7 Layer Salad – Quick Facts
- What is 7 Layer Salad: A Seven Layer Salad is a classic American potluck recipe (and holiday recipe) probably most popular in the Midwest. It’s made by layering crisp lettuce, peas, onion, celery, a creamy mayonnaise dressing, shredded cheese and bacon bits in a clear glass bowl. It’s served chilled and know for it’s beautiful layer and fresh crunch!
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Serves: 8-10
- 7 Layers: lettuce, peas, onion, celery, dressing, cheese and bacon bits.
- Best For: holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter), cookout + potlucks, chili dinners
- Make Ahead: layer lettuce, peas, onions and celery and then cover and store. Add dressing, cheese and bacon bits right before serving.
My Seven Layer Salad + Chili + Cornbread Tradition
I grew up eating 7 Layer Salad on Sundays when the weather was chilly and football was on – my Mom always served it with some slow cooker chili and gluten-free cornbread and I still crave it every time the temperature dip every September/October. I know everyone has their own version of this classic recipe – this is my Mom’s version! I especially love the mayonnaise-honey mixture!
Looking for Another Salad Side Dish?
If you love them as much as we do, you definitely need to try our Pea Salad + Sweet Chili Vinaigrette!
Key Ingredients + Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, & estimated nutritional information.
- iceberg lettuce – this crisp lettuce is the traditional lettuce that is used, but feel free to use romaine lettuce or any other mixed greens (but iceberg give it a nice crunch!).
- mayo – some seven layer salad recipes call for Miracle Whip, instead of mayo. Sometimes my mom would use miracle whip too! I just happen to like our honey-mayo dressing better – but do what works best for you.
- honey – I like to use honey to sweeten the mayo – you could just use granulated or coconut sugar if you want to reach your desired sweetness.
- shredded cheese – highly recommend a colby jack cheese here – but feel free to mix it up. A pepper jack would even be fun if you really wanted to experiment!
How To Make 7 Layer Salad
Step 1: Alright, let’s grab a glass bowl for serving and start layering! Start with that crisp iceberg lettuce layer.
Step 2: Then add the peas, onions and celery. If you are making ahead – stop here and store in the refrigerator. If serving immediately, keep layering!
Step 3: Now mix up that creamy, sweet dressing in a small bowl.
Step 4: Spread that dressing on top and pile on the cheese and crispy bacon!
Fun Recipe Variations
We all know and love the classic seven layer salad recipe, but in case you were looking for a way to mix things up – here are some ideas we have test out for you!
- 1950’s Original Style: Use Miracle Whip instead of mayo and add a layer of hard boiled eggs.
- Lightened Up: Swap some of the mayo for plain Greek yogurt; mix in some spinach in the lettuce layer and use turkey bacon.
- Southwest Twist: Replace peas with black beans and corn; add a red bell pepper layer; use chipotle lime sauce instead of mayo and add diced avocado on top.
- Brunch/Easter: Add a layer of diced hard-boiled eggs and some diced red bell pepper.
- Kid-Friendly Cups: Layer ingredients in clear cups so they are more fun for kiddos to eat!
Best Ways To Serve Seven Layer Salad
- Cozy Weekend: As I said before, for me this is a must-serve with chili and cornbread (but feel free to try smoked chili and smoked cornbread)! It’s how my mom always served it when I was growing up – it is so nostalgic!
- Summer Potluck: serve with zesty Italian pasta salad, avocado turkey burgers and a frozen strawberry margarita.
- Thanksgiving: serve with some grilled turkey (or juicy roast turkey breast), broccoli casserole with ritz crackers and some wild rice stuffing! Don’t forget about the dairy-free pumpkin pie!
- Christmas: serve with a perfectly cooked prime rib roast recipe (+ horseradish sauce for prime rib), candied carrots and wild rice pilaf.
- Easter: serve with an easy crockpot ham (+ brown sugar ham glaze), dairy-free green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole with marshmallows.
Make Ahead: Quick Tip to Avoid Sogginess
You can prep most of this salad ahead of time. What we recommend, is prepping all the ingredients, layer the lettuce, peas, onion, and celery. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate until ready to serve. The mayo sauce mixture can also be mixed and stored in the fridge until ready to serve. Right before serving spread the mayo mixture on top and add the cheese and bacon!
