Steakhouse Summer Salad is everything you love about a wedge—but with more flavor, easier prep, and better pairings for a grilled tomahawk, a reverse-seared steak, or whatever you’re having on the grill this summer.
When it’s steak night, you need a salad that can hold its own. That’s where this Steakhouse Summer Salad comes in. Inspired by the classic wedge salad but built on my Signature Salad Base, it’s easier to eat, full of color, and hearty enough to share the plate with a juicy tomahawk or reverse-seared ribeye. You can add protein to it, and it can become a meal in itself.
This salad is the answer to everything that’s frustrating about wedge salads—oversized leaves, messy dressing, and all crunch with no depth. Instead, finely chop iceberg, cabbage, and spinach and add in beets, avocado, scallions, juicy ripe summer tomatoes, Persian cucumber, and bacon bits. Finish the salad with my Signature Secret Blue Cheese Dressing.
Why This Salad Works So Well with Steak
You’ve got the richness of grilled beef. You need something crisp, cold, and a little tangy to cut through all that fat. This salad does exactly that. It’s everything you love about a wedge but with more depth, better balance, and easier eating.
- Serve it with a Tomahawk Steak for a show-stopping platter
- Or try it with a Reverse Sear Steak for perfect medium-rare every time
- Pair with our Air Fried Twice Baked Potatoes to round out the meal
What’s a Steakhouse?
For those unfamiliar, a steakhouse is a type of restaurant that specializes in grilled or broiled cuts of beef—especially large, flavorful steaks like ribeyes, New York strips, and tomahawks. Traditional steakhouses serve hearty, classic sides like baked potatoes, creamed spinach, and wedge salads, all designed to complement the richness of the meat. It’s all about bold flavors, crisp textures, and comfort served with a touch of ceremony.
A Closer Look at What’s in Your Bowl
What I love about this salad—besides how good it tastes—is that it’s full of ingredients that do something for your body. This isn’t rabbit food. It’s flavorful, satisfying, and surprisingly nourishing.
Salad Base
Start with my Signature Salad Base, a finely chopped blend of iceberg lettuce, green cabbage, and leaf spinach.
- The cabbage brings sweetness and crunch, but it also delivers a strong dose of vitamin C and vitamin K, along with compounds that may support liver function and reduce inflammation.
- Spinach softens the mix with its tender texture, but don’t underestimate it—it’s packed with iron, magnesium, and folate, and just a handful provides more than your daily requirement of vitamin K.
- Whether you choose iceberg or romaine, you’re adding bulk and water content to keep things refreshing and hydrating. Romaine has the edge nutritionally, but iceberg has the steakhouse crunch.
Beets
Julienned beets are perfect in this salad. You can used canned beets, but cooking them using our *Instant Pot Beet Cooking Chart and then julienned with the NutriSlicer Upright Mandoline is easy and healthy. They’re earthy, a little sweet, and absolutely gorgeous in the bowl—but they’re also rich in folate and nitrates that support circulation and may help regulate blood pressure1. I know some folks turn up their noses at beets, but trust me: in this salad, they shine.
Avocado
Avocado is also healthy. Yes, it has fat, but it’s healthy fat2. Don’t be afraid of getting Avocado Hand – my method is easy and safe.
Persian Cucumber
Persian cucumbers are different from their English and American cousins. They are smaller with a less thick skin and smaller seeds. They have just as much nutrients but are tastier and crisper. Cucumber skin can cause gastric problems, but the Persian cucumber’s skin is so thin, it’s safe to eat without peeling.
Summer Tomato
Summer brings big, beautiful red tomatoes3 bursting with juice. They offer antioxidant protection, heart health, improved vision and eye protection, and may provide an anti-cancer boost. Who know this lovely fruit (yes, tomatoes are fruit) could have so many benefits?
Green Onions
Thinly sliced green onion4 brings in just enough bite to keep things interesting. They are a good source of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as fiber and antioxidants which contribute to improved eye health, stronger bones, and a boosted immune system. Additionally, green onions contain compounds that may help regulate blood sugar, reduce the risk of certain cancers, and support healthy digestion.
Bacon
And then, of course, there’s the bacon. But, who wants to stand over a hot stove on a hot summer day? No one. You can buy prepared, fully cooked bacon bits. They work just fine here. They bring that salty, savory crunch that plays so well with creamy avocado and earthy beets. It’s the kind of shortcut I’ll gladly take.
All of this is tossed together just before serving and finished with my Signature Secret Blue Cheese Dressing, which ties it together with tang, creaminess, and enough funk to keep your fork going back for more.
The Ultimate Wedge Steakhouse Summer Salad
This is the wedge salad reimagined. Easier to eat, loaded with good-for-you ingredients, and designed to complement your best grilled steak. From the Signature Salad Base to the Signature Secret Blue Cheese Dressing, this salad turns a cookout into a steakhouse-style dinner.
Steakhouse Summer Salad Recipe
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Steakhouse Summer Salad
Tips from the Chef
Equipment
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Ingredients
~~ Signature Salad Base ~~
- 1 cup Spinach, leaves, loosely packed
- 2 cups Lettuce, Iceberg or Romain
- 1 cup Cabbage
~~ — Salad — ~~
- 1 medium beet, cooked and julienned
- 1 Avocado, peeled and chopped
- 1 large tomato, chopped, beefsteak preferred
- 2 Persian cucumbers, halved and sliced
- 2 Green onion, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup bacon bits, (store-bought or homemade) Omit for vegan and vegetarian
- ½ cup Signature Secret Blue Cheese Dressing
Instructions
- Mise en place
Prepare the vegetables
- 1 medium beetJulienne the cooked beet using a mandoline or sharp knife. Dice the avocado and cucumber, chop the tomato, and slice the scallions.
- 1 cup Spinach, 2 cups Lettuce, 1 cup CabbageMake the salad base in a large, shallow bowl.
Assemble the salad
- 1 Avocado, 1 large tomato, 2 Persian cucumbers, 2 Green onionPut the salad base into a large salad bowl for serving. Add the avocado, tomato, cucumber, beet, and scallions.
- 1/4 cup bacon bitsSprinkle bacon bits over the top and serve.
- 1/2 cup Signature Secret Blue Cheese DressingFor presentation, toss the salad at the table. Serve the dressing separately.
Nutrition
- Columbia University Medical Center – The Health Benefits of Adding Beets to Your Diet https://www.columbiadoctors.org/news/health-benefits-adding-beets-your-diet ↩︎
- Houston Healthcare – Health benefits of eating avocado
https://www.hcahoustonhealthcare.com/healthy-living/blog/health-benefits-of-eating-avocado ↩︎ - St. Vincent Medical Center – 6 Reasons to Eat More Tomatoes
https://stvincents.org/about-us/news-press/news-detail?articleId=58691&publicid=461 ↩︎ - National Library of Medicine – Green Onion (Allium fistulosum): An Aromatic Vegetable Crop Esteemed for Food, Nutritional and Therapeutic Significance
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10742967/ ↩︎
