This traditional seven layer salad combines lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, green peas, boiled eggs, homemade dressing, cheddar cheese, and bacon for a delicious side dish.
It is a favorite make-ahead dish for potlucks and cookouts.
"This traditional seven-layer salad is one of my favorite recipes! I love all the different textures and flavors. It's perfect for potlucks and family gatherings and goes over so well with the children." ★★★★★-Heidy
When I had my first Seven Layer Salad I couldn't believe how much I loved it.
It was one of those things I never had as a child and wondered, "Where the heck has this salad been all my life?"
It had bacon, cheese, tomatoes, and PEAS!?! The thought of peas in a seven layered salad threw me for a loop.
However, the sweetness of the peas really compliment the seven layered salad mixture and I was surprised that I liked them in the salad.
So if you are not a big pea person yourself, don't knock it until you try it. Peas are a key ingredient that balances the flavors of the layers.
Layered salad is one of my favorite salads for parties. I also will make a batch to go with dinner and eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. The salad really is delicious. I hope you love it. Enjoy! Xoxo~Katie.
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Watch how to make
Ingredient notes and substitutions
You will need the following ingredients to make seven layer salad.
- Lettuce- Traditionally Iceberg lettuce is used. You can mix in spinach or Romain for a little extra flavor.
- Red Onion- I like red onion for this recipe, but you can substitute with green onion.
- Tomatoes- Tomatoes taste beautiful with bacon and mayonnaise. For this reason, I like tomatoes best in this salad. However other recipes have substituted tomatoes with chopped bell pepper, cauliflower, or celery. You can use what you like best. They are all delicious in this.
- Frozen Peas-Please, please, please do not use canned peas in this salad. It will not be the same. The canned peas will be too mushy. Use thawed frozen peas.
- Boiled Eggs
- Bacon- I prefer fresh cooked bacon. If you substitute with precooked bacon, do not use imitation bacon bits. You must use real bacon.
- Mayonnaise- Do not substitute with fat free mayonnaise or Miracle Whip. You will ruin the salad if you do.
- Sugar- Sugar makes the dressing. If you are watching your carbs, you can use a sugar-free substitute such as Swerve.
*The full recipe with ingredient measurements is located at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
Dressing Tip
Mayonnaise and sugar is the traditional dressing recipe. However, it is also delicious if you mix in ½ cup parmesan.
Steps
Follow these steps to make the perfect layer salad.
- Mix mayonnaise and sugar to make the dressing.
- Layer in order lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, and peas.
- Cut your hard boiled eggs in half, then slice. Place the sliced eggs to stand against the bowl until they wrap around the entire salad. Chop remaining sliced eggs and layer in the center of the salad.
- Layer with dressing, cheese, and bacon.
Can you make this overnight?
This salad is sometimes called, "Overnight Salad" because it can be made the night before. The longer it sits in the refrigerator, the better it is. That is why many people make it at night and serve it the next day.
While you can serve it an hour after making it, is is better to wait at least 4 hours before serving.
Do you mix layer salad before serving?
You do not mix the salad before serving. Just use a large, long spoon for serving and carefully scoop out a big helpful with all the tasty layers. You are welcome to mix it up on your plate after.
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Can you use a 9 x 13 dish?
You can use a 9 x 13 serving dish for this layer salad. You would layer the salad the same way, except you would not need to worry about slicing the eggs. Just chop the eggs and layer them in the salad.
If you looking for a punch bowl that will hold the entire salad, this large glass salad bowl is a great one that will work perfectly.
If you like this Southern recipe, check out these tasty Southern salad recipes:
Did you like this salad? Please leave me a comment below if you make this and tell me what you thought about it. I would love to hear back, and so would my readers.
Also post your picture of your salad on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale with #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!
📖 Recipe
Seven Layer Salad-Traditional Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 head of lettuce chopped
- 2 tomatoes diced
- ¾ cup red onion diced
- ½ package of frozen peas thawed
- 5 eggs boiled
- 1 ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 pound bacon cooked and crumbled
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar shredded
- 1 ½ tablespoon sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix 1 ½ cup mayonnaise and 1 ½ tablespoon sugar to make the dressing.
- Layer 1 head chopped lettuce, 2 diced tomatoes, ¾ cup diced red onion, and ½ package of thawed frozen green peas.
- Cut 5 hard boiled eggs in half, then slice. Place the sliced eggs to stand against the bowl until they wrap around the entire salad. Chop remaining sliced eggs and layer in the center of the salad.
- Evenly spread dressing over the top of the eggs.
- Layer 8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese.
- Layer 1 pound chopped cooked bacon.
- Cover and place in refrigerator 4 or more hours or overnight.
Margie Tyler says
We used to make this salad for wardroom parties, for U.S. submarines. About 30 people in attendance so a large salad is well received. Always gets rave reviews, and so easy to put together.
Sandy says
I recently made this seven layer salad for a football party. I received so many good compliments on it. I would definitely make it again. I did not change anything with the recipe. I followed it just as instructed. I only had time to leave the salad sit for a couple of hours in the fridge before serving. But it was still delicious!
Barbara S Dohan says
excellent recipe for 7 layer salad.I recieved rave revierws on the very first time I made it.L have always been a fan of this salad but never sure of the vegetables and so forth.This will be a real family favorite!
Rehoboth says
Excellent recipe
Thanks
Gloria says
The perfect side dish for the holidays.
Gabby says
I've made this salad twice now for a work carry-in and both times it's gone over so well! I've made a few substitutions with the meat (using shredded chicken instead of bacon) and a blend of Mexican/taco cheese and shredded sharp but this is such a simple and delicious recipe! I'm curious how long the salad will keep once it's made, though? Perhaps just a few days?
Katie Crenshaw says
It will taste best the first 2 days. After 3 days it gets too soggy to eat.
Natalie says
Perfect! Just what I was looking for. I'm going to a BBQ party this weekend. Everyone is asked to bring some food. I'm going to make this salad. I bet people will flip because this salad looks amazing. Yum! Thanks!
Nicole says
This is a fabulous salad! I actually absolutely loved the peas in this. It's a great salad to bring to a potluck brunch.
Chandice says
What an incredible dish! So many layers of flavors that it makes everyone happy!
Hayley Dhanecha says
I am so glad I made this easy seven layered salad this weekend, my family want to have it again very soon. So filling and delicious.
Loreto and Nicoletta says
Wow, I have never had this seven layered salad. It is like a whole meal in one serving. Love all the ingredients going into this, so scrumptious, bright and fresh. Totally into the peas!
Well done and thanks for all the tips!
Heidy says
This traditional seven-layer salad is one of my favorite recipes! I love all the different textures and flavors. It's perfect for potlucks and family gatherings and goes over so well with the children.
Veronika Sykorova says
This salad was really delicious! It's definitely going into our rotation. Kind of reminds me of the five-layer dip, it's so pretty to look at!
Megan says
One of my all time favourite salads. Thanks so much for a delicious recipe.
Allyssa says
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing layered salad recipe! Will surely have this again! It's really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Beth says
This is a beautiful salad - the layers are an attractive presentation but I can see that the top layers also protect the lettuce greens from drying out. The eggs make a lovely scalloped design, too.
Kim | Low Carb Maven says
My mother used to make layered salads and always included peas. I love them. This salad looks great Katie. So perfect for a brunch gathering.