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Crunchy walnuts, tangy blue cheese, salty bacon and sweet & sour pickled onions sit atop tender, creamy bibb lettuce to create this delicious Macaroni Grill copycat Bibb & Blue Salad! Topped with your favorite Ranch dressing it’s the ultimate salad for any time of the year.
Macaroni Grill is a popular Italian restaurant with locations all over the country. It’s my kids’ favorite choice, and the only one they unanimously agree on, when asked where they’d like to go for dinner. It’s the fettuccine Alfredo that excites them, but for me, it’s the appetizer Bibb & Blue salad.
I was skeptical at first because I don’t like onions. I was worried the pickled onions would taste too much like the raw ones so the first time I tried this salad I left them off. Big mistake! Huge! (name that movie!)
The salad was good but I wasn’t in love. Next time I forgot to have them taken off so I ate them with the salad and boy let me tell you, I have a new favorite salad!
Sweet salads have been the rage for quite a while, like my Raspberry & Pear Salad, but believe me when I say that savory is where it’s at. All those yummy ingredients topped with creamy, cool Ranch dressing…YUM. And it’s crazy easy to make. For the pickled red onions you can use the recipe I’m sharing below (it’s super easy and delicious), but if you’re short on time here’s a little tip – use actual pickle juice, straight from a big jar of pickles! Place the onions covered with pickle juice in a sealed jar and leave it on the counter for an hour – works like a charm!
In this Bibb & Blue Salad you’ve got flavors coming at you from every angle – savory and salty and tangy and sweet – your mouth won’t know where to go first! And the textures are amazing – Bibb lettuce is a very mild lettuce, and very tender and creamy. It pairs beautifully with the crunchy walnuts and bacon. This Bibb & Blue Salad really does have it all!!
Bibb & Blue Salad with Pickled Red Onions (Macaroni Grill Copycat)
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 head Bibb lettuce washed and torn into bite sized pieces
- 2 cups romaine lettuce washed and torn into bite sized pieces
- ¼ cup pickled red onions recipe below
- ½ cup Walnuts
- ½ cup Crumbled Blue Cheese
- ¼ cup Crispy thin onion straws (French fried onions
- 2 slices Bacon cooked crisp and crumbled (or bacon bits)
- Ranch dressing
Pickled Red Onions
- 1 red onion sliced into thin strips
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
To make the pickled red onions:
- Place ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and steep onions in the hot liquid for about 20 minutes.
- Cool completely before serving, and store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
To make the salad:
- Combine lettuces in a large bowl and toss with desired amount of ranch dressing.
- Divide onto salad plates and divide toppings (walnuts, bacon, blue cheese and pickled red onions) evenly among the plates using desired amounts of each.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
If you loved this Bibb & Blue Salad, Check these other delicious year-round salads, try these:
Lightened Up Broccoli Grape Pasta Salad
For all salads go HERE, for all dinner recipes go HERE, and for the Recipe Index go HERE.
Made this last night. It was perfect and exactly like the Bib and Blu at Macaroni Grill. I used Kens buttermilk ranch dressing. The pickled onions were perfect
Awesome, thanks for the feedback Andrea!