Seven Layer Salad

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword easy-seven-layer-salad, seven-layer-salad, southern-7-layer-salad-recipe

Prep Time 25

Chill Time 8

Total Time 8 25

Servings servings

Calories 391kcal

Place eggs in a large pot in a single layer. Fill with enough water to cover tops by one inch. Heat to boiling, then remove from heat and cover. Let stand 12 minutes.
Drain and rinse under cool water until the eggs are cool enough to handle. Peel cooked eggs and cut into wedges or chop. Set aside. (You can also slice eggs.)
Fry the bacon in a large skillet until crisp then move to paper towels to drain and cool.
Make Dressing: In a medium size mixing bowl whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, cider vinegar, sugar, garlic salt, lemon pepper and onion powder until fully combined.
Assemble Salad: In a large trifle bowl or glass salad bowl create even layers starting with a bottom layer using 1/2 of the total amount of shredded lettuce, then onion, cherry tomatoes, and eggs. Drizzle with about 1/2 of dressing.
Next, begin layering again, with remaining 1/2 lettuce, then olives, peas and bell pepper. Spread remaining dressing evenly on top.
Finish with a sprinkle of shredded cheese and bacon. Garnish with green onions, if desired.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 8 hours or overnight.

Customize the Vegetables: When creating the salad layers, have fun and add other fresh veggies that you like. Switch out the bell peppers for chopped poblano or jalapenos to add a little kick. You can also add a layer of sliced mushrooms in place of the olives, if you prefer. Other veggies you may want to add broccoli, cucumber, cauliflower, corn or celery for crunch.

Protein: You could add a layer of bite-size ham cubes or diced avocado, just before serving. No matter how many layers it ends up having, I still call it Seven Layer Salad. After all, who's counting, anyway?

Seasoning: I recommend that you season the egg layer with salt and pepper then continue with the layers per the recipe. Avoid adding salt to the tomato layer or it can make the salad soggy.

Use a Large Bowl: I have trifle bowls in a plethora of sizes specifically for dessert trifles and layer salads. If you don't have one, you can use any large glass bowl.