This beautiful and delectable Chef Salad brings all the best hearty protein together with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and seasoned croutons. This main meal salad is perfect for those busy spring nights and hot summer days.
May is here, and there is so much to do. There are graduations, spring concerts, field days, school award ceremonies, baby showers, and weddings. Sometimes, a great salad recipe is all you need to satisfy your awesome family. This fabulous Chef Salad will fit that bill perfectly!
What is a Chef Salad?
This traditional American salad combines hard-boiled eggs, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, and several varieties of meats such as ham, turkey, roast beef, or chicken. It is a gorgeous salad and is usually presented with the ingredients aesthetically placed before it is tossed. It is commonly served with ranch or bleu cheese dressing, but it is equally delicious with thousand island, Italian dressing, or creamy poppyseed dressing.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients below on the recipe card.
- Romaine lettuce: It is a good, sturdy lettuce that holds up well to the weight of this salad. My second choice would be iceberg lettuce or a combination of romaine and iceberg.
- Eggs: Try steaming the eggs for super-easy peeling. I have had a lot of success with this method.
- Meat: I like bacon, ham, and turkey, but other great choices are chicken or roast beef.
- Cheese: Use Swiss, cheddar, bleu, mozzarella, or provolone cheese. It is your salad, so fix it to your liking.
- English cucumber: Use English cucumbers for tender skins that don’t need peeling. If using regular cucumbers, peel them to remove the thick skins before you slice them.
- Tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes like grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, Campari tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, or any sun-ripened tomatoes work well in this recipe.
- Croutons: I like making homemade croutons. Once you taste these fresh croutons, you will never return to store-bought croutons.
- Salad dressings: Take your pick. This salad is delicious with so many dressing but don’t forget avocado ranch and honey mustard vinaigrette.
Preparation Tips
- Other fruits and vegetables to include are olives, pepperoncini, avocado, red onions, and carrots.
- You can prepare this salad up to a day in advance, but do not add the croutons or the salad dressing until ready to serve. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator.
- This salad was meant to be enjoyed so customize it to suite your taste. There are lot of ideas for substitutions in the ingredient notes.
More Salad Recipes
Classic Chef Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 medium head romaine lettuce chopped
- 2-3 cups iceberg lettuce chopped into bite size pieces
- 4 hard boiled eggs peeled and quartered lengthwise
- 4 slices crispy cooked bacon
- 4 ounces deli style sliced Swiss cheese cut into julienne strips
- 4 ounces deli style sliced ham cut into julienne strips
- 4 ounces deli style sliced turkey cut into julienne strips
- 1 cup sliced English cucumber about 1/3 English cucumber
- 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
- 1 cup seasoned croutons
- ⅔-1 cup salad dressing ranch, chipotle ranch, avocado ranch, bleu cheese, Italian, honey mustard
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add romaine and iceberg lettuce to a large bowl.
- Top the lettuce with eggs, bacon, Swiss cheese, ham, turkey cucumbers, tomatoes, and croutons.
- Drizzle with your favorite salad dressing and toss to coat. Season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
Notes
- Other fruits and vegetables to include are olives, pepperoncini, avocado, red onions, and carrots.
- You can prepare this salad up to a day in advance, but do not add the croutons or the salad dressing until ready to serve. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
On the hunt for more delicious recipes? Follow Small Town Woman on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.
https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf
Rhian Scammell
This is the sort of lunch I need to start making for myself now I’m at home a lot more with the baby. Eggs are always a great shout for extra protein x
Beth Pierce
So true!
Clark
Such a fresh and satisfying take. I could almost taste the crisp greens and savory toppings as I read. I love how you made it simple yet elegant, perfect for a quick lunch or a light dinner. Thanks for the recipe inspiration, I’m excited to try this at home.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Clark! Enjoy!
Clark
Such a fresh and satisfying take. I could almost taste the crisp greens and savory toppings as I read! I love how you made it simple yet elegant, perfect for a quick lunch or a light dinner. Thanks for the recipe inspiration, I’m excited to try this at home.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Clark! Enjoy!
Stacie k
This is soooooo filling, and the best part – epilepsy safe!
Beth Pierce
Awesome! Glad to hear it.
Sammy
I made this for our dinner tonight and it was delicious! For our dressing I made a family favorite. Mashed avacado with a bit if salt and a little fresh squeeed lime juice. Yes, basic avacado dip. we were staying a month in central mexico and a small local owned restaurant serve this and we fell in love.I have an electric egg cooker than makes perfect hard boiled eggs that are always easy to peel. It also makes perfect poached eggs. I reced it as a gift in 1990 and still works great. Thank you for the recipe. We will be eating this again soon.
Beth Pierce
The pleasure is all mine, Sammy! Thanks for the tips! We always love good tips!
Kevin
This is one of my favorites salads. It is hearty, delicious, and full of nutirtion. Absolutely yummy with your avocado ranch.
Ebony
This is the perfect chef recipe! Love these healthy simple recipes. It was the perfect salad for me to toss together on my lunch break!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Ebony! So happy that you liked the salad!
Julie
Such a yummy chef salad recipe, and thanks for the tip about steaming the eggs for easier peeling! Your recipe is just delicious and so easy!
Beth Pierce
My pleasure, Julie!
Catalina
This Chef Salad was absolutely delicious! I love how you’ve combined hearty proteins with fresh veggies – it’s perfect for those warm days when you want something light but filling.
Jack
Loved this salad. So delicious and easy to make. A definate favorite of the family!