I’ve made this 7-layer salad recipe numerous occasions for potlucks, events, and barbecues! It’s a traditional Midwestern aspect dish made by stacking layers of crisp lettuce with purple onion, peas, cheese, crunchy celery, creamy dressing, and salty bacon.
7 Layers of Outdated-Long-established Deliciousness
A traditional 7-layer salad is precisely what it appears like. It’s a layered salad, just like 7-layer dip. What goes into these layers could be absolutely anything, however right here within the Midwest, you’ll normally discover crisp lettuce, purple onion, peas, sharp cheddar, recent veggies, and bacon with creamy dressing.
I’ve been making and consuming this seven layer salad at block events, potlucks, and church gatherings for years. It’s a staple aspect dish that’s easy, however all the time tasty and refreshing. And if you wish to toss the salad earlier than you serve it? I’ll simply look the opposite approach. 😉
Why This Salad Is a Favourite Facet Dish
- It’s make-ahead-friendly. Layering retains the toppings and dressing separate. In contrast to a conventional salad, which may grow to be soggy with time, you’ll be able to assemble this 7-layer salad half-hour to 24 hours forward of serving.
- Eat along with your eyes. Every time I would like an aesthetic salad for a cookout, potluck, or vacation, I make a seven-layer salad. I initially layered my Russian salad recipe this fashion, making a rainbow of a salad that tastes pretty much as good because it appears to be like.
- Crowd-pleasing flavors. The dressing is creamy and gentle, so the actual magic of this salad lies within the mixture of crunchy veggies, smoky bacon, and cheese.
What Are the Layers in a 7-Layer Salad?
Every ingredient is just about a layer! Right here’s a have a look at what you’ll must make this traditional Midwestern aspect dish. Scroll to the recipe card for the whole ingredient quantities for the salad and dressing.
- Iceberg Lettuce – Or your alternative of sturdy greens. Romaine is nice; in any other case, attempt a darker inexperienced like Spinach or arugula.
- Purple Onion – Subsequent up is gentle purple onion. Candy Vidalia onion or shallot additionally goes properly.
- Peas – Frozen peas work completely, simply you’ll want to thaw them. Should you’re not a fan of inexperienced peas, use one other veggie, like cooked (or frozen and thawed) inexperienced beans.
- Shredded Cheese – I take advantage of sharp cheddar, however Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack (when you prefer it spicy), Gouda, and Havarti are all nice choices. Freshly shredded cheese tastes so a lot better (and fewer chalky, IMO) than pre-shredded cheese, although each will work.
- Celery – Chopped. Be happy to go half celery, half shredded or chopped carrot when you’d like. You can even add diced tomatoes, chopped cucumber, and different recent veggies to this layer.
- Dressing – Conventional 7-layer salad recipes use Miracle Whip. I gown my salad in a lighter do-it-yourself dressing produced from Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, grated Parmesan, a little bit of sugar, and salt and pepper to style. You possibly can swap Greek yogurt with bitter cream if wanted. And, when you’d favor, you need to use Miracle Whip as an alternative of mayo. Miracle Whip already has added sugar, although, so skip the sugar within the dressing on this case.
- Bacon – Cooked and crumbled. I prefer to make a batch of air fryer bacon, however you need to use your most popular cooking technique.
Seven Layer Salad Ideas and Variations
- Spice it up. To offer the dressing somewhat kick, add a splash of pepperoncini juice or a touch of scorching sauce.
- Completely different dressing. This 7-layer salad would additionally style nice with creamy ranch dressing.
- Lighten it up. For a lighter dressing possibility, attempt my do-it-yourself Italian dressing or this maple French dressing.
- Add eggs. Some traditional variations of this salad embody a layer of chopped boiled eggs between the lettuce and peas.
- Vegetarian. Swap the bacon with crunchy fried onions for a vegetarian-friendly salad.
- Pasta salad. Exchange the lettuce with cooked pasta, akin to penne, shells, or rigatoni.
- Make a 7-layer Southwestern salad. Exchange the peas with drained and rinsed canned beans, swap the celery with a mixture of candy corn and halved cherry tomatoes, and use leftover pulled hen as an alternative of bacon. Prime it off with my creamy avocado dressing.
Make This Salad Forward
Every time doable, I put together this layered salad at the least half-hour forward of serving and maintain it within the fridge. It tastes even higher as soon as it’s chilled down. The important thing right here is to verify all of the components are dry earlier than you stack them. Spin the lettuce in a salad spinner, and pat the thawed peas dry so any extra water doesn’t make the salad soggy.
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Make the dressing. Mix the dressing components in a bowl. Set it apart, in a fridge ideally, so the sugar melts whilst you make the salad.
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Assemble the salad. In a bowl, begin with a layer of shredded lettuce, then add a layer of the chopped purple onion, adopted by the peas, cheddar cheese, celery, ready dressing, and bacon on prime.
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Chill. Cowl and chill for half-hour earlier than serving.
- You need to use iceberg or romaine lettuce.
- Different veggies could be added, like tomatoes or cucumbers.
- Be sure that the sugar dissolves within the dressing.
- For some spiciness, you’ll be able to add a little bit of pepperoncini juice into the dressing or scorching sauce.
Serving: 1.5cups | Energy: 252kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 7g | Fats: 22g | Saturated Fats: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 9g | Monounsaturated Fats: 6g | Trans Fats: 0.1g | Ldl cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 302mg | Potassium: 139mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 341IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 0.5mg
Dietary information is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values could range in response to the components and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
Storing Leftovers
Retailer any leftover salad coated within the fridge. As soon as the salad components are combined with the dressing, it’s greatest to get pleasure from leftovers inside a day or two.
