Classic Seven Layer Salad Recipe - Great Holiday Recipes (2024)

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Seven Layer salad is fresh, cool, and crispy with a classic retro vibe that makes it absolutely irresistible. This colorful side dish is perfect for any party, a must at the holidays, and disappears fast at potlucks and socials!

Classic Seven Layer Salad Recipe - Great Holiday Recipes (1)
Classic Seven Layer Salad Recipe - Great Holiday Recipes (2)

Whether you’re hosting a holiday feast, casually entertaining friends, or cooking Sunday Supper, this Seven Layer Salad is a must-make side dish for any meal!

This is genuinely the ULTIMATE salad recipe, with all your favorite ingredients layered into one bowl! Seven Layer Salad has a perfect balance of flavors. The combination of smokey bacon crumbles, sharp cheddar cheese, and fresh veggies is hard to beat… but when you drizzle on the vibrant homemade dressing, you’ll take the dish to a whole new level!

Seven Layer Salad is also completely customizable, you can add in all your favorite ingredients to this side dish for a personalized masterpiece. With just a couple of common ingredients and 20 minutes of your time, you can enjoy this salad recipe any time of the year!

Make This Recipe For…

  • Thanksgiving Dinner
  • Potlucks
  • Easter Dinner
  • Block Parties
  • Christmas Dinner
  • Graduation Parties
  • Birthday Celebrations
  • Baby Showers
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Ingredients Needed To Make Seven Layer Salad

For The Salad

  • Iceberg Lettuce – shredded
  • Red Onion – thinly sliced
  • Cherry Tomatoes – sliced
  • Hard Boiled Eggs – sliced
  • Cooked Bacon – crumbled
  • Frozen Peas – thawed
  • Sharp Cheddar Cheese – shredded

For The Dressing

  • Mayonnaise
  • Sour Cream
  • Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Sugar
  • Garlic Powder
  • Salt
  • Pepper

PRO TIP: While you can serve this salad immediately after making it, I highly recommend allowing the salad to refrigerate overnight, this salad is best when it’s made ahead of time!

Classic Seven Layer Salad Recipe - Great Holiday Recipes (4)

How To Make Seven Layer Salad

  • Make the salad dressing by adding all the dressing ingredients to a mason jar. Place the lid on the jar and shake until all the ingredients are well combined. Set aside dressing.
  • Grab your serving dish and begin to layer the salad ingredients into the bowl. Place the iceberg lettuce on the bottom, followed by the red onions, then layer on the tomatoes.
  • Once the first three layers are complete, add a layer of eggs on top of the tomatoes, add the thawed peas, and add a layer of crumbled bacon over the peas.
  • Drizzle the dressing over the salad, then top with the shredded cheddar cheese. Cover the salad and refrigerate overnight or until you’re ready to serve.
Classic Seven Layer Salad Recipe - Great Holiday Recipes (5)

Delicious Additions and Substitutions For This Salad

Additions:

  • Dried Cranberries
  • Chopped Celery
  • Honey – for the dressing
  • Turkey or Ham
  • Scallions or Green Onion
  • Avocado

Substitutions:

  • Iceberg Lettuce – Romaine or Butter Lettuce
  • Bacon – Pecans or Sunflower Seeds for crunch
  • Cheddar Cheese – Parmesan or White Cheddar
Classic Seven Layer Salad Recipe - Great Holiday Recipes (6)

What Serving Dish Is Best For Seven Layer Salad?

There are many different serving dishes you can use for this salad recipe. When I serve this dish, I generally use a transparent dish so that all the beautiful layers can be seen clearly. Here are a couple of serving dishes I’d recommend…

  • Glass Trifle Bowl – this is an excellent, fancier option for holidays or formal entertaining.
  • Clear Salad or Mixing Bowl – This is a terrific option if you’re casually entertaining or hosting a family.
  • Small Clear Salad Bowls – if you’re hosting people with varying preferences, you can make individual Seven Layer Salads and customize them to each guest’s tastes.

What To Serve With Seven Layer Salad?

This salad recipe is very versatile, you can serve it with so many different main dishes. Here are a couple of mains I like to pair with this salad to make a beautiful meal…

  • Easy Beef and Cheddar Sliders
  • Easy BBQ Chicken (Oven-Baked or Grilled)
  • Ultimate Crock Pot Party Meatballs
  • Cheesy White Ravioli Casserole (Lazy Lasagna)
  • Best Crock Pot Pulled Pork
Classic Seven Layer Salad Recipe - Great Holiday Recipes (7)

More Salad Recipes You’ll Love…

  • Strawberry Spinach Salad
  • Potato Salad For A Crowd
  • Southern Macaroni Salad
  • Party Chicken Salad
  • Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

Classic Seven Layer Salad Recipe - Great Holiday Recipes (8)

Seven Layer Salad

Seven Layer salad is fresh, cool, and crispy with a classic retro vibe that makes it absolutely irresistible. This colorful side dish is perfect for any party, a must at the holidays, and disappears fast at potlucks and socials!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Ingredients

