Chopped Blue Cheese Salad

Submitted by Julesong

"There was a request for the Outback's Blue Cheese Chopped Salad on the forum today... it's been a couple of years since I had the salad myself, but I recall really enjoying it! The request set my tastebuds a'craving, so I put together this salad. We took it to a potluck today - I had two servings of it for lunch, and the husband and potluck attendees pronounced it great! :)"

 

• Ready In: 20mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Yields: 9 cups salad
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• Candied cinnamon pecans

• 1⁄3 cup sliced-lengthwise pecans
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons butter, melted

• Salad

• 3 cups chopped bibb lettuce or 3 cups butter lettuce
• 3 cups chopped redleaf lettuce
• 3 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
• 1 green onion, chopped

• Blue cheese vinaigrette

• 1⁄4 cup olive oil
• 1⁄4 cup white vinegar or 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
• 1⁄4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1⁄2 cup crumbled blue cheese

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Slice each pecan half into three lengthwise pieces.
3. Mix together the cinnamon and brown sugar.
4. Toss pecans with melted butter, then with the cinnamon/sugar mixture, tossing well to ensure a thorough coating.
5. Put the nuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 5 to 8 minutes, until sugar is caramelized.
6. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, slide the parchment together with the nuts off the sheet to cool, and set aside.
7. Chop the lettuces into smallish bitesized pieces; use a salad spinner to wash and dry them.
8. Slice the green onion.
9. Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients.
10. Place the chopped lettuce in a large serving bowl (one large enough to toss the salad in).
11. Add the vinaigrette and toss thoroughly to coat.
12. Sprinkle with the chopped onion.
13. Break the cooled pecan slices apart and sprinkle them over the salad.
14. Serve and enjoy!
15. Note: if taking this to a picnic or potluck, make sure you prepare it just before you go or the lettuces will get a bit limp after a couple of hours - it'll still tastes good, though.

Reviews

[Polly W]

I love this salad!!! Two of my daughters worked at the Outback for years and I am addicted to this!!!! Thanks for posting. Pollyw

 

[Southern Bug]

I thought this was a nice change from our usual side salads. The dressing was a little on the strong side. I added some honey after my first taste and that helped make it more mild. Just a word of warning - a little dressing goes a LONG way! I will make this again, but not overdress it and definitely use the honey.

 

[emma]

i'm 15 and decided to make my family dinner one night. the instructions were easy to follow but the dressing did not need the white vinegar at all. the first time, i put it in there but i threw out that batch of dressing because it tasted really bad. but besides that, no complaints and we were all wishing i had made more so we could have seconds! :]

 

[Little Suzy Homemak]

I made this for a potluck and it was wonderful. It was also gone at the end of the evening. I will definitely be making this one again.

 

[Bernie 2]

I just made this for myself, and absolutely LOVED it! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. 5 STARS!