You’ll love the charred smokiness of this Grilled Romaine Salad with 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 warmer weather allows us to spill out of our smaller home and onto the backyard patio, under the umbrella of tall shade trees. Blake’s superb grilling skills keep us entertained and well-fed, and one of our favorite recipes to kick off a meal is this Grilled Romaine Salad – it’s fresh and beautiful and easy! Other entertaining favorites include Grilled Margarita Shrimp appetizers, Grilled Vegetable Salad, and Sweet & Smoky Salmon – they have summer written all over them!
Why My Grilled Romaine Salad Belongs on Your Summer Bucket List
Our whole family welcomes this fresh salad – we’ve been making it for a long time already. When it’s just us, I serve it super casually, on a large rimmed sheet pan. Here’s why we love it — and why you will too!
- Perfect for parties. A grilled lettuce salad is always a topic of conversation (many people have never heard of grilling greens!), and so easy to prep ahead of time.
- Simple, summery ingredients. 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.
- So much BIG flavor. The grill helps to intensify the flavor of the tomatoes and corn, and adds a nice smokiness to everything it touches. And I love the texture of the charred ruffled edges of the grilled lettuce. Sprinkle some chopped bacon over the top of the salad and serve with my homemade buttermilk ranch dressing to bring it altogether in the most delicious way!
What You’ll Need
While there’s lots of room for customizing this grilled romaine salad, here are the ingredients I most often use. Scroll down to the recipe card to find the exact ingredient quantities and full recipe instructions.
- Romaine lettuce – Choose large heads so they stand up well to grilling.
- Tomatoes – This salad is a wonderful opportunity to use the beautiful heirloom tomatoes that pop up at the farmers markets in the summer.
- Sweet corn – Remove the husks and silk before grilling so you get some char directly on the kernels.
- Olive oil – To keep the veggies from sticking to the grill grates, plus add flavor and make charring easier.
- Salt & pepper – I use kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper – simple seasonings are all this salad needs.
- Bacon – Cook it however you like, then chop it up.
- Ranch dressing – I recommend my 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!
How to Make Grilled Romaine Salad
If you’ve ever wondered how to grill lettuce, fear not: it’s easy! Here’s what you’ll need to do.
- Prepare. Preheat your grill, then clean and oil the grates. Brush the lettuce, tomatoes, and corn with oil, then season with salt and pepper.
- Grill. Place the romaine and tomatoes onto the grill grates with the cut sides down, then add the corn. Press the romaine gently to get a good sear; once you can see those sear marks, remove the tomatoes and flip the lettuce and corn to grill the other side. Place all the cooked veggies in a large rimmed pan.
- Assemble. Slice the corn kernels from the cob. Arrange the romaine and tomatoes on a platter, then add the corn and bacon. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with ranch dressing.
More Tips for Grilling Lettuce
The star of this salad is the grilled romaine, no doubt about it. And that means you’ll want to get it right! Here are a few more pointers to keep in mind.
- Make sure the lettuce is dry. Wash it and pat it dry or let it air dry in a colander if you have time. If your romaine is smuggling any excess moisture between its leaves, it’s likely to steam and get soggy on the grill.
- Coat it evenly with the olive oil. Brush the oil evenly over the cut sides of the romaine – do not simply give the romaine a quick drizzle of oil. Not only does the oil keep the lettuce from sticking to the grill grates, it also helps add flavor and a bit of crispy texture.
- Adjust the char to your liking. I tend to like a lot of that crispy, smoky char, but you can just give the lettuce a quick trip on the grill if you prefer.
- Remember that it cooks fast. Romaine can be charred in as little as 1 minute, so don’t walk away from the grill.
Other Grilled Romaine Salad Options
Any salad that uses romaine as a base can be made with grilled romaine.
In some cases, like this Italian Chopped Salad, you may want to chop the romaine after grilling it, but if there aren’t many ingredients, you can keep it whole and assemble the salad as described in this recipe. With the Italian chopped salad, you can top grilled half-heads of romaine and top them with this salad’s ingredients and use my Italian Vinaigrette instead of the ranch dressing. (Yum!)
Make a grilled Caesar salad, featuring grilled romaine and homemade Caesar Dressing.
Make a grilled lettuce salad with chopped grilled peaches and Candied Pecans – refer to this Grilled Peach Salad recipe for how to grill peaches, plus use the dressing from this recipe as well.
Or keep it simple with my sunny Lemon Vinaigrette and shaved Parmesan.
Serving Suggestions
I always pair this grilled salad with grilled mains, like my Grilled Chicken Sandwich and Grilled Beer Can Chicken. More great pairings include our fantastic Grilled T-Bone steak recipe and Sugar Grilled Steak. Grilled Pizza and Honey Mustard Chicken Kabobs are also winners. Dinner’s so much easier – and fun – when we can cook it all on the grill!
How to Store Leftovers
This salad is absolutely best enjoyed when eaten fresh off the grill – there’s just no way around that.
If you do end up with leftovers, make sure the grilled romaine and vegetables are cooled completely before you place them in an airtight container. (If they’re still warm, the lettuce will wilt from the steam.)
With the dressing added, this salad will last 1 day in the refrigerator. Undressed, it will keep for up to 3 days. I recommend eating leftovers cold, rather than reheating, or just warm up the corn and tomatoes in the microwave and leave the romaine cold.
More Summery Salad Ideas
Grilled Romaine Salad
Ingredients
- 2 large heads firm romaine lettuce, cut in half lengthwise through the stem, to equal 4 halves
- 4 medium tomatoes, cut in half through the stem
- 4 ears sweet corn, husks and silk removed
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup cooked, chopped bacon
- Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium-high (400°-450° F). Once hot, clean the grates really well. Then generously oil the grill grates using a long tongs and a folded paper towel soaked with vegetable oil. Close the grill and let it heat back up again.
- While grill is heating, place romaine, tomatoes, and corn on a large rimmed pan. Brush olive oil onto cut and back sides of romaine, the cut sides of tomatoes, and over the corn kernels. Sprinkle everything with salt & pepper, to taste.
- Place romaine and tomatoes on hot grill grates, cut sides down. Add the corn. Press gently on the back side of the romaine, to ensure crisp sear marks, and grill for 1-3 minutes (depending on your grill heat) without moving the vegetables. Once you have distinct grill marks, remove tomatoes to a rimmed pan. Then flip the romaine and corn, and grill for another 1-3 minutes. Remove romaine and corn to a rimmed pan.
- Once corn has cooled a bit, cut the kernels from the cob.
- To serve, arrange grilled romaine and tomatoes on a large serving platter or rimmed pan, overlapping as needed. Sprinkle corn kernels and bacon pieces over the top. Finish with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Serve with buttermilk ranch dressing.
Nutrition Information:
This post was originally published in 2014, then updated in 2019 and 2025.
Thanks for making this for us. I know I wouldn’t have tried something like this on my own.
It was is tasty!
Come back! Let’s make it again!! :) xo