Sunday Salad: Kari Updates The Salad She Grew Up Avoiding
Goodbye soggy peas and limp bacon—hello a make-ahead salad worth celebrating!
Kari grew up eating the Midwest staple seven-layer-salad at church potlucks and family gatherings—those towering bowls filled with peas, iceberg, bacon, and a thick swipe of mayo. But truth be told? She never really loved it. The frozen peas were mushy, the bacon was always cold and chewy, and the whole thing often felt more like a dare than a delight.
Still, the idea of the layered salad stayed with her: a dish that can be made ahead, travels well, stays fresh for hours (even days!), and brings a pop of color and beauty to any summer spread. Inspired by Sonya’s colorful rainbow salad, Kari decided to reinvent a childhood standby with fresh ingredients, textures, and a vegetarian twist. It’s still nostalgic, but without the soggy peas.
This is the kind of salad that earns compliments and recipe requests. It can be made hours in advance (hello, easy meal prep), it’s hearty enough to stand on its own as a lunch, and it’s one of those rare dishes that manages to feel both retro and new. Crisp iceberg lettuce forms the foundation, followed by strategic layers of crunchy veggies. There’s freshly shredded Colby cheese for a dose of kitsch, a creamy dressing, and hard-boiled eggs nod to the original. A generous handful of scallion, parsley, and fresh dill adds color and freshness. Stacked tall in a glass bowl, it’s a showstopper (although arranging it in a casserole dish works just as well).
Our verdict? The 10-Layer Crunch Salad is a hosting and meal-prep win we’re proud to bring to any party.
RECIPE: 10-Layer Crunch Salad
Serves 6-8
Active time: 30-40 minutes
Chilling time: At least 4 hours, but preferably overnight
Ingredients-
for the salad:
3 large eggs
1 medium head of iceberg lettuce, about 5 cups medium diced
1 sweet bell pepper, preferably yellow, about 1 cup sliced
2 medium Persian cucumbers, or sub 1 English cucumber, about 1 cup sliced
2 medium carrots, about 1 cup shredded
2 stalks of celery, preferably lighter green or white stalks, about 1 cup
6-8 small radishes, red or mix of colors, about 1 scant cup sliced
6 oz. Colby, Colby-Jack, or sharp cheddar cheese, about 2 cups shredded
6-8 scallions, about 2 bunches, about 1 cup chopped
12-15 sprigs of fresh parsley, about 1/4 cup chopped
8-10 sprigs of fresh dill, about 1/4 cup chopped
mint, chervil, tarragon, or oregano, to taste (optional)
for the dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise, preferably Best Foods or Hellman’s
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions:
Cook the eggs: fill a small saucepan with water over high heat, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium. Using a slotted spoon, gently lower the 3 eggs into the water and set a time for 11 minutes. When the eggs are finished, rinse under cold water and peel, then roughly chop. Generously sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper.
Prep the vegetables: While the eggs are cooking, prepare the vegetables. It helps to keep each veggie separate before layering into the serving dish, so collect 9 small-ish bowls or plates, and prepare in order of layering. Cut your iceberg in half and remove any damaged leaves, then roughly shred into small, bite-sized squares. Using a mandoline, slice the bell pepper into thin strips. Thinly slice the radish, we like to make several slices into each — but not all the way through to the core. Then we carefully slice each radish on the mandoline; the initial slices help make uniform bites. If you don’t have a mandoline, take your time and thinly slice the peppers and radish with a sharp knife. Cut the tips from your cucumbers then cut in half lengthwise, then again into thin half moons. Cut the ends from each stalk of celery and then slice thinly on the bias into boomerang shapes to maximize texture. Trim the ends off of the carrots and grate on the medium whole of a box grater; do so at a 90° angle for the ideal texture. Freshly grate your cheese. Thinly slice the scallions, then finely chop parsley and dill. You’ll want one cup of scallion and about 1/2-2/3 cup of parsley and dill.
Make the dressing: Add mayo, sour cream, sugar, 1 tsp salt, and several generous grinds of black pepper to a bowl and whisk until combined. Taste and adjust flavors with more sugar, salt, or black pepper.
Assembly: To your serving bowl, add ingredients in the order listed below. Start by sprinkling each ingredient at the edges of the glass to create a visible layer, then flatten a little before moving on to the next ingredient.
Iceberg lettuce
Yellow pepper slices
Cucumber half moons
Grated carrots
Celery boomerangs
Radish bits
Shredded cheese
Diced egg
Dressing
Herbs
Cover the top with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours until very cold, but ideally overnight.
This salad will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
To serve: Remove the plastic wrap, and encourage diners to dig deep, making sure they get a bit of each layer onto their plate. If you serve it at home and there are any leftovers, it’s great the next day. But if you lug this salad to a potluck at the park, you’ll probably need to toss them out!
Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084
For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our Substack here. You can also now find us on YouTube.
We love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at foodfriendspod@gmail.com!
Order Sonya's cookbook Braids for more Food Friends recipes!
so yummy