Shrimp Wedge Salad

This easy Shrimp Wedge Salad combines crisp iceberg lettuce, juicy shrimp, crispy bacon, sweet cherry tomatoes, and creamy blue cheese dressing for a restaurant-worthy dinner that’s ready in minutes.

Jump to:

• 🔎 A quick look at this recipe
• ⭐️ Why this recipe works
• 🤔 What is Wedge Salad?
• 🍤 Ingredients you need
• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 💡 Ingredient substitution ideas
• Shrimp Wedge Salad
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Variations on this recipe

🔎 A quick look at this recipe

⭐️ Why this recipe works

• 🍤 Tender shrimp turn a classic wedge salad into a satisfying main course.
• 🥓 Crispy bacon adds smoky flavor and irresistible crunch in every bite.
• 🥬 Cool, crisp iceberg lettuce makes the perfect fresh, crunchy base.
• 🍅 Sweet cherry tomatoes add juicy bursts of color and freshness.
• 🧀 Creamy blue cheese dressing ties everything together with classic steakhouse flavor.
• ⏱️ Ready in about 20 minutes, making it ideal for busy weeknights or easy entertaining.
• ☀️ A cool, no-fuss meal that’s perfect for hot summer days when you don’t want to cook.

🤔 What is Wedge Salad?

If you’ve ever ordered a steakhouse salad, chances are you’ve met the mighty wedge salad. It’s exactly what it sounds like—a big wedge of crisp iceberg lettuce piled high with creamy blue cheese dressing, crispy bacon, juicy tomatoes, and all kinds of deliciousness.

Wedge salad is also one of those things that the Southern husband just can’t resist when he sees it on a menu.  And after watching him order it for the millionth time, it finally dawned on me that maybe I should make it at home, which is how my classic wedge salad recipe post was born.

However! My pet peeve with a traditional wedge salad is that let’s face it.  It is tricky to wrangle an entire wedge of iceberg lettuce.  You spend a decent part of the meal sawing at the lettuce, and then chasing the pieces of bacon and tomato around the plate.  

The Southern husband doesn’t seem to mind this one iota, but when I am stealing bites of wedge salad off his plate I would like to get in and out of there as soon as possible.  So my first hack was literally a hack.  As in, hacking that lettuce into nice little pieces.  It was highly satisfying.

So satisfying that I started messing with more wedge salad ideas.  I kept all the essential bits – the iceberg, the blue cheese, the tomatoes, the BACON…but as with my spin on steak Caesar salad, my main goal was to keep the deliciousness but make it a little easier to eat, so I mixed up that chopped lettuce with the bacon and the tomatoes and the dressing.  

And I wanted to get a little more protein in there so it could hold its head up high as a legit meal to serve for dinner, so in came in shrimp.  

So with only a little extra effort than the normal wedge salad, voila!  This pressed shrimp wedge salad was born…and let’s just say it is Southern Husband Approvedd!

🍤 Ingredients you need

📝 Ingredient notes

• 🍤 Shrimp: Cooked shrimp make this recipe extra quick and easy. I like medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined, but use whatever size you love.
• 🥬 Iceberg Lettuce: A classic wedge salad starts with iceberg lettuce because it’s wonderfully crisp and holds up beautifully under the dressing. Chill it well before serving for maximum crunch.
• 🥓 Bacon: Cook the bacon until it’s nice and crispy so it adds plenty of smoky crunch. You can cook it a day ahead and refrigerate until you’re ready to assemble the salad.
• 🍅 Cherry Tomatoes: Cherry or grape tomatoes both work well. They’re sweet, juicy, and less messy than slicing larger tomatoes.
• 🧀 Blue Cheese Dressing: Use your favorite bottled dressing, or homemade if you have one you love. If you’re a true blue cheese fan, sprinkle a few extra blue cheese crumbles over the top.
• 🌶️ Freshly Ground Black Pepper: A few generous twists of black pepper add just the right finishing touch and pair especially well with the creamy dressing.

💡 Ingredient substitution ideas

Missing something or want to swap in something different? Check out the links below to find more ingredient substitution ideas. 👇🏻

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information

Now for the dramatic part.  I smooshed the salad into a little round Pyrex bowl and then inverted it onto a plate.  I patted a few stray pieces into place, popped a few cooked shrimp on top, added another drizzle of dressing over the whole thing for old times sake and ta-da!  Wedge salad that you don’t have to do battle with to get deliciousness in every bite.

It just goes to show you, messing with success pays off some times!

👩🏻‍🍳 Variations on this recipe

• 🥑 Add sliced avocado for extra creaminess and healthy fats.
• 🧀 Sprinkle on blue cheese crumbles if you really love that classic steakhouse flavor.
• 🥚 Top with chopped hard-boiled eggs for an extra hearty, Cobb salad-inspired twist.
• 🌽 Add fresh corn kernels for a pop of summer sweetness and color.
• 🥒 Toss on sliced cucumbers for even more cool, crisp crunch.
• 🧅 Scatter thinly sliced red onion over the top for a little zing.
• 🌿 Swap the blue cheese dressing for ranch if that’s more your style.
• 🥩 Use grilled steak instead of shrimp for a steakhouse vibe wedge salad.
• 🍗 Try grilled chicken for another delicious high-protein option.
• 🌶️ Finish with a drizzle of hot honey or your favorite hot sauce if you like a little sweet heat.