Amazing Romaine Salad with Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

This amazing romaine salad is next-level delicious with a quickly-made poppy seed vinaigrette, easy candied pecans, and lots of crunch!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Absolutely delicious!!!! The dressing is out of this world!!! –Nadia

The Perfect Everyday, Gourmet or Party Salad

This salad first came into my life over ten years ago when my friend, Teri, and I made what feels like 3,000 pounds of it for a church Christmas party. People were literally rushing into the kitchen after the party wanting the recipe for this magnificent salad.

Over the years, hundreds of you have fallen in love with this salad, too, for the following (and many other) reasons:

• The mix of crisp romaine, salty bacon, tangy cheese, sweet dried fruit, and crunchy candied nuts is an explosion of flavor and texture.
• The dressing! Oh, that dressing. It is light and tangy, and absolutely incredible.
• It is the perfect salad for pretty much any occasion. Easy enough to make for a weeknight, but delicious and fancy enough for a gourmet dinner or party.
• Most everything in the salad can be prepped ahead of time! Store the dressing and ingredients separately and then toss the salad together right before serving.

How to Make Candied Nuts

The candied nuts in this salad are incredible. In fact, I make them all the time for snacking and for different salads, too. They are sweet, a little spicy, crunchy, and irresistible.

1. In a 10-inch skillet, combine the brown sugar, salt, cayenne (if using), and water.
2. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer for two minutes.
3. Add the coarsely chopped nuts and stir until glossy and evenly coated with the syrup, 15 to 30 seconds (don’t over cook or they’ll turn grainy).
4. Scrape the nuts out of the pan and spread onto a piece of parchment paper to cool completely.
5. When cool, break apart or chop into small pieces.

I prefer using pecans or walnuts. The recipe can be doubled in a 12-inch skillet.

Important Additional Notes

• Add grilled chicken alongside this salad for a complete (and super tasty) meal.
• Other flavors of vinegar can be used with good results, like: red wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar.
• Many readers have used honey in place of the sugar. 
• Yellow or Dijon mustard can be used. I personally like the punchy flavor of yellow mustard, so I always make it that way, but many readers like using Dijon mustard.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Just made this salad and it is AMAZING, Mel!!!! I am the person who has never made a salad at home that I loved, nor even really liked if we are being honest. This is restaurant quality and is so easy!!! -Andrea

Amazing Romaine Salad with Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Yield: 8 Servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 5 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

4.82 stars (66 ratings)

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Ingredients

Vinaigrette:

• ⅓ cup white vinegar (see note)
• ⅓ cup canola oil, vegetable oil, olive oil, or avocado oil
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons yellow or Dijon mustard
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon poppy seeds

Candied Nuts:

• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
• ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salad:

• 2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
• ½ cup feta, bleu or Parmesan cheese
• 6-8 strips bacon, cooked and chopped or crumbled
• ½ – 1 cup dried cranberries or cherries

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Instructions 

• For the dressing, whisk together all the ingredients until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve. The dressing can be made up to a week in advance. Whisk to recombine before serving.
• For the nuts, in a 10-inch skillet, combine the brown sugar, salt, cayenne (if using), and water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the nuts and stir until glossy and evenly coated with the syrup, 15 to 30 seconds (don't over cook or they'll turn grainy). Scrape the nuts out of the pan and spread onto a piece of parchment paper to cool completely. When cool, break apart or chop into small pieces.
• For the salad, in a serving bowl, toss the lettuce, cheese, bacon, cranberries or cherries, and candied nuts together. Pour half the dressing over the top and toss to combine. Add more dressing to taste, if desired. Serve immediately.

Notes

Adaptations: I’ve used other flavors of vinegar with good results, too: red wine vinegar, white balsamic vinegar. Many readers have used honey in place of the sugar. 

Updated Candied Nuts: Over the years, I’ve changed the candied nuts portion of this recipe to be more foolproof, since some readers have had trouble with that part. Here is the original candied nuts recipe: 

1 cup chopped nuts, walnuts or pecans are my favorites

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon butter

Pinch cayenne pepper

For the nuts, in a 10-inch skillet, combine the nuts, sugar, butter, salt and cayenne. Heat over medium, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until the sugar and butter melts and coats the nuts, 3-5 minutes. Immediately scrape the nuts onto a sheet of parchment and separate carefully into pieces to cool.

Author: Mel

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Method: No-Bake

Serving: 1 Serving, Calories: 410kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 23mg, Sodium: 501mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 25g

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Recipe Source: adapted from my friend, Teri (reduced the oil and sugar a bit in the dressing, added a pinch of salt and cayenne to the nuts)

Recipe originally posted January 2015; updated August 2026 with new recipe photos, recipe notes, etc.

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