Vegan Wedge Salad
This vegan wedge salad is full of fresh and flavorful ingredients like smoked apple bits, and tomatoes. There’s a light and refreshing vegan blue cheese dressing, too. Serve it as a side dish or even as a main meal salad by adding some vegan protein options.
If you’re looking for some vegan salad dressing options, everyone loves this Vegan Ranch Dressing. For something lighter, this Strawberry Vinaigrette and this Italian Vinaigrette are delicious options.
Nick Kindlesperger of The Chicago Tribune referred to the wedge salad as America’s silliest salad. He says, “It’s built upon the back of the least flavorful and least nutrient-dense lettuce available and blanketed in some of the fattiest ingredients around.”
Of course, he follows that statement by saying how much he loves this salad.
I get it. I love it too.
What Makes This Recipe Shine?
- Using apple bits sautéed with smoke sauce and maple syrup simulates the flavors of bacon in a much healthier way
- Tofu added to the tangy, creamy dressing creates a texture similar to blue cheese
- Iceberg lettuce is cut into wedges, and it’s the perfect crispy lettuce for this dish!
Recipe Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Vegan mayo — I use Just Mayo or Hellman’s Vegan Mayo
- Vegan sour cream — Cashew Cream works as a substitute here
- White wine vinegar — I highly recommend the mild flavor of this vinegar
- Garlic powder
- White miso paste — Found in health food stores (or the refrigerated section of health food areas of your grocery store), this miso paste adds umami flavor
- Soy milk — make sure it’s plain…not vanilla flavored
- Ground black pepper
- Extra-firm tofu — we’ll need just a bit here
- Apple — You’ll cut a single apple into bits. I typically use red delicious but any apple should work here.
- Liquid smoke sauce
- Maple syrup
- Salt
- Iceberg lettuce
- Green onion
- Cherry tomatoes
- Chopped chives — You can use fresh or dried chives.
Marly’s Tips
If you’d like a more “traditional” veggie bacon, just make this Tempeh Bacon and break it down into crumbles.
How to Make Vegan Wedge Salad
This blue cheese wedge salad begins with the best dressing! Because that’s what keeps us coming back for more… and more… and more!
- Blue Cheese Vegan Salad Dressing — In a small bowl combine the mayo, soymilk, garlic powder, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Give it a good whisk or two to incorporate all the ingredients and place in the fridge. You know, so it can chill out awhile
- Prepare the Lettuce — Get out that head of iceberg lettuce, tear off any frazzled outer leaves, then remove the core and cut it into quarters.
- Serving — Arrange the quartered iceberg wedges on serving plates, drizzle them with the vegan blue cheese dressing, and top each with the Smoky Apple Bits, onions, and chopped tomatoes.
Frequently-Asked Questions
How do I make lettuce wedges?
First, wash the iceberg lettuce head and remove any ragged leaves. Then cut down the center of the head, straight down to the core. Then cut each piece in half, cutting down to the core. Finally, cut off the core piece and you’re left with 4 iceberg lettuce wedges.
How do you eat an iceberg wedge salad?
To be honest, it’s a little tricky to eat a lettuce wedge salad. You want the crisp bite of the iceberg wedge, but this salad requires two utensils to eat it. Gently stab the salad with the tines of a fork, preferably in the middle of the wedge, to stabilize the salad. Then, use a knife in a sawing motion to cut off a piece of the wedge. Repeat this until the salad is all gone.
Smoky Apple Bits
Seems like I’m always looking for ways to add a bit of smoky flavor to my recipes. Anything smoky is a great substitute for bacon. For example, there are my Bacon-Flavored Almond Slivers. In fact, that would be great on this vegan wedge salad, too.
Instead, I took bits of apple and infused them with smoky flavor. It begins with these ingredients:
- Apple — I used 1/2 of a red delicious apple, cored and diced into bits (I left the skin on… that’s the healthy part!)
- Smoke sauce
- Maple syrup
- Sea salt
These ingredients, combined in the right quantities and cooked together, create a tasty, smoky-sweet topping for any salad. It’s perfect!
