A hearty, delicious salad featuring a homemade ranch dressing, this chef salad is far from boring! It’s incredibly filling and full of exciting healthy ingredients such as avocado, smoked turkey, and fresh cherry tomatoes.
What Makes This Chef Salad Recipe So Good
- It’s low-carb and easy to make! Don’t you just love when those two things come together in a recipe? I definitely do. In the 10 minutes it takes to boil the eggs, you’ll have all your veggies, meats, and cheese chopped and ready to go for this healthy lunch.
- You can customize this recipe to make a chef salad you’ll definitely enjoy. Use as much or as little of each ingredient as you’d like – make it your own!
- The homemade ranch dressing isn’t mandatory, but HIGHLY recommended. It’s shockingly easy to make too! But seriously, this ranch dressing will take your chef salad to a level you never thought it could go, like out of this world good.
- I cannot emphasize enough how good you’ll feel after eating this chef salad. All of those crisp, fresh vegetables will give you the nutrients you need to feel your best. While protein from the meat, eggs, and cheese will curb your hunger all the way through to your next meal.
Chef Salad Ingredients
Romaine Lettuce – You could use iceberg lettuce if you’d like. We’re looking for crisp and crunchy lettuce to add to the overall texture of this chef salad. Romaine lettuce makes things easy, just wash and tear off pieces into your bowl.
Smoked Turkey – My personal favorite ingredient! You can purchase either smoked turkey slices or an entire smoked turkey breast. It’s the perfect lean protein for this filling salad.
Swiss or Cheddar Cheese – These taste the best in this salad. I prefer buying a block of cheese (as opposed to slices or shreds) then chopping it into 1/2 inch cubes and generously tossing it into my chef salad.
Dressing – A homemade ranch dressing is included in the recipe card, though you can use any homemade or store-bought dressing you’d like!
Chef’s Tips
- If you decide to make the ranch dressing, assemble that first. Then, let it sit in the fridge while you prep the rest of your chef salad. This lets the flavors of your dressing develop and become even more delicious!
- There is no right or wrong way to chop the vegetables, meats, and cheese for your salad. Any shape or size you want, it’s really up to you!
- If you’re making this for a crowd, keep the ingredients separate and serve them on a platter. This way, guests can pick and choose what toppings they’d like!
More Delicious Salad Recipes
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Chef Salad
Equipment
- Large bowl
- Small bowl
Ingredients
For the Ranch Dressing (Optional)
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons parsley minced
- 2 tablespoons dill minced
- 1 tablespoons chives minced
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup buttermilk
For the Salad
- 5 cups romaine lettuce
- ½ cup baked ham diced
- ½ cup smoked turkey diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced
- 4 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 cup cucumber sliced
- 1 large avocado diced
- ½ cup Swiss cheese diced
- 1 cup dressing see Notes
Instructions
For the Ranch Dressing (Optional)
- Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, parsley, dill, chives, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder and salt in a bowl.
- Slowly add in the buttermilk until you reach your desired consistency, set dressing aside while you make your salad.
For the Salad
- Wash and dry romaine lettuce, then tear into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add all other ingredients and top with dressing.
Notes
- If you’re not making our homemade ranch dressing outlined in this recipe, use 1 cup of any salad dressing you like!
- Make it Whole30: Use our Whole30 Ranch Dressing recipe and leave out the cheese. Make sure your ham and turkey are Whole30-compliant, too.
Nutrition
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Hi! I’m Sam, a travel, food and fitness enthusiast from the New York metro area. I love creating new and inventive recipes, and my favorite part is sharing them with others. My love of food goes all the way back to my early childhood, I grew up cooking alongside my mom and Nonna – the two best cooks I know! When I’m not in the kitchen, I’m either planning my next vacation, spending time outdoors (preferably on a beach), or bingeing Netflix’s latest docu-series. My passion for eating and living well led me to create the blog and Instagram account, Sam Does Her Best, where I health-ify my favorite comfort foods. I’m a big believer that good-for-you food can still be exploding with flavor and (most importantly) easy to make. I’m thrilled to be here at 40 Aprons doing what I do best – creating, photographing, and sharing delicious recipes with you all!
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