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 I’ve been making, eating, and enjoying 7 Layer Salad for the past 40+ years. This classic Midwestern side dish is a staple at potlucks, barbecues, neighborhood block parties, and family reunions, and it’s just as tasty now as it was back then.
If you’re from Ohio, you probably want to toss the salad before serving. It sounds crazy to me, but that’s how they do it! And to the sub-section of the population that adds hard-boiled eggs to your salad, please carry on. That sounds like a fabulous addition.
With over 500 5-star reviews, you can trust that this version is the very best and the one that will take you on a trip down memory lane – right back to your own childhood where you loved a hearty bowl of 7 Layer Salad, too.
Table of Contents
7 Layer Salad Ingredients:
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes:
- Lettuce:Â Iceberg, crispy head lettuce, or Romaine.
- Red onion: I love the color of this one, but you can substitute white, yellow, or sweet onion if you prefer. Tame harsh raw onions by soaking in ice water for 10 minutes, then draining well.
- Celery: A few ribs for extra crunch.
- Peas: Run frozen peas under cold water until thawed and drain well.
- Mayonnaise: Plain, good quality mayo like Hellman’s or Best Foods is perfect.
- Sugar: A little sugar transforms your mayo into salad dressing, but you can leave it out if you want to.
- Cheddar cheese: Or change the cheese to the one you love like smoked provolone, blue cheese, or feta cheese.
- Bacon: You could layer in some turkey or ham instead of the bacon.
How to make Seven Layer Salad:
Before you begin, you should decide on what bowl to use for your layered salad. A clear glass bowl shows off all the hard work you put into chopping the vegetables. And a clear glass bowl with straight sides makes it easy to assemble.
- First layer: In the bottom of the bowl, spread the shredded lettuce
- Second layer: A thin layer of chopped red onion
- Third layer: Chopped celery
- Fourth layer: Peas
- Fifth layer: Spread the mayo over everything and sprinkle with a little sugar
- Sixth layer: Shredded cheddar cheese
- Seventh layer: Crispy chopped bacon
4. Cover the salad up with plastic wrap and chill for a at least a couple hours.
How to Make 7 Layer Salad Ahead of time:
This salad is a make-ahead marvel! The salad needs to chill for a couple of hours anyway, but you can safely make it a full day ahead if needed. The flavor gets better as it sits! The key to make Seven Layer Salad in advance is to ensure all of the layers are totally dry. Spin that lettuce in a salad spinner or blot with clean kitchen towels. Your peas should go in thawed, not frozen. Celery and onion aren’t water-logged anyway, so you’ll be good to go there. And the mayonnaise layer provides a nice moisture barrier for the cheese and bacon. I’m always surprised at how well the leftovers hold up here, too!
7 Layer Salad Recipe Tips & Variations:
- Hard Boiled Eggs: Not in my Seven layer salad! But many people say that’s how they make it.
- Miracle Whip: Substitute Miracle Whip for the mayo if you are a Miracle Whip fan. The only difference between them is that the salad dressing Miracle Whip already has added sugar, paprika, and garlic powder.
- Sour cream: Some cooks love mixing half mayo, half sour cream for a tangier dressing.
- Parmesan cheese:Â A few tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese taste great added to the mayo.
- Extra veggies: Change out your layers for different vegetables like bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, scallions
- More toppings: Not traditional, but avocado, olives, and crunchy fried onions are so good!
More delicious salads:
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Seven Layer Salad Recipe
IngredientsÂ
- 1 head lettuce shredded
- 1/2 cup red onion diced (see note 1)
- 2-3 celery ribs sliced (about 1 cup)
- 12 ounces frozen peas thawed (see note 2)
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (see note 3)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 pound bacon fried and crumbled
InstructionsÂ
- Spread the lettuce evenly in the bottom of a glass bowl. Top with red onion, celery, and peas.
- Spread mayonnaise on top of celery and sprinkle with sugar. Top with cheddar cheese and bacon. Cover and chill.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Red onion: I love the color of this one, but you can substitute white, yellow, or sweet onion if you prefer. Tame harsh raw onions by soaking in ice water for 10 minutes, then draining well.
