This is one of my favorite salads – and it is super easy to make! I love how quick it is to prepare, and is a great way to dress up a salad. I make this a lot for guests and always get compliments!
You’ll need:
- balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper (for homemade)
- or, I recommend Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette
- blue cheese
- chopped walnuts (I buy them pre-chopped, or you can easily chop them on your own)
How to make the Balsamic Vinaigrette:
The general rule for making a balsamic vinaigrette is 1 part balsamic to 3 parts oil.
I use a nice balsamic and extra virgin olive oil – I love the rich flavors!
Once you have your ratio of vinegar and oil, sprinkle in salt and some pepper. How much you make really depends on how big of a salad you are preparing – often I am making just enough for myself.
Whisk or shake your mixture. It will stay together for a little while and separate out over time. Also check to make sure you added enough salt – I have made the mistake of not adding enough salt and it was a little bland.
If I make this for our family at home, I sometimes just make this in a glass mixing cup and whisk with a fork (or mini whisk). Other times when we are serving guests, I use a mason jar and shake it up.
Assembling the salad:
For this salad, one of my favorites is a butter lettuce, but you could use a romaine or spring mix. (In my photos, I used a baby romaine mix).
I generally wait to add the dressing until the salad is ready to be served, so that it stays fresh.
Toss the dressing with the salad, then top with chopped walnuts and blue cheese. If you toss the salad with the toppings, the toppings tend to end up at the bottom, so I leave the cheese and walnuts on top, even if just for presentation.
I also sometimes make this like a ‘salad station’, so that if we are serving kids, they can make their own salad. My kids are not a fan of blue cheese, so I give them the option of leaving it off.
Mmm!! This looks delish!! Im not a huge fan of blue cheese though so I think Id sub in feta! Equally strong and creamy but not blue cheese lol!!
This is my type of salad! I’ve been using feta cheese lately on my salads, and I need to try putting some blue cheese on instead.
This is my kind of salad. Only I couldn’t use blue cheese as I feel it tastes like feet. I do like feta though.
This is my favorite salad! I don’t make it as often as I like but gosh do it taste good. I love it with the blue cheese!
This salad looks so yummy, looking forward to giving this a try.
This salad is right up my husband’s alley. He will love the flavor profiles of this. Walnuts and blue cheese? Why thank you!
This is my type of salad. I cannot wait to make it again. My family loves it too
This blue cheese and walnut salad is a simple yet tasty salad that is enjoyable enough to eat on its own. Im so excited to make it
Usually, when Im hungry, I dont want to spend much time in the kitchen. This salad is full of flavour but so easy and quick to prepare.
This salad looks and sounds delicious. It is a nice simple recipe that a person can make all the time.
The salad is definitely healthy and filling. How bookmarked this recipe and am sure to use it over the weekend.
This sounds amazing. I love a good salad. Very healthy too, which is wonderful.
Wow! This looks really delicious and healthy! This is so perfect, I’m surely gonna try this!
Love the combo of blue cheese and walnuts. A salad like this sounds so delicious to me! Gotta try this!
I love this salad, it’s so tasty and good for you too. I like to switch it up and swap cheeses around sometimes.
My sister loves a good salad like this one 😉 I totally love this and am making this for sure when she comes next week. I personally do not like the cheese but everyone else in my family does 😉
This looks so delicious! Going to have to try this soon! Thank you for sharing!