This BLT Salad Is Even Better Than the Sandwich

This article is a part of Mayo Week—seven days celebrating all things mayonnaise—presented in partnership by our friends at Primal Kitchen. 

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Americans eat BLTs all year round (rewind back to winter, 20-something years ago, and you’ll find me eating one at a Johnny Rockets in a mall, French fries and Oreo milkshake alongside). But they’re best in the summer, when tomatoes are red, juicy, and sweet as peaches.

And the tomatoes are important. Over at Serious Eats, J. Kenji López-Alt argues that the BLT is a “tomato sandwich, seasoned with bacon,” which I respectfully (but wholeheartedly!) disagree with: The bacon, tomato, and lettuce are children, equally loved by their parents, bread and mayo. Though I do agree with Kenji’s overall message, that if a sandwich only has five ingredients, every one should count.

This Big Little Recipe doesn’t change the ingredient list. It’s still bread, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo. Which is to say: It’s still a BLT. Except, instead of making a sandwich, we’re making a salad.

A very simple, very summery, very repeat-worthy salad.

You may not find it at Johnny Rockets, but you will find it on my table, again and again, between now and September. Here’s how to do it:

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Bread

Whole-wheat? Multigrain? No-knead? All work. I opt for sourdough, which has a tangy flavor, but isn’t so overpowering that you get distracted. Instead of slicing the bread, we’ll tear it into chunks and hunks, then turn those into croutons. I love how torn croutons are misshapen; not only do the ragged edges crisp up better, but they’re less likely to, ow, poke the roof of your mouth. While I often bake croutons in the oven, in this case, we’re skipping the prospect of another dirty dish and using the same pan where we cook the...

Bacon

What’s the best way to cook bacon? Our writer Ella Quittner has a lot of thoughts (and, based on the 466-and-counting comments, apparently so do you). The cheat sheet for this recipe: Cook the bacon in a cast-iron skillet, starting with a cold pan to encourage the fat to render evenly. As Ella noted, this method yields unparalleled flavor. And while the strips may crisp up more in some places, I like that contrast between crunchy and chewy.

Lettuce

Kale, arugula, mustard greens, and other big-personality lettuces are not invited. (Don’t worry, they have plenty of other places to go.) Here, we want a lettuce variety that’s mild in flavor, so you can share your attention with everyone else. I opted for butterhead lettuce (either Bibb or Boston), which is, as you might guess, buttery in texture and taste. I adore its ruffly, tender contrast to the crispy croutons and crunchy bacon. But if you’re craving something sturdier, try roughly chopped iceberg.

Tomatoes

You’d never find a cherry tomato on a BLT sandwich, but you know what? We’re not making a sandwich. I use cherry tomatoes in salads all the time because they thrive under pressure. Take a super-ripe heirloom, cut it into chunks, toss it around on your plate, and the juices get everywhere. A cherry tomato, meanwhile, is more composed and less likely to sog-out your salad as you eat. You could pick any color or even a mix, but I opt for yellow (so pretty). Some of the tomatoes get halved and tossed in with the lettuce. Meanwhile, the rest get combined with the...

Mayo

In a classic BLT, the mayo gets smeared on the bread, holding the sandwich together. In our case, we need a vinaigrette to dress the salad. The components of a vinaigrette are: oil and vinegar. So, something fatty and something acidic. We already have something fatty with the mayo, but what about acidic? We could bring in any vinegar or even lemon. But vinegar and lemon aren’t in a BLT. Which leaves us with what else? Tomatoes. Already in our ingredient list and acidic, to boot. If you blitz these up with mayo in a blender or food processor for long enough, you end up with a silky-smooth, bright-yellow dressing that tastes like the end of a BLT, when the mayo and tomato juice are blending together and dripping down your wrists. And what’s better than that?

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What are your rules for a perfect BLT? Tell us in the comments!