BLT Layered Salad Recipe - Kudos Kitchen by Renee (2024)

I'm not going to lie to you here. The thing that really puts thisBLT Layered Salad over the top is the homemade croutons! Well, that and the bacon, of course!

If you've never made your own homemade croutons before I urge you to finally give it a go. The freshness, flavor, and crunch that a homemade crouton provides areabout one million percent better than the prepackaged store-bought variety, and they hardly take any time (or effort) to make.

I learned a few things while making this BLT Layered Salad that I need to share with you.

1. A large, clear glass bowl works best for viewing all the layers of bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, croutons, and Parmesan cheese.

2. A large, clear glass bowl is not the best when it comes to taking pictures dueto glare and reflection. Drats.

3. Make sure you preparedouble the croutons that you think you'll need because you'll be snacking on them all throughout the salad assembly.

4. As long as you don't dress the salad in advance, if you should have any salad leftovers they'll be just as tasty the second (or even third) day. And,even if the croutons on top get a little stale, you'll most likely proceed inchowing down on thembecause they'll still taste amazing! Butmaybe that's just me! LOL

The easy instructions:

Use a serrated knife to cut 4-6 crustyrolls into 1" cubes. Toss them in a bowl along with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Lay the croutons in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 12-15 minutes (turningonce), being careful to keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Remove from the oven and cool.

Meanwhile, chop 1 pound of pre-cooked bacon into bite-sized pieces, chop 2 heads of romaine lettuce, and cut one pint of grape tomatoes in half. Begin by layering the salad in a large, clear, glass bowl starting with a generous layer of baked croutons, followed by the lettuce...

...halved tomatoes, chopped bacon, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and the remainderof the homemade croutons. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill until ready to serve with your favorite dressing. I'm sharing my recipe for homemade Dijon vinaigrette in the printable recipe below.

Printable Recipe Card

This salad was a huge hit the day I served it, and even though a lot was eaten, I still had enough leftover to cover andeat the following two days for dinner. For me, that's a huge plus on thesedog days of summer when the last thingI feel like doing is heating up the kitchen to make dinner.

Until we eat again, I hope you have a delicious day!

More Salad Recipes