Chopped Chef Salad

Chopped Chef Salad with Creamy Sweet Onion Dressing ~ the chef salad is an American institution, and probably the original main course salad.

Prep time: PT40M

Total time: PT40M

Rating

3.61 stars (56 reviews)

appetizer, easy, healthy, recipe, salad

1/2 sweet onion such as Vidalia, Maui, or a generic sweet (about 5 ounces) Note: don't use a regular onion for this dressing, it will be too strong.
3 Tbsp apple cider or champagne vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 heaped tsp creamy Dijon mustard
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 cup oil such as grapeseed, olive, walnut
5 ounces butter lettuce hearts (or romaine hearts, or iceberg) chopped
1/2 cup chopped ham ((I used Black Forest))
1/2 cup chopped turkey, I love smoked turkey
1/2 cup chopped bacon
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup chopped hard boiled eggs, about 2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped Swiss cheese
1/2 cup chopped cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/3 cup chopped red onion

for the dressing
- Remove the peel and cut the onion in large chunks. Add to the container of a high speed blender such as a Vitamix, along with the vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper. Blend until well pureed.
- Scrape down the sides of the container, and then, while the machine is running, slowly drizzle in the oil through a hole in the top. The dressing will become thick and creamy.
- Taste to adjust any of the seasonings. Keep refrigerated until needed. Note: this recipe makes more than you'll need for this salad, keep the leftover in the fridge and plan to use within 2 weeks.
for the salad
- Put the lettuce in a large salad bowl and add each of the other ingredients. If you'd like to do a composed salad you can arrange them attractively in little piles around the lettuce, otherwise just dump them all in.
- Lightly dress and then toss the salad. Serve more dressing on the side.

Lorie on 2024-05-29 (5 stars):
I especially love the dressing!
Patricia on 2020-01-10 (3 stars):
I'm concerned about the raw onion being too strong. Comments?
Kathleen on 2019-06-27 (5 stars):
The onion salad dressing caught my eye...so delicious and easy. Thanks so much!
Karen (Back Road Journal) on 2019-04-02 (5 stars):
I'm a real salad lover and your main course chef salad would really please me. We went to a new restaurant last week and they had an onion salad dressing that we all loved...now I have a recipe. Thanks.
Joyce Gibson on 2019-03-27 (5 stars):
Guess what I'm having for dinner????? Thanks, Sue!
John on 2019-03-27 (5 stars):
Main course salads are so appealing starting around this time of the year. Hard to beat the classic chef salad. I don't often make chopped salads, but you're right that the evenly-sized pieces certainly make the salad easier to eat. And getting several different ingredients in each mouthful is pretty appealing. Good post -- thanks.
Tricia on 2019-03-27 (5 stars):
It's been way too long since I had a salad like this. With bacon and ham and turkey and cheese! Every bite must be fantastic. Love the dressing too - a must try :)