Seven Layer Salad isn’t anything new. It’s been popular (thanks to Betty Crocker) for decades now, but luckily the very best things never really go out of style. If you don’t remember it – or have never had it – Seven Layer Salad is an easy make-ahead salad that’s layered and chilled so all of the ingredients stay crisp and fresh. With iceberg or romaine lettuce, bacon, green onion, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, peas, cheddar, and a creamy dressing whose taste defies its simplicity, it’s quite possibly the perfect potluck salad.

In its heyday, this salad was generally made with iceberg lettuce, but we find that romaine still packs the same satisfying crunch but with a more desirable nutritional profile. After that first layer of lettuce is down, you add green peas, fresh tomatoes, sliced hard-boiled eggs, and chopped green onions each in their own layer.

Recipe ingredients:

• Lettuce: Iceberg, crispy head lettuce, or Romaine.
• Hard Boiled Eggs: Not in my Seven layer salad! But many people say that’s how they make it.

Step-by-step instructions:

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.

1. First layer: In the bottom of the bowl, spread the shredded lettuce
2. Second layer: A thin layer of chopped red onion
3. Third layer: Chopped celery
4. Fourth layer: Peas
   
5. Fifth layer: Spread the mayo over everything and sprinkle with a little sugar
6. Sixth layer: Shredded cheddar cheese
7. Seventh layer: Crispy chopped bacon
   

Cover the salad up with plastic wrap and chill for a at least a couple hours.

Recipe tips and variations:

• Mayonnaise dressing: Plain, good quality mayo like Hellman’s or Best Foods is perfect. A little sugar makes it just slightly sweet, but even that’s optional if you’re watching your sugar intake.
• 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: A few tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese taste great added to the mayo.
• Add meat: You could layer in some turkey or ham instead of the bacon.
• Extra veggies: Change out your layers for different vegetables like bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, scallions
• Change the cheese: Pick the cheese you love like smoked provolone, blue cheese, or feta cheese
• More toppings: Not traditional, but avocado, olives, and crunchy fried onions are so good!