Copycat Texas Roadhouse House Salad
Iceberg and romaine lettuce topped with sharp cheddar ribbons, chopped hard-boiled egg, grape tomatoes, and warm buttery garlic croutons. A faithful copycat of the beloved steakhouse side served with homemade ranch on the side.
Ingredients
Salad
- 3 cup iceberg lettuce, torn
- 3 cup romaine lettuce, torn
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shaved into ribbons
- 2 large hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- 1 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 cup buttery garlic croutons
Buttery garlic croutons
- 4 cup day-old French bread or sourdough, cut into ¾-inch cubes
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ¾ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- ¼ tsp onion powder
Copycat ranch dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp dried dill
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ¼ tsp¼ freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Make the ranch dressing: whisk all dressing ingredients together until smooth. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Keeps up to 7 days.
- Make the croutons: preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk butter, oil, garlic powder, salt, parsley, and onion powder. Toss bread cubes in the mixture and rest 5 minutes. Spread on a lined sheet pan in a single layer and bake 12 to 15 minutes, tossing once at 7 minutes, until deeply golden. Cool completely.
- Hard-boil the eggs: bring to a boil, cover, remove from heat, sit 12 minutes. Ice bath 10 minutes, then peel and chop.
- Tear and wash the lettuce, spin completely dry, and refrigerate briefly. Chill four plates in the freezer for 5 minutes.
- Divide lettuce across the 4 chilled plates. Top each with egg, cheddar ribbons, and tomatoes. Add warm croutons right before serving. Serve dressing on the side.
Notes
- Always use garlic powder in the croutons, not fresh garlic. Fresh garlic burns before the bread crisps.
- Croutons keep 2 weeks at room temperature. Reheat at 350°F for 3 to 4 minutes before serving.
- Ranch dressing gets better overnight. Make it the day before for the best flavor.
- Shave cheddar from a block with a Y-peeler for wide restaurant-style ribbons.
- Tip warm croutons over the salad from the mini cast iron skillet at the table for the full restaurant effect.