Easy Wilted Lettuce Salad Recipe with Quick Bacon Dressing

When you think of salads, I’m sure you think crisp, cool spring or summer salads. My grandma was from Iowa and this wilted lettuce salad recipe was one should would make often. It’s a classic recipe.

It has an odd name, wilted lettuce salad recipe. It makes you think of lettuce past its prime. Not appetizing at all.

But this salad recipe has bacon, a homemade warm bacon dressing, that makes every bite delicious.

If you are tired of the same old lettuce recipe, then this one is a must try.

It’s simple to make with its own hot dressing with bacon. I mean, who doesn’t like bacon, really?

Wilted Lettuce Salad Recipe, A Quick 15 Minute Recipe

When I was little, my grandma would make this salad. I would turn my nose up to it because it had green onions. Anything with onions wasn’t for me.

Luckily, I got over myself and tried it once I was a bit older.

I wish I would have tried this recipe when I was young. I missed out on so many great wilted lettuce salads.

I tell you this because I don’t want you to think, “Wilted, why would I want to eat wilted salad?” I get it, that’s what I used to think until I tried it. But this lettuce recipe is sure to become a family favorite.

This classic salad with delicious warm dressing is so good.

I think wilted comes from the fact that the hot dressing can wilt the salad a bit, especially if it sits too long.

If it had a better name like Hot Bacon Salad, I’m sure it would be more popular.

Be sure to eat it right after you add the delicious hot bacon dressing and you’ll love it. The lettuce will still be crisp and delicious, like the salads you know and love.

This salad recipe is hearty enough with eggs added for a lunch or light dinner. Or serve it as a side dish or salad for the start of a meal.

Now that I have you thinking, you need to try this recipe. Let’s get started with what you’ll need to make this simple salad.

What You’ll Need to make this Old Fashioned Wilted Salad Recipe or Kilt Lettuce

We need just a few ingredients to make this yummy salad recipe with homemade dressing.

Lettuce

You’ll need romaine lettuce, a head of lettuce, or a mix of garden lettuce. I like to mix lettuce leaves and head lettuce both. But if you have just a head of leaf lettuce, that will work too.

Onion

You can use green onions out of the garden, a nice purple onion, or even a yellow onion like I used since my store was out of purple onions.

Bacon

You’ll need 4 slices bacon to cook. You’ll need the bacon fat or hot bacon dripping and the crisp bacon pieces too for this salad recipe.

Vinegar

You can use any vinegar you have, but I’m partial to apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar for salads. But if all you have is white vinegar, then use it.

Seasonings

You’ll need salt and black pepper.
Optional Items, a little sugar to cut the vinegar if you want and a hard-boiled egg.

I’d suggest if you are using it for a main dish to add a couple of extra slices of bacon and a couple of chopped hard-boiled eggs to make it heartier. As a side salad, prepare it as is.

Now you know what you need to make this unique salad with warm dressing, let’s get to how to make it. It’s so easy to make really it is.

How to Make this Classic Wilted Salad Recipe

I’ve made a quick video for you, but if you’d rather have the written directions with a few photos, keep on scrolling.

Wilted Salad Recipe Step-by-Step Instructions

It’s important with this recipe to get all the vegetables ready before you make the dressing.

The warm dressing needs to be warm when added to the lettuce. You don’t want it sitting and cooling while you get the lettuce ready

1. Prepare the Lettuce

It doesn’t matter what kind of lettuce you use. Use what you have on hand or what you like the best.

Our family likes a mix of leaf and head lettuce. So our go to is to get a head of leaf lettuce and a head of iceberg lettuce and use part of each. It gives a little crunch to the salad when you use a crisper lettuce like iceberg to this salad.

If you grow your own lettuce at home in your garden, grab a mix of lettuce leaves from the garden and toss them for this salad.

Wash the lettuce well and then use a salad spinner to dry the lettuce. Tear the leaves into pieces or chop the lettuce.

Place the prepared into a large bowl. Add the green onions if using and sprinkle the salad with salt and pepper. Set it aside while you make the hot dressing.

Recipe Tip: To prepare the lettuce it’s nice to tear lettuce leaves, like leaf lettuce and use chopped lettuce that’s crisper like iceberg to mix in.

Not only does this give a difference in sizes and textures but also add visual appeal to the salad, because it’s mainly lettuce.

2. Cook Bacon and Onions

Now our lettuce is ready for the salad. It’s time to make the dressing. Which starts with the bacon.

Take your cut up bacon strips and place them into a skillet over medium heat. If you’ll be using purple or yellow onions, cook them with the bacon. When the bacon is partly cooked, add the onions.

3. Remove Bacon Once Crisp

Continue cooking until the bacon pieces are crisp and the onion is browned. Remove the bacon pieces and drain on a paper towel. You can also remove the onions too or you can leave them in the pan.

If you like small pieces of bacon, crumble bacon and set aside.

4. Finish the Hot Dressing

Turn off the burner and to the tablespoons of bacon grease, add the vinegar, water, and sugar if using. Be prepared for steam to come up as the pan is still warm.
Stir until the sugar dissolves.

5. Dress the Salad

Next step is to drizzle the hot dressing over the bowl of lettuce. Toss to coat.

6. Add Bacon and Egg Topping

Quickly add the crumbled bacon pieces, the onions if they were removed from the pan and chopped hard-boiled egg too if using.

Serve immediately.

That’s how easy it is to make this unique and delicious classic wilted lettuce salad recipe. I know it may sound odd, but once you try it; I think you’ll call it delicious.

Grab the printable recipe below…