- Peas: Run frozen peas under cold water until thawed and drain well.
- Sugar: A little sugar transforms your mayo into salad dressing, but you can leave it out if you want to.
Excellent and so easy.
Hi Denise, so glad you loved it! – Meggan
Pro-tip. This is my family recipe. I’ve been making it for years. Make it the night before and put it in the fridge with aluminum foil over the top. I use sweet onions because I’m not a fan of red ones. The biggest argument in my family is how to thaw the peas. I like to make the salad while they are still frozen and my mom microwaves them. We sometimes add chives to the top and always double the bacon.
Sweet onions sound great, Amanda! Thank you for sharing your awesome pro tip! I would fall in the middle of the pea argument, I thaw mine by running them under cool water in a strainer. (Just throwing it out there, to each their own!) Take care!
I made this for a work potluck lunch and it was a huge hit! Instead of mayonnaise I used ranch dressing made from the packet. I also had some sunflower seeds on the side for people to sprinkle on top. I made it in a 9 x 13 glass dish. Will definitely make this again!
Hi Julie, so glad you loved this salad! Take care! – Meggan
Delicious and I love it with the eggs. Just an oldie but yummy salad. I just made it and taking it to prayer group tomorrow night. Some have never had it. Can’t wait for them to try it.God Bless.
I hope you and your prayer group love it! Take care! – Meggan
I also grew up with this salad, my grandmother was from Kentucky. Over the years we changed a few things. the dressing uses 50-50 ratio of mayo and sour cream plus some of a packet of ranch dressing and some pressed fresh garlic cloves. The biggest change was to grated swiss cheese rather than cheddar, as much as we love cheddar the swiss works better. And a key to layering is to have the onions and bacon in direct contact with the dressing so the dressing absorbs some of their flavors. So I layer it lettuce, peas, onions, dressing, bacon, and then swiss cheese. No eggs as my wife doesn’t like them…and no celery as I’m not a fan. I love this salad so much it have it for breakfast the next day!
Hi Douglas, me too! The leftovers are absolutely delicious! Thank you for the tips, I’ll have to try it with Swiss the next time I make this. Take care and thank you! – Meggan
Vegetables weep when salted. Frozen peas can produce liquid as they eat, so I put the frozen peas in a strainer and run hot water over the, then let them drain and dry a bit. Make sure your veg in the salad are completely dry before layering. The only thing I do differently is use green onions instead of red. The green onions won’t put out liquid, either.
I LOVE this salad as leftovers the next day for breakfast with coffee and sourdough toast, lol. I just mix the liquid back into the salad up the next day.
Love this salad, but by the next day….there is water in the bottom of the bowl which is gross. How to prevent weeping??
Hi Jacqui! I’m so sorry it was soggy the next day! Making sure the vegetables (especially the lettuce) are as dry as possible after washing is the key to preventing it from becoming soggy. I hope this helps. Take care! – Meggan
I haven’t tried this but an upside down saucer put on the bottom would help with that. It was suggested on a different site. The liquid seeps under it.
This sounds so good!
Two questions: 1. Do leave the salad in the refrigerator overnight before serving? 2. Do you toss the salad just before serving?
Thank you so much.
fayecrews@gmail.com
Hi Faye, you need to chill this for at least a few hours before serving but you can definitely leave it in the fridge overnight if you need to. No tossing, the separate layers are what it’s allll about. Hope this helps! – Meggan
The layers are beautiful and make a great presentation! I make sure people see it before I take it back to the kitchen and mix it all up in a huge steel bowl then put it back into the clear bowl for serving. This salad is excellent as leftovers (if there are any).
I really like the variety of choices of toppings in this recipe. Gives me more ideas to make it a little different each time.
I have been looking for an AUTHENTIC 7-layer salad recipe from the 60’s and this is it – Thank you! Too many recipes add eggs, ham, and other stuff – not the original! Thanks again – I can’t wait to make this!
Thanks James, hope you enjoy! – Meggan