This BLT Ranch Salad with Quinoa is a healthy and hearty meal that will fill you up and keep you powered up for the rest of your day. Sponsored by Wolf Gourmet.
I am not a big salad eater. They typically do not fill me up nor seem appetizing to me. I prefer heartier meals, but over time I have learned to fall in love with salads by making them.. well, heartier. This could be the addition of meat, but also an assortment of vegetables to keep things lively. I even shared my tips on how to build a better salad here. For me, the key to eating healthy is to trick myself into thinking that I am eating a big-honking-hearty meal that doesn’t leave me hungry.
One of my favorite ways to trick my brain (and stomach) is to mix in some quinoa into my salad. Quinoa is gluten-free, packed with fiber and protein, gives you energy and.. ta-dah, fills you up! The beauty of quinoa is that it cooks quickly, taking about 15 minutes. Fluff it with a fork and add it to your salad warm or cooled off, whatever you prefer.
Another trick I have found to making salads more appetizing is homemade salad dressing. My husband is guilty of bringing home store-bought dressings. They rarely get used by me and they typically go bad before they are even half-way done. I suppose I have become a salad dressing snob.
So when Wolf Gourmet sent me their brand new Wolf Gourmet High Performance Blender, I was ridiculously excited. I thoroughly love the stainless pots and pans Wolf sent me a few months ago. I knew this blender was going to WOW me.
My husband and I went a little crazy testing it out. This is one real bad boy blender and we enjoyed checking out all of it’s capabilities:
- Serious power with its ultra-responsive variable speed and 2.4 peak HP motor that propels the blades to speeds over 210 mph. The dial lets you easily choose the speed you need.
- The digital control panel is uber-cool.
- There are 4 program speeds, smoothie, ice crush, puree and soup. Yeah, we tested them all. You can also pulse smoothly.
- The extra-large 64 oz. Tritan™ jar is shatterproof and BPA-free. The lid has a sweet two-piece cap that includes an emulsion cup so you can easily add ingredients slowly when blending. Perfect for emulsifying olive oil… or salad dressings!
- For being a high-performance blender, this beauty isn’t the size of a monster and fits perfectly under standard-size cabinets.
- Perfect for entertaining and family meals, The blender is perfectly sized to fit under standard-size cabinets.
We mixed cocktails, smoothies and soups. This blender works fast and smoothly, leaving no chunks or lumps behind. This is one powerful and beautiful blender. And it is very easy to clean. I happily gave away my old blender and proudly show off my new baby on my kitchen counter.
So after all our mixing and blending experiments, I decided to make homemade ranch dressing for this post. Why did I not do this earlier in my life???!!! I am a sucker for ranch dressing, one of the few store-bought dressings that I secretly enjoy. Don’t judge me. Homemade ranch is ridiculously easy to make. Again, why did I not do this earlier in my life???!!! I am totally and completely hooked.
Since I prefer a little more zing in meals, my version of homemade ranch dressing has plenty of garlic and the addition of apple cider vinegar. I also packed in my favorite herbs: dill, chives and parsley.
I made this BLT Ranch Salad because it’s still summer, and we are bursting with gorgeous heirloom tomatoes. And bacon. A little bacon makes any salad so much more appetizing.
Giveaway Time!
This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to my winner, Katie Miller!
The awesome folks at Wolf Gourmet are giving away one of these high performance blenders to one lucky reader!
To enter, just subscribe to my blog and leave a comment below!
Giveaway disclosure: To enter you must be 18 years or older and reside in the 50 United States. Prize cannot be shipped to P.O. Boxes. Contest expires August 15, 2016.
Who’s ready to start blending?
Read more about this blender on the Wolf Gourmet website or visit Williams-Sonoma to purchase your blender.
The BLT Ranch Salad with Quinoa
This BLT Ranch Salad with Quinoa is a healthy and hearty meal that will fill you up and keep you powered up for the rest of your day.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup minced parsley
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 TBS minced fresh chives
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 5 oz spring mix greens
- 1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 4 radishes, thinly sliced
- 1-pound of heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges
Directions:
- In a blender mix until smooth:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup minced parsley
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 TBS minced fresh chives
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- Mix in:
- 1/2 cup buttermilk*
- Pour dressing into a bottle, seal and refrigerate for one hour for flavors to meld together.
- In a small pot add:
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- Cover pot and bring water to boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cook until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender, approximately 15 minutes.
- Fluff quinoa with a fork and cool to room temperature, approximately 20 minutes.
- In a large serving bowl add:
- 5 oz spring mix greens
- Toss the cooled quinoa with the greens.
- Scatter over the salad:
- 1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 4 radishes, thinly sliced
- 1-pound of heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges
- Serve with refrigerated ranch dressing.
