Southern 7 Layer Salad with Peas and Mayo

With its gorgeous rows of colors and bright flavors, this classic Southern seven-layer salad is the perfect make-ahead dish for family gatherings or a church potluck. Served in a clear glass bowl that showcases all the beautiful colors, this layered salad makes a gorgeous centerpiece to your dinner table. 

 

A Delicious and Classic Seven Layer Salad

Unlike most salads, you don’t toss it all together or stir it when serving. Which I know may seem a little strange! However, the beauty of this make-ahead Southern-style salad recipe is that all of the flavor from the layers meld together while it refrigerates, so the longer it sits, the better it tastes! When serving, you just dig down and get a scoop of all the layers of veggies.

This salad brings back so many memories! I feel like almost every large gathering had one of these big rainbow bowls at the center of the table. Eye-catching, delicious, and such an easy way to eat some veggies, I love serving this salad at home or taking it to a potluck, another option would be a Southern macaroni salad. Pull out your trifle bowl, it works perfect for this salad.

It’s such a delightful combination of fresh ingredients stacked in a visually appealing way. Starting from the bottom, you’ll find a bed of crisp lettuce, which provides a refreshing and crunchy base. Then you’ll find layers of celery, bell peppers, shredded cheddar cheese, and so much more! But the real magic of this salad is the creamy dressing made from mayonnaise – and I don’t even like mayonnaise.

Somehow the mayonnaise seals in the flavors as it sits overnight so that when it’s scooped out, you get a unique flavor that is not the same as just adding dressing to fresh veggies.

Since it does have mayonnaise, it’s not a great choice for a picnic, instead go with a non-mayonnaise based salad like a strawberry spinach salad. If you want to serve a fruit salad instead, try an Old-fashioned apple Waldorf salad.

I love how easy this recipe is to customize. Traditionally its made with iceberg lettuce, but I prefer the color and flavor of romaine. This will work well with any spring mix or lettuce you prefer. Some recipes call for hard boiled eggs, but I have never included eggs in my seven layer salad, I prefer the crispy textures from the veggies. Feel free to make a few changes of your own! 

When making this recipe, I recommend using a large trifle dish, or any large glass bowl, so your guests can really admire the meticulous layers. When assembling, make sure to leave at least an inch of space between the top layer and the rim of the bowl, otherwise it’ll spill out as you serve it! 

Will This Salad Wilt When Refrigerated? 

No! Since you use the leafy greens as your bottom layer, it stays fresh and crisp thanks to all the layers between it and the dressing. Some dressing will trickle down and be on every layer, but not enough to wilt the lettuce or make it slimy. Of course it will eventually wilt, but it will stay crisp for several days.

Why This Easy Traditional Seven Layer Salad Is A Crowd Pleaser

• Visually Appealing – Made with fresh and vibrant salad ingredients and served in a large glass bowl, it’s a beautiful edible rainbow! 
• Customizable – As you can tell from my own recipe, you can easily swap out different ingredients based on seasonal availability and personal preference. Try adding some cherry tomatoes for a pop of color or cauliflower for a nice crunch.
• Creamy Dressing – Made with mayonnaise, the creamy dressing helps bring all the flavors together. 

Ingredients You’ll Need

Fresh Produce – Romaine lettuce, red onion, bell pepper, and celery. You can make it even more colorful by using orange, yellow and red bell peppers. You can also use Iceburg lettuce. If you don’t want a strong onion flavor, then try using green onions instead.

Pro Tip: Make sure you dry the lettuce with paper towels or a salad spinner to drain off any excess water. This will keep the lettuce fresh on the bottom of the bowl.

Frozen Produce – Frozen peas are best! Canned peas will be mushy. If fresh are available, they would be awesome.

Bacon – You’ll need a pound of cooked bacon. 

Mayo – Use your favorite brand, mine is Hellman’s! Some folks use half sour cream and half mayonnaise which will totally work with this salad or you could even substitute ranch dressing for a different flavor. But the classic layer salad dressing is just mayo.

Sugar – A little sugar mellows out the dressing, you can leave this out completely and it will still taste wonderful.  

Cheese – Grated sharp cheddar cheese and parmesan.

Simple Steps

Step One: Assemble the veggie Layers

Shred the lettuce into bite size pieces in the bottom of a glass bowl. Spread red onions on top. Then add bell pepper, celery, and peas. 

Step Two: Assemble the dressing layers

Stir the mayonnaise until smooth and spread it on top of the peas. Sprinkle sugar on top. Add cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese and top with cooked bacon.

Step Three: Refrigerate

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. This is essential, it will not taste the same if you try serving it right away.

Step Four: Serve

To serve, don’t mix it, just dig down to the bottom so that you get all of the layers. If you fill this all the way to the top of the bowl, when you dip the spoon down into it the salad will overflow, so try to leave a little room.

This is a great salad to take to cookouts or potlucks. Just remember that it has mayonnaise so don’t let it stay in the heat for an extended period of time.

What To Serve With 7 Layer Salad

• BBQ Pork Chops – These grilled pork chops are served with a homemade peach barbecue sauce that is subtle, but flavorful.
• Crispy Buttermilk Chicken – Tangy, crispy, and cheesy, this chicken recipe is hearty and savory. 
• Pan Fried Buffalo Shrimp – This delicious shrimp recipe is easy to make and just spicy enough.