Smokey Southwestern Grilled Romaine Salad

Smokey Southwestern Grilled Romaine Salad is topped with a delicious creamy avocado cilantro dressing, Queso Blanco cheese, and crunchy almonds.

This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. This recipe and opinions are 100% my own.

I always keep nuts on hand. I love snacking on them, crushing them up in breading for chicken and shrimp, or tossing them in a salad. They add such a nice crunch!

It wasn’t too long ago that John and I were on vacation in the Dominican Republic. It should have been pretty easy to watch what I ate. There were so much fresh fruit and grilled fish that I should have lost weight (snicker snicker).

Well, the rest of the story is that we enjoyed this particular rum drink that went down just a little too easy. In addition to rum, it was full of mint and their version of simple syrup. So the truth is, I came home with some work to do in the calorie counting department.

Ingredients you’ll need for this grilled salad

• Romaine Lettuce
• Queso Blanco Cheese (Feta works well too)
• EVOO
• Avocado
• Champagne Vinegar
• Lime
• Garlic
• Cilantro
• Almonds

I am all about grilling right now. I think that it just brings out the natural flavors of food. The caramelization that vegetables take on is just delicious. Grilling Romaine adds a smokiness to all of the other flavors already going on.

This salad was so delicious, that I’ve eaten it three times this week already! It makes a great vegetarian meal or you could add some grilled shrimp for your meat lover.

I think you’ll enjoy these recipes too!

• Fresh Greek Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
• Vegetarian Spinach Power Salad
• Grilled Peach Salad with Honey-Jalapeno Dressing

Smokey Southwestern Grilled Romaine Salad

Author: Hostess At Heart

Southwestern Grilled Romaine Salad is topped with a delicious creamy avocado cilantro dressing, Queso Blanco cheese, and almonds. This smokey salad is delicious and is perfect for lunch or as a side dish.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Main Dish, Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword: Grilled Romaine Salad

Servings: 8

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4 heads of romaine lettuce I used artisan which are compact and smaller
• 2 oz Queso Blanco cheese plus additional for garnish
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic
• lime Zest and juice
• 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup cilantro plus additional for garnish
• 1/4 cup almonds roughly chopped (I used Blue Diamond Bold Sriracha flavor)

Instructions

 

• In a blender or food processor combine all ingredients except for the lettuce and almonds. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate until serving.
• Cut heads of romaine in half. Spray with non-stick cooking spray on the cut edge. Grill cut side only on medium-high until grill marks appear.
• Top grilled lettuce with dressing, crumbled Queso Blanco cheese, chopped Blue Diamond Sriracha almonds and additional cilantro if desired.
• Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 84kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 2gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 187mgPotassium: 141mgFiber: 1gVitamin A: 1395IUVitamin C: 2.3mgCalcium: 64mgIron: 0.5mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

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