This 7 layer salad is an old family recipe that you can make ahead and share with a large group at a picnic or family gathering.
I was going through my recipe box for inspiration and I found my Aunt Agnes' 7 layer salad. I haven't made it for years. In fact, I remember seeing something similar at picnics when I was young all the time, but it has all but disappeared.
However, if you search for it online you will find many recipes with differing ingredients. It makes me wonder why I haven't seen it in my circle for a long time.
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I followed my aunt's recipe almost exactly. However, as you may imagine this is a great recipe for making your own and adapting to meet your family's preferences.
For example, this recipe has bacon in it. Many people are going vegetarian these days so leaving the bacon out or substituting it with a vegetable like broccoli or zucchini would be a great option.
The interesting part of this salad is the dressing. It is a mix of Miracle Whip and regular mayonnaise. Normally I am not a fan of Miracle Whip. However, it works great in this salad as part of the dressing.
I reserved a few bits of bacon to sprinkle on top as a pretty garnish but it's not necessary. You could use a bit of parsley instead.
Covering the salad and refrigerating it for 24 hours helps all the flavors meld together.
One last note. When you serve this salad you need to use a long-handled spoon to dig to the bottom of the bowl and scoop out a little bit of every layer.
Somehow it all works together in the individual salad bowl and the taste is pretty delicious.
P.S. Bringing a big salad to a dinner party or picnic is always welcome. You can find a great Middle Eastern Bread Salad, a Grilled Corn and Avocado Salad and a few others on my Recipes Page.
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7 Layer Salad
Ingredients
- 1 bag 12 oz fresh baby spinach
- 1 pound crispy bacon crumbled
- 7 hard boiled eggs sliced
- 1 box sliced mushrooms approx. 10 oz
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce cut up into pieces
- 1 package of fresh or frozen peas approx. 3/4 pound
- 1 large red onion sliced
- 1 cup miracle whip dressing
- 1 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
- 1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook the peas in the microwave for 1 minute
- Mix the Miracle whip and Mayo together in a separate bowl
- In a large bowl (glass is nice because you can see the layers) start layering the salad.
- Start with spinach, followed by bacon, eggs, mushrooms, iceberg lettuce, cooked peas, and onions in that order.
- Top with the creamy dressing.
- Sprinkle Parmesan on the top along with some more crumbled bacon or other garish as you wish.
- Cover with plastic wrap (my aunt's recipe actually says foil) and refrigerate for 24 hours.
- Remove and serve with a large, long handled spoon that can reach to the bottom and serve a bit of every layer in each serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although attempts have been made to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Jody
Looks beautiful. Have one sis who has never eaten a pea in her 55 years. Other sis does not eat onion. Crazy girl. So I am trying to think what I can add in place of the two best tastes in the world. I used to make 2 salads. One without peas and one without onion.
Patti Estep
LOL Jody. Family is wonderful but can be a big pain sometimes. How about thinly sliced peppers or zucchini chopped up. This one also doesn't have tomatoes which would also be great.
Carole West
Love viewing layers through a nice glass dish. This looks tasty and I have to admit I'm not a fan of miracle whip either, think it's the sweetness but would imagine mixed with mayo it would calm it down. I may have to try a smaller version of this, would be awesome to have handy for lunch as salads have been sounding tasty. Happy Mother's Day sweet friend.
Patti Estep
Thanks Carole. Happy Mother's Day to you too!