This keto friendly 7 Layer Salad recipe is packed with so many delicious flavors. It’s a fabulous addition to potlucks and parties and makes a great low carb side dish.
Love salad for dinner? Be sure to try this Keto Chopped Greek Salad too.
I am completely new to the concept of Seven Layer Salad, but I have to admit, I love it! It’s a fun and easy way to serve salad for a party.
And one of the best parts is that you can make it ahead by up to a full day. So there’s no last minute scramble to prep food before your guests arrive.
I was particularly impressed by how much flavor this keto layered salad had. Given the simplicity of the ingredients, I thought it might be rather bland. But it was creamy and delicious, and two out of my three children came back for seconds.
I think I just won the parenting lottery!
What is seven layer salad
Since I was unfamiliar with this easy keto side dish, some of you may be as well. It’s astonishingly simple.
It is just as it sounds, a salad of seven different layers. In the conventional version each layer comprises a single ingredient. It typically goes something like this:
- Lettuce
- Chopped red onion
- Frozen peas
- Hard boiled eggs
- Creamy dressing
- Grated cheese
- Cooked crumbled bacon
Of course, many people add additional ingredients like chopped tomatoes and cucumbers. Which makes it more than 7 layers but adds to the deliciousness!
Keto 7 layer salad recipe
7 layer salad isn’t all that high carb to begin with, but I felt that there was room for improvement. For one thing, red onion has a surprising amount of carbs. And frozen peas are a bit high in carbohydrate as well. Not to mention that they’re kind of unappealing as they soften and get mushy.
To reduce the carbs, I switched out the red onion for some green onion, and I added in some chopped celery for additional crunch.
I also changed up the peas and used chopped snap pea pods instead, as they have fewer carbs and more fiber.
Then I added a layer of chopped cucumber and tomato, for additional color, crunch, and nutrition. And voila! We have a keto friendly seven layer salad.
Tips for keto seven layer salad
Honestly, the hardest part of making this salad is chopping everything up. Once you’ve done that, it takes only about 10 minutes to prepare. Then all you need to do is layer the ingredients and chill the salad for an hour or two.
I made mine in a large glass bowl so you could see the layers, and I made just enough to feed my family (6 servings). If you want to make it for a larger get together, double the recipe and layer it in a large trifle dish or a 9×13 glass pan.
The layers
- Lettuce – I prefer romaine to iceberg because it has more nutritional value but that’s up to you.
- Celery and green onion – this is my lower carb onion layer.
- Chopped snap peas – so much tastier and lower in carbs than frozen peas!
- Cucumber and tomato – an extra layer with crunch and color!
- Chopped hardboiled eggs – you may notice that I only put eggs on one half of my salad, because no one in my family likes them except me.
- Dressing – I was somewhat skeptical that this traditional dressing would have much flavor but it was surprisingly good!
- Grated cheddar – I used a mix of orange and white cheddar for color.
- Bacon – You know it’s got to have good, crisp bacon!
That’s it, my friends! It’s that easy to make this delicious keto salad. Now go head the kitchen and start chopping and layering. You won’t regret it!
More keto salad recipes
- Keto Cauliflower Salad
- Easy Thai Cucumber Salad
- Strawberry Avocado Caprese Salad
- Keto Green Bean Salad
- Dill Pickle Egg Salad
- Loaded Broccoli Salad
Keto Seven Layer Salad
Ingredients
- 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 3 medium green onions, white and light green parts only chopped
- ¾ cup chopped sugar snap peas
- 1 cup chopped cucumber
- 1 medium tomato chopped
- 3 hardboiled eggs chopped
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 6 slices cooked bacon chopped
Instructions
- Arrange the lettuce at the bottom of a large bowl or trifle dish.
- Then layer on the celery and onions, the snap peas, the cucumber and tomato, and the eggs.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, and garlic powder. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over top of the layers.
- Finally, layer on the cheese and top with the bacon. Refrigerate 1 hour to chill before serving.
Susan Muller says
Carolyn, this is our favorite salad! Can’t rave enough about it!!💕
Made the exact recipe💕
Linda says
I have missed 7 layer salad. I will made a 1/2 re pie of this!
Christine Krantz says
this is very good but it really needs double the dressing on it ! not enough as the recipe is written
Carolyn says
As you can see from the rave reviews, most people find that it has enough dressing. But you should make it to your tastes!
Lydia says
Super easy and super good! I used the Garlic & Herb “Dash” instead of the garlic powder, salt and pepper since my husband has to watch his salt intake. Family loved it!
Susan Muller says
This was absolutely delicious! Followed recipe exactly.💕
Chandra says
My sweet mother in law used to make this for our family dinners a lot. She passed away this spring, and making your keto version was a delicious and therapeutic way to honor and remember my MIL and feed my family, just as she loved to feed us. ❤️❤️
Allison says
Very good, we loved it and will make it again!
Barbara says
This was so easy and the dressing really added to the salad. Will definitely make this again.
Mary says
Thank you for the salad recipes. I can bring these to a potluck and know I have something “I” can eat…. These salads are great!!!
Carolyn says
Thanks, glad it helps!
Kylee Jones says
How far in advance do you think you could put this salad together? I hesitate to put salads together too far in advance as I don’t want them to wilt, but I’m thinking of making some for a trip soon, so I thought I’d find out the official answer 😉
Carolyn says
I think 48 hours in advance is the most I’d go with this.
CRP says
Our family loves this! In the heat wave we’ve been having, it is so refreshing. The Sugar Snap Peas have a great crunch and we didn’t miss English Peas at all. We also did not miss sugar in the dressing as my Grandmother’s years-old recipe used. The garlic was perfect. For a bit of variety, we’ve also made it with chopped up thick sliced ham when we were out of bacon (I know, who is ever out of bacon?) This will be on weekly rotation during the summer for us. Thank you for this.