How to make a Chef Salad

5 from 3 votes

Posted: 07/18/21 Updated: 07/27/22

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

You can never beat a classic Chef Salad that is loaded with lettuce, sliced meats and cheese, hard-boiled eggs and more then topped with your favorite dressing! It’s the perfect light meal and or great for serving to guests!

PIN IT FOR LATER!

Overhead image of white rectangle platter with Chef Salad

You can skip the restaurant and make the best chef salad at home! Meat, cheese, crispy bacon, eggs, and fresh vegetables piled on lettuce is a salad you can serve as a main course. It’s super filling and full of fresh flavors.

I love to make this salad for my friends when we have a girl’s dinner or as a light lunch or dinner for the family. The kids don’t get super excited about salad normally, but a chef salad has a lot of things they love like hard-boiled eggs, bacon, and cheese. Oh, and adding ranch dressing makes everything better for them!

The best part about this chef salad recipe is that it’s easy. You can cook the eggs and bacon ahead of time, so all you have to do is assemble it and serve!

Contents show

What’s in a Chef Salad?

Lots of delicious things! There are variations but here are the classic chef salad ingredients:

Lettuce – We love romaine hearts because it’s crisp and sturdy enough to hold up all the other ingredients
Tomatoes – Grape tomatoes are great or you can dice bigger tomatoes.
Cucumber – I like to use an English cucumber because it’s a little less bitter and doesn’t have a lot of seeds.
Red onion – thinly slice it!
Deli meat – I love to use sliced or cubed deli turkey and ham.
Cooked and crumbled bacon – I cook bacon in the oven to make it easy!
Cheese – you can use your favorite! I like cubed Swiss and cheddar cheese.
Hard-boiled eggs – cook your eggs on the stove, in your Instant Pot, or in your air fryer!
More topping ideas – Croutons, black olives, hot peppers, and green peppers are optional toppings you might like to try, too!

Don’t forget the dressing – we love Thousand Island or ranch dressing, but you can use your favorite!

What kind of cheese goes in a chef salad?

Usually a cheddar or Swiss cheese goes in Chef Salad, but any type of cheese that is in your refrigerator can work like blue cheese, provolone, American etc.

Swaps for Chef Salad Ingredients

Leafy Greens – Romain hearts or iceberg lettuce can be used. A mixture of both is also popular. Another great option is mixing spring greens in with it.
Meat – The most popular meat is turkey, but ham and bacon are great additions.
Cheese – Pick Swiss, Cheddar, Provolone, American etc. or a mixture.
Vegetables – Broccoli, carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes, avocados, red onions or cucumbers.
Toppings – Olives, Pepperoncini, croutons, hard- boiled eggs, etc.
Dressing – Popular dressing options are ranch, thousand island, blue cheese, Italian, honey mustard, chipotle ranch, and avocado ranch.

Cutting board with sliced tomato and cucumber

How to Make a Chef Salad

Start with the lettuce. You can tear it into bite-sized pieces or use a knife to chop it. Place the lettuce on your serving platter.

Take your other ingredients and arrange them on top of the lettuce. I like to create rows with each one to make a pretty presentation. Here’s the order I do:

Cubed Swiss cheese
Sliced deli turkey
Sliced onions
Halved eggs
Sliced cucumber
Cubed ham
Crumbled bacon
Tomato wedges
Cubed cheddar cheese

Be sure to use tongs or salad serving utensils to make it easy for everyone to make their own plate. I like to serve the dressing on the side so everyone can have the amount they want.

Chef Salad Presentation

There are a few different options for presenting a chef’s salad. This Chef’s salad is arranged on a platter with a blasé of leafy greens, then each ingredient is presented individually. This option lets each guest choose which ingredients they want in their salad when you serve it.

Another option is to layer the salad by starting with leafy greens then topping it with meat, vegetables, croutons, dressing etc. Toss it together to mix it up.

Chef Salad Recipe FAQ

Why is it called chef’s salad?

The Chef Salad has been around a long time, in fact you can trace salads all the way back to Roman rule times. People would gather nuts, fruits, vegetables and greens and create dishes out of them.

Louis XIV in Versailles had beautiful table spreads loaded with greens and topped with cheese, meats, nuts, and vegetables.

Louis Diaz, the chef at the Ritz Carlton in New York often times is tied to the Chef’s Salad in history in the 1940s, but historians believe Victor Seydoux at Hotel Buffalo or Jacques Roser at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City created it.

No matter where it came from or who created the Chef Salad one thing is true, it’s delicious!

What is the difference between a cobb salad and chef salad?

They are similar, but a cobb salad is usually made with chicken, bacon, avocado, tomatoes, eggs, and a vinaigrette dressing. It is also made with several kinds of lettuce. Cobb salad has deli meat, cheese, eggs, bacon, veggies and is served with a variety of dressings.

What is the difference between a chef salad and an antipasto salad?

A Chef’s Salad usually included ingredients like leafy greens, hard-boiled eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and meat.

An Antipasto Salad usually included ingredients like meat, cheese, peppers, olives, and artichokes.

The biggest difference between these two salads is that the Chef Salad included leafy greens and the Antipasto Salad does not.

Can you assemble it ahead of time?

You can but I wouldn’t make it more than a few hours in advance. Also, don’t add the dressing until you serve it. If you do make it ahead, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and keep in in the refrigerator.

What goes with chef’s salad?

Sometimes I add some tomato soup to go on the side. Or, add some homemade breadsticks – they’re great, too!

How long do the leftovers keep?

They will keep for a few days as long as you keep the dressing in a separate container.

Doesn’t this homemade chef salad just look like a plate of deliciousness?! I just love all the colors and textures – the flavors are great, too! Make this the next time you want something light but filling – I know you will love it!

More Easy Salads

Antipasto Salad is a fresh and fast Italian-style salad with salami, prosciutto, cheese, and a tangy dressing.
Lettuce Frito Salad is the best salad for a potluck! Crisp lettuce, crunchy Fritos, and bacon with a lemon poppyseed dressing is a quick and easy salad to make.
Mediterranean flavors combine to make the best Greek Salad that’s fresh and full of flavor!

MORE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE!

Love this? I know you will! Be sure and comment below and rate this recipe – it’s just delicious!

If you snap a photo, please be sure to tag me on Instagram at @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats so I can see your amazing dish!!

Meet Julie Evink

I'm here to help you win in the kitchen again! Life is Busy, Life is Crazy, but that doesn't mean you can't make your family dinner! Julie's goal is to provide you with easy, family, friendly recipes that use pantry staples. Dinnertime will be stress free again!