Loaded Chef Salad with Fresh Herb Ranch
A salad bar staple, this version brings the fresh element right to your kitchen, easy to make ahead of time, and use what you already have in the fridge!
Taste the freshness! There are many versions of ranch dressing floating all over the internet, and I give a lot of credit to the fact that you can whip these up with items you almost always have at home-mayo, dried herbs, sour cream, yogurt, etc. But if you find yourself with fresh herbs, whether from your last grocery run, or stepping out to your garden, you will be glad you took the extra step here! Dried herbs take a bit to open up, requiring a lot more lead time to give flavor. The fresh herbs immediately stand out and bring to life all of these great raw veggies! A perfect way to cool down in the hot summer, or dream of summer all year round!
Going back to the roots. When I put my spin on a traditional dish like this, it’s always fun for me to learn a bit about the origin. Unlike some of the others I’ve researched, the chef salad has a bit of a mysterious history and quite a few speculations as to the first creator. Regardless of specifics, the common thread in all stories was that this was, quite literally, the chef using what was readily available and not requiring special ingredients just for this dish. Hence, many restaurants created their own ‘chef’s salad’ to use what was commonly found in their restaurant. In my ‘restaurant de Hannah’, I find this is a perfect salad to enjoy towards the end of the week, and could almost rename this to ‘use whatever you still have in your fridge and make it look gorgeous’ salad! Drizzled with a dressing that makes you want to lick the spoon, it’s hard to go wrong!
Looking for ways to use that holiday ham? Try out some of these other recipes:
Asparagus, Ham and Swiss Omelet
Lyonnaise Ham and Zucchini Hash
Antipasto Salad with Ham and a Creamy Parmesan Dressing
Meat Lover’s Pizza on a Chicken Crust
Thanks for joining along! I love hearing from you, if you’ve tried any of these, or have suggestions for others!
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Loaded Chef Salad with Fresh Herb Ranch
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Kitchen knife
Ingredients
Dressing
- 2 tbsp Mayo Could use yogurt if not keto
- 1 tbsp Sour Cream
- 1/2 squeezed Fresh Lemon
- 1 stalk Green Onion (could use chives)
- 1 tbsp Chopped Fresh Dill Additional for garnish
- 1 tbsp Chopped Fresh Parsley Additional for garnish
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/4 tsp Onion Powder
- Salt and Pepper
Salad
- 4 handfuls Greens I used spinach, although romaine is traditional
- 1/2 medium Green Pepper
- 1 cup Sliced Cherry Tomatoes
- 1/2 medium Cucumber
- 1 medium Avocado
- 1/4 sliced Red Onion
- 2 oz Cheddar Cheese
- 2 oz Pepperjack Cheese Could sub for any cheese you have on hand
- 1 cup Cubed Ham
- 1 cup Sliced Chicken Breast
- 2 large Hard Boiled Eggs
Instructions
- In you mixing bowl, combine salad dressing ingredients and mix well. This process could easily be done ahead of time and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
- Plate your greens, and top with slices of all of your vegetables, decorated to your preference (have fun! These are great salads to amp up the presentation).
- Drizzle with ranch dressing, and top with additional chopped herbs. Enjoy!
