7 Layer Salad
This 7 Layer Salad a creamy buttermilk poppy seed dressing is a crowd pleasing layered salad that can be assembled ahead of time so it's perfect for picnics, potlucks, and barbecues.
Servings: 10 servings
Ingredients
- 1 5 ounce tub of baby spinach or baby kale, or a mixture of sturdy lettuces
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quarterd
- 1 orange bell pepper, cut in a small dice
- 2 ears of fresh corn, blackened on a grill pan, kernels removed
- 1/4 small purple cabbage, shredded
- 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
- 6 ounces can black olives, sliced
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup pecans, toasted
- 10 pieces of crisp bacon, crumbled
buttermilk dressing
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, give it a shake before measuring
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
- juice of 1 lemon, about 2 Tbsp
- 1/2 - 1 tsp salt or onion salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
garnish
- fresh thyme leaves or snipped chives
Instructions
- Put down a good layer of the clean and dry greens on the bottom of your bowl.
- Arrange the cherry tomatoes around the edge to form the second layer, and check from the side to insure that you can see them. For each layer you will add a bit more greens to the center of the bowl to even off the layer. (This is to make sure you have enough greens in the final salad.)
- Repeat the layers for all the ingredients, and top with the nuts and bacon.
- Make the dressing by whisking all the ingredients together. Taste to adjust any of the ingredients.
- Pour some of the dressing in an even layer over the top of the salad. Scatter some fresh thyme leaves, or sniped chives, over the dressing for a garnish. Set aside the rest for serving alongside the salad.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- Choose a sturdy lettuce for this salad, no delicate spring mix please, it'll get squashed. I like to use triple washed greens because they are DRY. You don't want to layer up wet or even damp greens.
- All amounts are approximate, use enough so that you can create a layer along the outside rim, for each ingredient. Don't stress over getting the layers perfect, it's kind of a losing battle. As long as you have enough of each ingredient, the layers will show in the end. One trick is to chop the ingredients finely whenever possible, or even shred them, so the layers will be more distinct.
- A thick creamy dressing will sit on the top and you can set the whole salad in the fridge until serving. If you choose a more fluid dressing, like a vinaigrette, dress it at the table instead.
- There's no need to toss the whole thing when you serve it, just let people scoop out individual portions, and serve extra dressing on the side.
- Plan to make this the same day you plan to serve it.
Nutrition
Calories: 353 kcal · Carbohydrates: 12 g · Protein: 11 g · Fat: 30 g · Saturated Fat: 8 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 7 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 13 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 89 mg · Sodium: 930 mg · Potassium: 473 mg · Fiber: 3 g · Sugar: 5 g · Vitamin A: 2798 IU · Vitamin C: 44 mg · Calcium: 170 mg · Iron: 2 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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