Grilled Romaine Lettuce Salad

Grilled Romaine Lettuce Salad – You’ll love the charred smokiness of this salad with grilled romaine, tomatoes, and sweet corn. Bacon and a homemade buttermilk ranch dressing put this summer salad over the top!

Summer entertaining is my favorite entertaining.

The nicer weather allows us to spill out of our smaller home, in to the 3-season sunroom and on to the backyard patio, under the umbrella of tall shade trees.

Summer entertaining also means grilling, my favorite means of feeding a group of friends and family. Sometimes it’s super casual with burgers, brats, and hotdogs. Other times we put a bit more effort into it, grilling up a surf ‘n turf meal of grilled margarita shrimp appetizers and sweet and smoky salmon, plus perfectly grilled ribeyes.

Whatever the menu, I’m always looking for a fresh and beautiful (and easy!) side dish to serve alongside the grilled entree. And summer has this Grilled Romaine Lettuce Salad written all over it. It’s so good, and easy to prep ahead of time. We’ve made it three times since I photographed this post. Yes, you need this recipe for your summer entertaining plans!

Summertime pleads with you to make this grilled romaine salad. 

Pick up a few heads of romaine lettuce, plus some local sweet corn. And then grab fresh, ripe tomatoes from your garden or farmer’s market – or the best you can find from the store (I look for the vine-ripened Bushel Boy tomatoes, grown here in Minnesota). 

Tomatoes are packed with nutrients and antioxidants. They are often referred to as a “super food”, a nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being.

I try to incorporate tomatoes in our meals weekly, and summer is the very best time to enjoy all of their most delicious texture and sweetness. If you haven’t tried them grilled, you’re in for a treat! 

How to grill romaine lettuce

But the star of this salad is the grilled romaine. No doubt about it.

The first time I ever ate grilled romaine lettuce was on a blogging trip to Oregon. Before taking my first bite of that grilled Caesar salad, I was admittedly skeptical. But that one bite was all it took to convince me that the grill and fresh romaine are a match made in heaven.

How to grill lettuce? It’s so easy!

• Simply slice the romaine heads in half lengthwise. Brush both sides lightly with olive oil. And then sprinkle both sides with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. 
• Place romaine onto hot oiled grill grates and cook until softened a bit and charred to your liking. I tend to like alot of that char!

That’s it! 

Grilled Romaine Lettuce Salad

With this grilled romaine salad recipe, I went just a bit further by also grilling fresh, juicy tomatoes and sweet corn. The grill helps to intensify the flavor of the tomatoes and corn, and adds a nice smokiness to everything it touches.

The charred grill marks not only add awesome smoky flavor, but also so much beauty.

I like to serve this salad super casually, on a large rimmed sheet pan, just like you see in my photos. (Here’s my favorite large rimmed pan.)

Sprinkle some chopped bacon over the top of the grilled goodness and serve the salad with my creamy homemade buttermilk ranch dressing. This is my family’s favorite ranch dressing – once you try this tangy, garlicky dressing, you’ll never want to eat any other!

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Grilled Romaine Lettuce Salad

You'll love the charred smokiness of this salad with grilled romaine, tomatoes, and sweet corn. Bacon and a homemade buttermilk ranch dressing put this summer salad over the top!

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 large heads romaine, cut in half lengthwise
• 6 tomatoes, cut in half through the stem
• 4 large ears sweet corn, husked and silk removed
• olive oil
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 lb. thick-cut bacon, fried, drained, and chopped
• 2 T. roasted and salted sunflower nuts
• homemade buttermilk ranch dressing

Instructions

1. Preheat grill to medium-high. Once hot, clean the grates really well and then oil the grates. (To oil the grates, add some canola oil or olive oil to a small bowl. Then fold a heavy paper towel a few times to make a smaller square. With a tongs, grasp the folded paper towel and dip it into the oil until the paper towel is drenched. Then run the paper towel over the grates, repeating until all grill grates are thoroughly oiled.) Close the grill and let it heat back up again. 
2. Lightly brush both sides of the romaine, the cut sides of the tomatoes, and the corn with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place romaine and tomatoes on grill grates, cut sides down. The romaine is the most tender and should cook the fastest, but this will also depend on your own grill and heat. With a tongs, flip romaine over after the cut sides are nicely charred. I have found that I like a healthy amount of char to the romaine, as it adds so much nice smoky flavor. Check the tomatoes after they have been grilling for almost two minutes. They will take a little longer to achieve a solid char. As the corn chars, roll the ears to grill all sides. Have a large platter or pan ready, to pull items off as they finish cooking. Once the ears of corn have cooled a bit, cut the kernels from the cob.
3. Arrange grilled romaine and tomatoes on a large rimmed pan or serving platter, overlapping as needed. Sprinkle with grilled corn kernels, bacon pieces, and sunflower nuts. Finish with additional kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Serve with homemade buttermilk ranch dressing.

Recommended Products

• 
  Large Rimmed Pan
• 
  Wusthof 5-Inch Santoku Knife
• 
  OXO Large Cutting Board

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 377 Total Fat: 20g Saturated Fat: 6g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 14g Cholesterol: 37mg Sodium: 778mg Carbohydrates: 33g Fiber: 10g Sugar: 11g Protein: 21g

Here are a few more salads, perfect for summer, that you might enjoy:

• Tabbouleh
• Green Apple, Pineapple, and Fennel Salad with Honey Ginger Dressing
• Tropical Shrimp Salad
• Summer Berry Spinach Salad from Foodie Crush
• Caprese Pasta Salad from Fifteen Spatulas
• Corn Spinach Salad from Reluctant Entertainer

This post was originally published in 2016. Some of the photos and text were updated in 2019.

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