Notes:
* for thicker dressing, add 1/4 cup of buttermilk
While dressing is in the fridge, you can cook the bacon. I like cooking bacon in the oven. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil and lay bacon in a single layer. Cook for 15 mins or to desired doneness at 400ºF. Drain cooked bacon on a plate lined with paper towels to cool.
Prep Time:
Yield: serves 4-6
Cook Time:
Total Time:
Love the idea of making my own ranch dressing–I am trying to get better about not buying them at the store (but just can’t seem to get over that hump of doing it myself). Thanks for sharing the recipe, and the giveaway!
I would like to get a better blender. I would like to make smoothie for my son that don’t come out chunky. This really looks like a great blender..thanks for sharing.
I cannot wait to try the homemade ranch dressing recipe!
I’m subscribed to your blog with the email jefflammers at rocketmail dot com.
Lovely post! This salad has everything I love. On the list for dinner! Thanks 🙂 And signed up for your newsletter.
I’ve always wanted to try and make my own ranch dressing… now I have no excuses not to…! Thanks for sharing 🙂 ~Rachael
Homemade salad dressings are the only way to go! I am going to definitely try yours, looks great!
subscribed to your blog. great dressing recipe idea
I love to eat salads! I’ll be happy to add this one to my repertoire of summer meals. That dressing looks so good.
Looking forward to trying another great recipe!
subscribed! thanks for the chance!
That salad looks healthy and delicious, I can’t wait to try!
Great recipe! I can’t wait to make it!
I signed up for your newsletter. How nice it would be to have that beautiful blender to make my own homemade dressing — and so much more!
I am learning to make new things and really take the time to enjoy making things from scratch. Great looking recipe for me to try.
I’m subscribed either as [email protected] or [email protected], it come up as welcome back. You have officially made me hungry & want to try this recipe. My blender blew up in April & my fiancee not knowing the difference, purchased a Ninja bullet for me. I would love to win Wolf Gourmet blender to make this recipe & so many more I have come to miss. I can’t go out and purchase a blender as I don’t want to hurt my sweetheart’s feelings lol.
Delish! Will try out soon.
The Farmer loves ranch dressing on almost everything. I should try your recipe for him!
I am signed up for your newsletter. Now all I need is that bad boy blender mailed straight to ME!
Love your dressing….it is so smooth. My blender leaves things a bit chunky.
Sounds like a yummy recipe! Cannot wait to make it. Thanks Laura!!
The salad looks so yummy and I love making my own homemade salad dressing.
Wow, this is dream blender!
I am subscribed. I love homemade ranch. It is so yummy! I’ll have to try this salad.
I never thought about making my own ranch before! I’m from the Midwest & they put ranch on everything from veggies to fries to pizza. This recipe looks delicious and I’m going to have to try it this week.
I could sure make some awesome smoothies and margaritas with this baby!
I am already subscribed.
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
This salad sounds amazing! It was just what I was looking for. We are all trying to reduce our carb intake here and this will give us all the flavor of our beloved BLTs without the bread! We worked our blender into overtime when my son’s jaw was rubber-banded shut after surgery. It’s amazing how creative you can get with recipes when it all has to fit through a small straw! Would love to see the Wolf blender in action.
This recipe sounds so good for summer! While its hot I dont like heating up the oven or stove for too long so I try to stick with recipes like this. I would love to try so many recipes with this blender like tomato soup and smoothies!
That blender will be great for smoothies
Now I want a salad!
This looks amazing!
What a fabulous ranch dressing! It looks so smooth and beautiful. Can’t wait to make it in my new wolf blender. Haha ! Positive thinking…..
Can’t wait to win that blender!!!
This ranch recipe looks like a winner! It looks to have more depth than many typical ranch dressing recipes. That blender looks amazing as well!
Great giveaway! Great recipe! Pinned and tweeted.
I love this dressing! I typically use olive oil and a nice vinegar, but I’ve been missing out. I subscribed to your newsletter!
I am definitely going to have to make that salad. It’s sounds delicious! Thanks for the chance!
For the love of bacon, please let me win this amazeballs blender!!! Wowza! I am in desperate need of a blender. You know, the kind that actually WORK?!?! (Insert eyeroll here). Fingers crossed! And just a side note: I LOVE RANCH DRESSING. The end. 🙂
Wow! I really need a blender! Just moved across country and pretty much sold everything in my kitchen!
I can’t tell you the last time I bought dressing; like you, I prefer to make my own. One I’ve never made is Ranch. I always thought it had lots of things I didn’t want (like sugar), but your recipe looks fantastic – no unwanted ingredients. I’ll definitely give it a try.
I’d really love to start making my own dressings and mayo too. Wish me luck!
That salad looks so delicious and topped with ranch is the best! I have always been a huge fan of ranch- also totally digging that blender! 🙂 I am subscribed!