Erin’s Testing Tips
- Lettuce: I have made this recipe over a hundred times in my life and I have tried all different types of lettuce – you gotta use fresh iceberg lettuce (right from a head of iceberg). It adds that crunch that you need here!
- Dressing: Miracle Whip works just fine here and it is the more “classic” dressing option – over the years I have tested out other options and I really like the mayo + honey option better!
7 Layer Salad FAQs
The traditional seven layers in a classic seven layer salad recipe are: shredded iceberg lettuce, frozen peas, diced onion, sliced celery, mayonnaise dressing (or Miracle Whip), shredded cheese and bacon bits.
This version is based on the original “layered salad” recipe that ‘s been around since the 1950’s with the same core layers and the addition of honey-mayo dressing that’s been in my family for years.
Yes! Layer the lettuce, peas, onions and celery and then cover and store in the refrigerator. Right before serving add the mayo dressing, cheese and bacon. This will help to avoid sogginess. Feel free to make it 1-2 days ahead of time.
Fresh iceberg lettuce works best. It has the perfect, fresh crunch.
Yes! My mom definitely used Miracle Whip from time to time – it has such a great tanginess to it (I love it on these grilled BLTS).
First make sure you ingredients aren’t too wet when adding them. Second, when you add the mayonnaise dressing layer – ensure you spread it all the way to the edge of the pan so that it helps “seal” in the layers and keep them crisp.
I prefer to use shredded colby jack cheese, but sharp cheddar is also really good! I have used shredded goat cheese before and also a pepper jack that tasted amazing!
They honestly don’t last too long – cover tightly and store in the refrigerator. There is no way to avoid things getting a bit soggy after serving, but leftovers still taste good for 1-2 days.
Made this recipe and loved it?!
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Seven Layer Salad Recipe (7 Layer Salad)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Counter Top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Original Seven Layer Salad (7-layer salad) with a creamy honey mayonnaise dressing — ready in 20 minutes. Perfect for holidays and potlucks. Tips, make-ahead instructions, and easy substitutions + variations included.
Ingredients
- 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, rip into small pieces
- 1 small bag frozen peas, thawed and uncooked
- 1/2 cup sweet yellow onion, diced (or white onion)
- 1 cup celery, sliced
- 1 1/2 cup mayo (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 tablespoon honey (to taste)
- 1 cup shredded colby jack cheese (feel free to use dairy-free)
- 1 cup bacon bits (about 8 slices of cooked bacon)
Instructions
- Layer: In a 9×9 clear glass pan or clear glass trifle bowl, start layering this salad with lettuce on the bottom and then the thawed peas, diced onion, and celery.
- Mayo Mixture: Put mayo and honey in a small bowl and mix to combine. Taste and add additional honey, to taste. Spread this mixture on top of the salad in an even layer.
- Top the Salad: Sprinkle the cheese on top and then the bacon bits.
- Serve: Enjoy this delicious salad with any main dish – we love it with Gluten-Free Cornbread and Classic Slow Cooker Beef Chili (although Pumpkin Chili is also amazing with it too).
Notes
- Flexible: the salad ingredients are SO easy to adjust, if you have a bigger or smaller pan. Amounts listed can be used as suggestions and if you end up adding more or less of something, it will still work perfectly.
- Lettuce: we have always used iceberg lettuce, but feel free to use other types of lettuce or greens.
- Mayo: I grew up using Hellmann’s mayo, but if you want a healthier version we love our basic homemade mayo!
- Bacon Bits: we grew up using store-bought bacon bits, but you can always cook your favorite paleo/Whole30 bacon (or regular bacon) and chop it up – whatever works best for you!
- Prep Ahead: simply layer everything until you get to the mayo sauce. Cover and refrigerate. Prepare the mayo sauce, cover and refrigerate. Right before serving add the mayo sauce layer and then the cheese and bacon.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6oz
- Calories: 235
- Sugar: 3.3 g
- Sodium: 417.7 mg
- Fat: 20.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.3 g
- Protein: 5.9 g
- Cholesterol: 43.2 mg
Originally published 12/4/19. Recipe retested and new photos added 10/21/24.
Erin says
Seriously delicious! Thank you!
Marianne says
Would ranch or blue cheese work as well?
Erin Jensen says
I have never tested this with a ranch or blue cheese so I can’t say for sure if it works (and that’s not traditionally how seven layer salad is served), BUT hey if that sounds good to you let me know if you try it!