Serving Suggestions
I love this vegan wedge salad! You can make any vegetarian salad a main meal feast with these tasty vegan protein options:
- Add some sautéed Vegan Chicken strips over any salad
- Make some Roasted Chickpeas croutons to add to your salads
- Add a few Air Fryer Falafels to your salads for protein and flavor
- Some Carrot Hummus is a flavorful protein option to add to any salad too
More Salads
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Vegan Wedge Salad
Ingredients
Vegan Blue Cheese Dressing
- ½ cup vegan mayo (or cashew cream – see link in post)
- ¼ cup vegan sour cream
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon white miso paste
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk make sure it’s plain…not vanilla flavored
- 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra firm tofu , pressed to remove excess liquid
Smoky Apple Bits
- ½ medium apple cored and diced (I left the skin on)
- 2 tablespoons liquid smoke sauce
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 pinch salt
Vegan Wedge Salad
- 1 head iceberg lettuce
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
- 4 cherry tomatoes , halved (or as many as you’d like)
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives (fresh or dried)
Instructions
For the Vegan Blue Cheese Dressing
- In a small bowl, combine the mayo, sour cream, miso paste, garlic powder, and vinegar. Give it a good whisk or two to incorporate all the ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. If the dressing is too thick, add a tablespoon of soy milk (unsweetened plain) and stir to combine. Finally, crumble the tofu into the mixture and stir to combine. Cover and place in the fridge.
For the Smoky Apple Bits
- In a skillet over medium heat, add the diced apple, smoke sauce, and maple syrup. Cook over medium heat until the liquid is incorporated into the apple. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and then set aside to cool.
Spring Wedge Salad
- Wash the iceberg head and remove any ragged leaves. Cut down the center of the head to the core. Then cut each piece in half, cutting down to the core. Cut off the core from each quarter.
- Arrange the quartered iceberg wedges on serving plates, drizzle each with the vegan blue cheese dressing and top each with apple bits, chives, chopped green onions, and tomato halves. Serve immediately.
Recommended Equipment
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Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Serve this salad with a tall glass of iced tea out on your deck or patio…because that’s the best way to eat a Wedge Salad. Enjoy!
This post was originally published in 2012 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2020.
This was AMAZING!!! Didn’t have any tofu, but it was not missed at all. Def going to be put into our rotation. Love, thank you!
I’m so glad you liked it Cass!
Lady, I am almost in tears because I am THAT thankful to have found this site. I recently decided to try being vegan within the last 8 months or so, but living in the south, in one of the most obese cities in the country (memphis, TN) it is SO hard to know where to go or what to get or how to make it. Since my (rocky) change, I’ve converted 1 friend to vegan living (who since making the switch has been completely cured of his diabetes) and several more to at least healthier diets. but I was living off of basic fruits and veggies and a few other vegan-friendly items, because I wasn’t sure how or what to make. Your recipes are great! And so my vegan convert and I are trying a few of these this week. Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!
Bethany, You just made my day!I’m all about fruits and veggies and finding creative ways to include them in your everyday life. But you know what? We have to have some fun with our vegan diets too!
Good for you for being such a great friend. Can you imagine having such a disease like diabetes and finding a way to get off diabetes meds?
Here are some of my favorites:
Vegan Mac & Cheese.
Lentil Meatball Sandwich with Cole Slaw. (LOVE this one!)
Scrambled Tofu (Like scrambled eggs…but better!)
Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Bars
I usually get some good music going or a podcast I love listening to and enjoy moving around the kitchen. You can even catch me doing a few leg lifts. I figure why not let the kitchen be a workout!
Keep me posted on how you’re doing. We vegans have to help each other all we can!
Love and wishes,
Marly
Smoked apple bits? That’s freakin’ awesome! I usually go for coconut bacon but I so need to try this. By smoke sauce, do you mean liquid smoke?
For some reason, I always hated blue cheese but liked the dressing, I really like your spin on the wedge salad.
Yes, I do mean liquid smoke. Love that stuff!
This sounds so delicious! Ranch will always be my favorite salad dressing.