Creamy Blue Cheese and Bacon Salad

This Creamy Blue Cheese and Bacon Salad is like a BLT in a bowl—crisp lettuce, smoky bacon, juicy tomatoes, and a rich dressing bring it all together.

Recipe and image compliments of Brit from Whisked Away Kitchen

Print Recipe

Creamy Blue Cheese and Bacon Salad

Prep Time25

Cook Time12

Servings:

Ingredients

Blue Cheese Dressing

1/2 cup Hiland Sour Cream
1/2 cup Hiland Buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
6 oz high-quality blue cheese such as gorgonzola, crumbled
Salt to taste

Salad

2-3 heads romaine lettuce chopped
8 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 avocado cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 red onion thinly sliced
1 cup croutons

Instructions

Make the dressing. In a food processor, combine the sour cream, buttermilk, mayonnaise, and half of the crumbled blue cheese. Process until smooth. Fold in the remaining blue cheese. Season with salt to taste.
Prepare the salad. In a large bowl, toss the chopped romaine with about 1/2 cup of the dressing.
Add the bacon, tomatoes, avocado, red onion, and croutons. Toss gently to combine. Serve with extra dressing on the side.

Overhead view of blue cheese salad ingredients arranged on a tray, including romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, croutons, bacon, avocado, red onion, blue cheese, Hiland Sour Cream, and Hiland Cultured Lowfat Buttermilk.

Top down view of a blender bowl containing blue cheese, sour cream and buttermilk.

Creamy blue cheese dressing in a shallow bowl, topped with crumbled blue cheese and a spoon resting inside on a neutral stone surface.

Great as a stand-alone dinner salad or the perfect side for grilled steak night

Packed with bold flavors and creamy texture, this hearty salad is easy to customize with your favorite toppings for a fresh and satisfying meal.

Why We Love This Recipe

The dressing comes together in minutes. Seriously, blend a few things and you’re done.
It’s built for customization. Not an onion fan? Skip it. Love walnuts? Toss them in. Swap or skip ingredients based on what you have and like.
It actually fills you up. With protein from the bacon, richness from the avocado, and that luxurious dressing, this salad has the substance to stand alone on a busy night.

Ingredient Notes

Hiland Dairy Sour Cream & Buttermilk: Using Hiland’s sour cream and rich buttermilk gives our dressing a tangy, luxurious base that clings beautifully to the romaine.

Blue Cheese: Don’t be shy here. A good, funky blue or gorgonzola is the star. If you can crumble it yourself from a wedge, you’ll get better flavor and texture than the pre-crumbled kind.

Bacon: Baking your bacon on a sheet pan at 400°F is my lazy-day hack. It renders the fat perfectly and gets it crispy without a mess.

Avocado: Cut it at the last minute and give it a quick toss in the dressing with the lettuce to help slow down the browning.

Step by Step Instructions

Start with the dressing base. Processing the sour cream, buttermilk, mayo, and half of the blue cheese creates a smooth foundation.
Fold in the remaining blue cheese. This is where texture comes in. Leaving some cheese intact gives you little bursts of salty richness rather than a one-note dressing.
Dress the greens first. Tossing the romaine with dressing before adding the toppings ensures every leaf is coated evenly.
Add toppings gently. Bacon, avocado, tomatoes, onion, and croutons go in last so they keep their shape. A gentle toss is all you need.

Expert Tips and Tricks

Keep your components separate until showtime. If you’re prepping ahead, store the washed lettuce, chopped toppings, and dressing separately in the fridge. Combine just before serving for the best texture.
No food processor? No problem. Simply mash the first half of the blue cheese with a fork against the side of a bowl before whisking in the sour cream, buttermilk, and mayo. Then fold in the remaining cheese.
Add extra protein. Add shredded rotisserie chicken, sliced grilled steak, or a few hard-boiled eggs to make this a full, satisfying dinner.

Storage Instructions

The dressing can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. The salad itself is best assembled right before serving. Once dressed, the romaine will soften over time.
If you anticipate leftovers, keep the dressing and toppings separate and assemble only what you need.

Plated romaine salad with cherry tomatoes, crispy croutons, bacon pieces, avocado, and creamy blue cheese dressing drizzled over the greens.

Close-up of a romaine salad topped with bacon, croutons, tomatoes, avocado, and blue cheese, with a small bowl of creamy blue cheese dressing resting on the plate.

Smoky, crunchy, and creamy—this salad is a flavorful twist on a classic favorite!

Serving Ideas

This salad is a wonderful side for grilled steak, a juicy burger, or a simple roasted chicken. It’s also the perfect bring-along to potlucks and barbecues—just pack the dressing separately and toss on site. For a more casual meal, pair it with a warm loaf of bread and call it dinner!

For more delicious recipes, visit Hiland Dairy’s recipe page.