Craving a quick, hearty meal that’s packed with protein and flavor? This Chef Salad is a fresh, easy-to-make American classic loaded with savory cubes of turkey and ham, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, croutons, and lettuce, tossed in a creamy Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. It’s a popular lunch menu option that’s filling enough for dinner too.
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A satisfying, meal-worthy salad recipe.
This chef salad is everything you want in a main dish salad: it’s got lots of protein for staying power, a good mix of veggies, and dressing that will have you scraping the bottom of the bowl to make sure you don’t leave a bit of it behind.
- Thanks to the crisp lettuce, creamy avocado, juicy tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and tender meats, we get a varied mix of textures. (Variety is the spice of life and also of salads.)
- While this salad is healthy, it packs in big flavor with the cubes of turkey and ham, cheese, and ranch dressing. You’re going to spend all morning looking forward to tucking into your lunch!
- You can swap in your favorite ingredients—think Air Fryer Bacon, Grilled Chicken Breast, or blue cheese—to make it your own.
I love making a big chef salad for meal prep, but honestly, it’s so quick and simple to put together, you don’t really have to prep it in advance, especially if you get some of the components prepared ahead of time. It’s a 20-minute dinner, easy peasy.
My Tips for the Perfect Chef Salad
- Take Advantage of Your Grocery Store Deli. You can cook turkey (try this Air Fryer Turkey Breast) or use leftover Baked Ham for the cubed meats in this salad, but to make life a little easier on yourself, you can ask your deli to give you thick slices of your favorite ham and turkey lunchmeat and then cube them at home. Cubed ham is also available in packages with the deli meats.
- Prep Ahead. Hard-boil the eggs (I love Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs and Instant Pot Boiled Eggs), make the dressing, and chop the meats and veggies in advance. Store them separately in the fridge, then put it all together when you’re ready to eat.
- Leave Off the Dressing Until You’re Ready to Serve. If you can’t store all the ingredients separately in the fridge, at the very least, you’ll want to store the dressing and salad in separate containers to keep the greens from going soggy. And please store the croutons separately too!
- Dry the Lettuce Well. Always important, but ESPECIALLY when you’re using a creamy dressing. If there’s a lot of water clinging to your lettuce leaves, it kind of repels the dressing and keeps it from sticking; it’ll also water down the dressing and it’s just bad, bad news for a salad.
How to Make a Chef Salad
Make the Dressing. Use a blender or food processor. I like those little blenders you use to make smoothies for whipping up my salad dressings.
Assemble. Place the lettuce in a large serving bowl as your base. Arrange the cubed turkey, chopped ham, cheese, hard-boiled egg, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocado on top in neat sections or scattered evenly—your choice!
Dress and Toss. Drizzle your desired amount of dressing over the salad. Gently toss to coat the ingredients evenly. Add the croutons last and give it one final toss to distribute their crunchy goodness throughout. Serve immediately for the freshest flavor. ENJOY!
Recipe Variations
- Add Some Gluten-Free Crunch. Although it’s a little less traditional, Air Fryer Chickpeas are also a fun way to add crispy-crunchy texture if croutons are off-limits for you.
- Try Another Dressing. Blue cheese dressing or another creamy option like Green Goddess Dressing would be excellent in this chef salad too.
- Switch Up the Meats. Cubed chicken would also work well! Try my Baked Chicken Breast.
What to Serve with a Chef Salad
Serve your chef salad with a piece of crusty bread or a light vegetable soup like Tomato Bisque or Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup to make it a meal.
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Ingredients
- 2 heads Boston bibb romaine, or butter lettuce (or a mix) (or 1 20-ounce container of pre-washed lettuce)
- ½ cup cubed turkey ¼-inch cubes or strips
- ½ cup chopped ham ¼-inch cubes
- ½ cup chopped Swiss provolone, mozzarella or cheddar cheese (¼-inch pieces)
- 4 hard-boiled eggs sliced into ¼-inch thick wedges
- 4 Campari tomatoes diced into ¼-inch pieces
- 1 cup chopped cucumbers ¼-inch cubes
- 1 avocado diced into ¼-inch pieces (about 1¼ cups)
- 1 ½ cups croutons
- Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Instructions
- Place the lettuce in a large serving bowl. Top with the turkey, ham, cheese, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocado.
- Add as much dressing as you’d like and gently toss. Add the croutons and toss again. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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Made this tonight and was pleasantly surprised at how filling it was. I used a mix of butter lettuce and romaine, and it gave the perfect base. I really enjoyed the mix of flavors. I liked how everything was cut into small pieces and it made it easier to get a bit of everything in each bite. I went light on the dressing and it was still super flavorful. It’s simple, but sometimes that’s all you need. Thank you!
Great to hear, Georgia! Thank you!
I prepped this salad ahead for a work-from-home lunch and it held up pretty well (just added the croutons and dressing right before eating). Loved the combo of fresh veggies and protein — it felt like a full meal. I might add some red onion next time for an extra bite, but overall, it was really tasty.
Great to hear, thank you Sally!
Okay, so I finally got around to making this Chef Salad, and it was honestly a really satisfying lunch. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it hit all the right notes. The combination of the crisp lettuce with the different proteins and cheeses was just what I was craving. Thank you, Erin!
So glad you enjoyed it, Kiara!