For the Salad

  • 1 head of Iceberg Lettuce – shredded or finely chopped
  • 1 medium Red Onion – thinly sliced
  • 1 pint Cherry Tomatoes – sliced
  • 6 Hard-Boiled Eggs – sliced
  • 12 ounces Frozen Peas – thawed
  • 12 ounces Cooked Bacon – crumbled
  • 8 ounce block of Sharp Cheddar Cheese – shredded

For The Dressing

  • 1.5 cups Mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup Sour Cream
  • 1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons Sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Pepper

Instructions

  • Make the salad dressing by adding all of the dressing ingredients to a mason jar. Place the lid on the jar and shake until all the ingredients are well combined. Set aside dressing.

  • Grab your serving dish and being to layer the salad ingredients into the bowl. Place the iceberg lettuce on the bottom, followed by the red onions, then layer on the tomatoes.

  • Once the first three layers are complete, add a layer of eggs on top of the tomatoes, then add the thawed peas, and lastly add a layer of crumbled bacon over the peas.

  • Drizzle the dressing over the salad, then top with the shredded cheddar cheese. Cover the salad and refrigerate overnight or until you're ready to serve.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Classic Seven Layer Salad Recipe - Great Holiday Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is a Paula Deen seven-layer salad? ›

This seven-layer salad is great for spring and summer cookouts. In a large trifle dish or serving bowl, layer lettuce, tomato, cucumber, peas, green onion, and radishes. In a medium bowl, stir together sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and salt until smooth. Spread over radish layer, and top with cheese and bacon.

What is 7 layer salad made of? ›

A fabulous 7-layer salad consisting of Romaine lettuce, peas, red onion, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, cheddar cheese and green onions. The dressing is killer!

What is the history of the 7 layer salad? ›

The dish may have originated in the South and was called the "seven-layer pea salad" for its main layers of peas. The traditional seven-layer salad is covered with a coating of mayonnaise (and sometimes sour cream) and includes eggs and bacon. It has been said to have "helped give salads of the 1950s a bad name...

How to make salad fun to eat? ›

A blend of crunchy (nuts and seeds), chewy (dried fruit), crispy (bell peppers or fennel), and soft (avocado or hard-boiled egg) foods make for a more balanced and ultimately more satisfying salad.

What is the Jennifer Aniston salad? ›

She spent the day sharing pieces of her life, including a few of her favorite meals. For lunch, she had what is now known as the Jennifer Aniston salad: bulgur wheat, cucumber, herbs, chickpeas, feta, red onion, and pistachios.

What salad did Jennifer Aniston eat? ›

She did in fact, eat a cobb salad instead everyday consisting of chopped lettuce, chicken breast, turkey bacon, boiled egg, and so on with her co-star Lisa Kudrow.

What are the 4 elements of a salad? ›

The basic parts of a salad are the base, the body, the garnish, and the dressing. The five basic types of salad are green salads (tossed or composed), bound, vegetable, fruit, and combination.

What are the 5 components of salad? ›

There are five elements to a perfect salad: greens, sweetness, creaminess, crunchiness, and dressing. Let's talk about each one.

What makes a salad filling? ›

Add heart-healthy fats such as sliced avocado, nuts, seeds, or olive oil to your salad to make it more filling. The body needs fats for various functions, so we shouldn't fear them. Fats provide energy, support cell growth, and protect organs.

What is the oldest salad dressing? ›

French dressing is the oldest one on our list, but vinegar and oil dressing goes back nearly two-thousand years to ancient Babylonia.

What salad was invented in California? ›

The iconic Cobb Salad was invented in 1937 at the Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, California, by Bob Cobb. The ingredients for Cobb Salad vary from recipe to recipe but they typically start with some sort of leafy green like Romaine lettuce.

What can I put in my salad to make it taste better? ›

Use a vinaigrette: A simple vinaigrette made with oil, vinegar, and herbs can add a lot of flavor to your salad. Try different types of vinegar, such as balsamic, red wine, or apple cider vinegar, and experiment with adding different herbs or spices like garlic, mustard, or honey to create your desired flavor.

What can I put in a salad to make it more interesting? ›

Add spices and flavours such as paprika, chilli flakes, curry powder, harissa or parmesan. Add acidity or sourness with vinegar, lemon juice or pomegranate molasses to transform your salad.

How to pimp up a salad? ›

One of the easiest ways to get some flavour in your salad is to mix up your leaves with bright herbs that pack a punch. Plants like parsley, dill, mint and coriander can really kick your salads up a notch and give them some (much needed) depth and can give a great dose of flavour in every bite.

What is a salad that is held together with a thick sauce like mayonnaise called? ›

Bound salads are assembled with thick sauces such as mayonnaise. One portion of a bound salad will hold its shape when placed on a plate with a scoop. Examples of bound salad include tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, coleslaw, and potato salad. Some bound salads are used as sandwich fillings.

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