We love grilled romaine salads! This perfect grill romaine salad is loaded with juicy tomatoes, crispy bacon, homemade ranch, crumbled blue cheese, chives and toasty breadcrumbs. You get a bite of everything!

The grilled romaine salad is your ideal summer dinner!

grilled romaine salads with tomatoes, bacon and ranch

Smoky, charred romaine lettuce topped with crunchy bacon, tomatoes, blue cheese and ranch? I seriously can’t get enough. Most perfect flavor combo ever. 

romaine lettuce

Grilled romaine feels like a major throwback to me. I still remember the first time I ever had a grilled romaine salad – my mind was BLOWN. Maybe in the early 2000s? I mean I still didn’t even care for vegetables at that point and I absolutely loved the salad. It was one of the game-changing salad factors for me.

grilled romaine lettuce

When Eddie and I got married and got our first grill, grilled romaine salads were something I LOVED to make on sunday evenings. In the summer, we’d make special sunday dinners that were filled with corn on the cob and fresh produce from a local farm. I’d do grilled caesars often and they were one of our favorite things. 

The first grilled romaine I ever shared on the blog was over 12(!) years ago and that is wild. Like, how on earth? 

grilled romaine lettuce

I’ve shared a few others over the years, with the most popular being this buffalo chicken grilled caesar salad. But what I really love is a classic grilled romaine salad that masquerades as a wedge.

You know, all the basics. Crispy bacon, fresh tomatoes, chive, blue cheese and in this case, my ranch dressing that we can never get enough of.

grilled romaine with ranch dressing

There is nothing like that wedge salad – the crisp iceberg lettuce with all those crunchy toppings, creamy dressing and crumbly cheese. We so enjoy taking those components but throwing them on grilled romaine instead for the ultimate summer weeknight dinner.

This is legit! 

grilled romaine salads with tomatoes, bacon and ranch

Now I know I switched things up a bit – there is no ranch on a classic wedge salad and it’s usually creamy blue cheese dressing. I adore creamy blue cheese dressing, but I also adore my own ranch dressing and decided that I’m an adult and want both.

BOTH.

So creamy ranch dressing, and crumbly blue cheese. That’s the flavor combo we’re going with and it is fabulous.

grilled romaine salads with tomatoes, bacon and ranch

Bacon, tomatoes and chives are next. Finishing things off with toasty garlic bread crumbs, made golden right in a skillet with some butter. Of course you could throw on some corn straight from the cob (it’s sweet as can be!) or other fresh herbs. Serve on its own or alongside chicken or steak, also from the grill.

I personally love having this salad as dinner with a chilled glass of sauvignon blanc. THAT is my dreamy summer meal!

grilled romaine salads with tomatoes, bacon and ranch

Grilled Romaine Salads

Grilled Romaine Salads

Yield: 4 people
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
We love grilled romaine salads! This perfect grill romaine salad is loaded with juicy tomatoes, crispy bacon, homemade ranch, crumbled blue cheese, chives and toasty breadcrumbs. You get a bite of everything!
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5 from 16 votes
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Ingredients

  • 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • ½ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 4 stalks romaine lettuce, sliced in half
  • olive oil, for brushing
  • kosher salt and pepper
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered or halved
  • ⅓ cup ranch dressing
  • ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Instructions 

  • Preheat the grill to high heat.
  • To start, I like to cook the bacon so it’s ready to go. Fry the bacon and place it on a paper towel lined plate to remove excess grease.
  • I also toast the breadcrumbs! To toast them, melt butter in a nonstick skillet. Add the breadcrumbs and garlic and stir to coat, then cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often, until golden and fragrant. Remove from the heat.
  • Brush the cut sides of the romaine with olive oil. Sprinkle all over generously with salt and pepper. When the grill is hot, reduce the heat to medium. Place the romaine stalks on the grill, cut side down. Grill for 1 to 2 minutes, until the lettuce becomes charred, then flip over and grill for an additional 1 minute. Remove the romaine from the grill.
  • You can serve the romaine family style on a large platte or 1 or 2 stalks on a plate. Drizzle the romaine all over with the ranch dressing - as much as you’d like. Top with the tomatoes, crumbled bacon, blue cheese crumbles and fresh chives. Sprinkle the toasted breadcrumbs all over.
  • Serve immediately!
Course: Main Course, Salad
Cuisine: American
Author: How Sweet Eats
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grilled romaine salads with tomatoes, bacon and ranch

Crunch crunch crunch.