Classic Chef Salad

This easy Classic Chef Salad has it all: crisp lettuce, ham, turkey, cucumber, tomato, hard-boiled egg, and cheddar cheese. Top it with your favorite dressing for a delicious and satisfying lunch or light dinner!

this recipe

When the warm weather finally hits, I start to really crave salads, and I just love one that’s substantial enough to be a meal in and of itself. This chef salad is one of my all-time favorite main dish salads!

Chef salad – or chef’s salad – is definitely a classic retro recipe. Although the exact origin is up for debate, it’s been around since at least the 1930’s (and probably even earlier than that).

And for good reason. It’s awesome!

There’s really no exact recipe for a chef salad – every chef probably has their own version – but it’s generally lettuce topped with some combination of cold meats (usually ham and turkey), vegetables, cheese, and hard-boiled egg.

Years ago, chef salad seemed to be on just about every menu, especially diner menus. I don’t see it on quite as many these days, and I think it’s totally deserving of a comeback!

There’s just something about the combination of the fresh, crunchy lettuce and veggies, the sharp cheddar cheese, and the salty-smoky ham and oven-roasted turkey that is just so good, and it’ll never be off of my menu. Ever!

Not only is this salad delicious, it’s also super easy to make. Just a few minutes of slicing and chopping, and you’ll be ready to dig right in!

Ingredients you need:

• Romaine lettuce (or iceberg)
• Sliced deli ham (I like Black Forest ham)
• Sliced deli oven-roasted turkey
• Cucumber
• Cherry tomatoes
• Hard-boiled egg
• Shredded cheddar cheese

Here’s a look at how to make a Classic Chef Salad:

Place the chopped lettuce in a large serving bowl.

Top the lettuce with the ham, turkey, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, and cheese.

Note: You don’t have to arrange the salad as I did for some of the photos (although it sure does make a pretty presentation if you’re serving guests). You can just simply toss everything together in the bowl instead.

Serve with your favorite salad dressing and enjoy!

Tips & Tidbits:

• Any type of lettuce will do. Iceberg lettuce is used most often for Chef Salad, but I like to use romaine because it has a few more nutritional benefits. Sometimes I use a combination of the two because I really love the extra crunch you get with iceberg lettuce.
• A salad spinner makes super quick work of drying your chopped lettuce after you’ve washed it.
• Get the best quality deli ham and turkey that you can. It really makes a difference.
• If you’ve got some leftover ham and turkey – like from a holiday dinner – this is a great way to use some of it.
• If you need instructions on how to make hard-boiled eggs, check out my post on Instant Pot Hard-Boiled Eggs, which has instructions for cooking them in the Instant Pot or on the stove top (stove top instructions are in the Common Questions section).
• Yes, you can absolutely customize your chef salad (you are the chef, after all!). It can be a great way to clean out the fridge and use up what you have on hand. Use any combination of meats, veggies, and cheese that you like or top with some croutons if you want.
• Want to meal prep it? Put the salad it in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 to 4 days. Keep your dressing in a separate container so the salad doesn’t get soggy.
• This recipe is for one generous serving, but you can easily scale it up to make as many servings as you need!

My favorite dressing for this salad? Hands down, it’s my Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (the recipe for that is coming up next!), but my Homemade Catalina Dressing is a very, very close second!

I hope you try this Classic Chef Salad Recipe and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!

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