brown and crisp.
• Place the tomatoes and lettuce wedges on the grill, cut side down. Grill for about two minutes, or until grill marks appear. Flip the pieces so that the other cut side is down, and grill for about two more minutes.
• Place the lettuce wedges on plates with the tomato wedges. Crumble the tempeh bacon over the salads. Drizzle on the dressing, and top with the scallions and vegan cheese, if using.

Calories: 209kcal

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Other salads You might enjoy include:

• Grilled Tempeh Salad with Peaches and Pistachios
• Roasted Chickpea Taco Salad
• Strawberry Kale Salad
• Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Creamy Cashew Dressing

More Grilled Recipes You Might Enjoy Include:

• Grilled Tempeh Salad with Peaches and Pistachios
• Tofu Skewers
• Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches
• Lemon Rosemary Grilled Tofu Sandwich