Gardening is a funny thing. In the spring, you dream of planting all the vegetables you love. By late summer you are begging your friends to “please, take the veggies” because you are so tired of them. I was that way until we bought this house. We have so many trees in this yard that a garden is impossible. Now I’m the friend that’s hoping for veggies from my gardening pals. And my friends, Don and Joyce, have an abundance of tomatoes this year that they shared with me.
I was really looking forward to a BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato) sandwich. But Eric was not! Because of bread. Because of carbs! I really dislike eating alone. What could I do about this dilemma?
I could use the same ingredients as in the sandwich and turn it into a salad, minus the bread. The more I thought about this I thought that people on a Paleo Diet and a Keto Diet could enjoy this salad too.
Disclaimer: I’m not a paleo or keto expert. (But, I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night. lol I know…..that joke is old.)
The star of this dish is the freshly picked, sun-ripened tomato with it’s sweet flavor. They are at their best when eaten soon after harvest. I’ve found that storing tomatoes in the refrigerator will cause them to loose flavor and the texture turns to mush. (I wish the grocery stores would figure this out.) I keep my fresh tomatoes in a pretty bowl on the counter and use them quickly.
This is a very loose version of a recipe. I added some diced onion and sweet pepper that you wouldn’t usually find in a BLT Sandwich, but both ingredients gave the salad a little more crunch for texture. I found this salad to satisfy all of my BLT cravings! I hope you enjoy it too!
PrintKeto Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Salad

All of the tastes of a BLT sandwich, without the bread, in a salad.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: salad
Ingredients
2 – 4 ripe tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
7 (or as much as you want) slices of cooked bacon, chopped
1 cup of torn or thinly sliced lettuce
1/4 of a red onion, diced – optional
1 – 2 sweet yellow pepper, diced – optional
1/4 C mayonnaise
1 t vinegar
salt & pepper – to taste
Instructions
Cook the bacon and cut into bite-size pieces when cool. While the bacon is cooking, chop the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. I removed the seeds and excess juice at this time. Place the tomatoes in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Either tear or thinly slice whatever variety of lettuce that you choose. Add the lettuce to the tomatoes. Add the chopped bacon, onion and sweet pepper to the tomatoes.
In a separate small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, vinegar, salt and pepper.
Add the mayonnaise and stir gently to mix.
Don’t make this too much in advance as the mayonnaise will get thinned as the tomatoes release their juices.
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