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This is my ultimate chef salad recipe loaded with classic ingredients like fresh veggies, deli meats, cheese, and hard-boiled eggs. It’s an easy, satisfying lunch or dinner tossed with a homemade dressing.
The Best Homemade Chef’s Salad
A chef salad is one of my favorite easy meals, with fresh greens piled high with deli meats, cheese, crispy bacon, cucumbers, tomatoes, and eggs. I toss everything with my homemade Italian dressing, and there’s enough going on that it actually feels like a meal, not just a bowl of greens.
That’s usually how I like my salads: lots of toppings, plenty of texture, and filling enough for lunch or dinner. My Mediterranean Cobb salad and Southwest chicken salad are two more favorites when I’m craving the same kind of hearty salad.
Why You’ll Love This Classic Salad Recipe
- Full of flavor and texture. You get crisp veggies, savory meats, creamy cheese, and eggs in every bite.
- A meal on its own. This loaded chef salad is filling enough for lunch or dinner and ready in just 25 minutes.
- Great for cleaning out the fridge. Use the meats, cheeses, veggies, and other toppings you already have on hand.
Recipe Ingredients
I love making this chef salad when I know I have a fridge full of ingredients that must be dealt with soon. What goes into the best chef salad? Let’s discuss.
- Greens: Your choice of lettuce or mixed greens. I like to make my chef salad with sturdy lettuce, like romaine, that holds up with the other ingredients. Other good choices are iceberg, kale, spinach, escarole, and frisée lettuce.
- Meats: I make this salad with roasted deli turkey and smoked deli ham, cut in julienne style, and crispy cooked bacon.
- Cheeses: A classic chef salad calls for Swiss cheese and cheddar cheese, also julienned. I also top my finished salad with freshly shaved parmesan.
- Veggies: Add plump, ripe halved cherry tomatoes and thinly sliced English cucumbers for color and crunch.
- Eggs: Usually these are hard-boiled eggs like you’d find in a Caesar salad or Cobb salad. Boil the eggs in advance so they have time to cool, then peel and chop them.
Recipe Tips & Variations
- Shop the deli counter. Choose good-quality meats and cheeses, but don’t be afraid to grab whatever looks good or happens to be on sale that week.
- Cut it your way. You don’t have to julienne the ingredients. Slice or chop everything however you like.
- Dress just before serving. Wait to add the dressing until you’re ready to eat so the greens don’t get soggy.
- Change up the cheese. Swap the Swiss or cheddar for provolone, blue cheese, or another favorite.
- Try different meats. Use deli chicken, salami, pastrami, or a combination in place of the ham and turkey.
- Add more toppings. Try avocado, olives, radishes, pepperoncini, onions, carrots, celery, nuts, seeds, or crispy garlic croutons.
- Swap the tomatoes. Sun-dried tomatoes are a great alternative when fresh tomatoes aren’t in season.
Serving Suggestions
A chef salad works as a main dish or a hearty side, and it’s great for summer BBQs, lunches, and family get-togethers.
- Grilled meats: Serve it alongside grilled chicken or juicy grilled pork tenderloin for an easy summer dinner.
- Soup and bread. For a laid-back meal or lunch, pair it with slow cooker vichyssoise or creamy carrot soup, with garlic bread on the side.
- Make it a wrap. Turn the salad into an easy lunch by wrapping the meats, cheese, eggs, and veggies in lavash bread with a drizzle of the dressing.
FAQs
Both are classic American main-dish salads with some similar ingredients, but they’re not quite the same. A chef salad typically includes deli meats, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and vegetables, while a Cobb salad traditionally includes chicken, bacon, avocado, eggs, tomatoes, and blue cheese.
The chef salad has been around for decades, with one of the best-known early versions credited to chef Louis Diat of New York City’s Ritz-Carlton in the 1940s. His version was essentially built around using a variety of ingredients the chef had on hand.
In cooking, julienne is a French method of cutting food into thin strips. Before you assemble your chef’s salad, slice both deli meats and the cheeses in julienne. It makes for an Insta-ready presentation, and the ingredients will be in perfect bite-sized pieces.
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Chef Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 cups salad greens
- 1 cup julienne cut oven roasted turkey deli meat
- 1 cup julienne cut smoked ham deli meat
- 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- ½ cup julienne cut Swiss cheese slices
- ½ cup julienne cut cheddar cheese slices
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 English cucumber, sliced
- 4 hard boiled eggs, quartered
- 2 tablespoons sliced green onions, for garnish
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese shavings, for garnish
- 1 cup Italian salad dressing, (I use my Homemade Italian Dressing)
Instructions
- Prep the lettuce. Prepare the salad greens by tearing or cutting them into bite-sized pieces, and transfer them to a salad bowl or large serving platter.
- Assemble the salad. Top the greens with the deli meats, bacon, cheeses, tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggs.
- Add the dressing. Prepare one recipe of my Italian salad dressing (or use store-bought dressing), add it to the salad, and gently toss to combine.
- Garnish and serve. Top with sliced green onions and Parmesan cheese shavings, and serve.
Equipment
Notes
- Feel free to swap the ham and turkey for other deli meats, and use your favorite cheeses.
- Add the dressing just before serving to keep the salad from getting soggy.
- For make-ahead salads, prep the ingredients and dressing separately and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make a Chef Salad
This colorful and crisp chef salad is perfect for busy weekdays, summer evenings, or really any time of the year when fresh veg is in season. And it’s SO easy to make.
- Start with lots of salad greens. Rinse, dry, and chop up your lettuce and add it to a large bowl.
- Add the other ingredients. Next, you’ll add strips of deli turkey and smoked deli ham, Swiss cheese, and cheddar cheese, along with crumbled bacon, boiled eggs, fresh cherry tomatoes, and crunchy cucumbers. Arrange all of the ingredients over top of the leafy lettuce.
- Finish and serve. Prepare one cup of Italian dressing (linked in the recipe card below), or the salad dressing of your choice, and drizzle it over top of the salad. You can leave your chef salad as is for serving or toss it all together and garnish it with fresh parmesan and green onions.
The Best Dressing For a Chef’s Salad
I top my chef salad with my favorite homemade Italian dressing. It’s the best! A light vinaigrette keeps things fresh and zesty and doesn’t weigh down the ingredients. Of course, you can dress your salad any way you’d like, whether store-bought or homemade.
Other good dressing choices for a chef salad are ranch dressing, Thousand Island, blue cheese, or this creamy avocado-lime salad dressing for something a little different.
How to Store Leftovers
Keep the salad ingredients separate from the dressing and store everything in the fridge for up to 4 days. If you’ve already dressed your salad, it’s still OK to store it, but I recommend enjoying the leftovers within a day.
We love to eat it on sandwich!
Tweeted
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I like to use lunch meat in chef salads and pasta salads.
My go-to quick and easy lunch is leftovers from last night’s dinner. 🙂
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In a salad or wrap!
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I love lunchmeats wrapped up in french bread for a sub with lots of vegetables and oil and vinegar.
I like a good antipasto salad or a sandwich warmed in the oven
Tweeted https://twitter.com/acarreno78/status/872109599817682944