Ranch 7 Layer Salad Loaded With Flavor

In this easy seven layer salad, we often add in leftover chicken or turkey to make it a complete meal and use a flavorful ranch style dressing!

The Perfect 7 Layer Salad

It’s a definite crowd pleaser, everyone seems to love a good seven layered salad which is the perfect dish for every potluck! The best part is that you can make them way ahead of time (overnight is best)!

I’ve made a traditional salad in a trifle dish but learned it was so much easier to serve when placed in a 9×13 pan! You get bits and bites of every little ingredient with less digging and more digging in every bite!

7 Layer Salad Ingredients (and Variations)

Lettuce I use romaine or iceberg
Green Peas these add a bit of sweetness. If you’re not a fan of peas, sub out for edamame
Bell Peppers add color and crunch
Tomatoes add tang and are juicy
Onions add zest and flavor, green or red can be used. If your red onions are strong, soak them in ice water for 30 min or so.
Cheese adds richness, sub in any kind of cheese you’d like
Bacon adds a smoky salty flavor, sub in smoked almonds if you’d prefer

This is a ranch version of our favorite salad, you can find a traditional seven layer salad here!

7 Layer Salad Made With Buttermilk Ranch

A lot of layered salads call for a simple dressing made of mayonnaise and sugar but I prefer to add in fresh herbs to give it more flavor. My favorite dressing is this homemade Buttermilk Ranch (I could actually drink it, it’s that good) so I created a version of the ranch dressing to add to this salad. You can make this with any kind of creamy dressing like Blue Cheese Dressing.

If you’d prefer, you can substitute a traditional layered salad dressing as well!

Traditional 7 Layer Salad Dressing

A traditional 7 layer salad dressing isn’t much more than mayonnaise and sugar. We add a little bit of sour cream for some tang and salt but both of those are optional.

If you’d like, add in fresh herbs (dill, parsley or basil are all great choices).

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup sour cream (optional)
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt (or to taste)

Add in Your Leftovers!

This recipe is great with leftover proteins added to it, anything from turkey to leftover Roast Chicken or even ham are delicious in this recipe!

More Fresh Salads

Easy Italian Salad
The BEST Chicken Salad
Classic Wedge Salad
Cucumber Avocado Salad
Zucchini Salad (spiralized)
Fresh Tomato Salad
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing & Dip
Spinach Artichoke Dip Pasta Salad
Hawaiian Pasta Salad