Made Ahead Salad – A salad that is meant to be made ahead of time, perfect for the holidays or a dinner party so you aren’t rushed putting it together!
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One of the very first things I ever learned to make to contribute to our family’s holiday dinners was this Salad. It is a tradition that we take to all get togethers, both holiday and BBQ cookouts! It wasn’t until recently that I realized one of the best reasons for the salad….you can make it ahead of time. SAY WHAT?! This is every homemaker and cooks dream because there’s not much worse than having to make all of the food at the same time to have the perfect dinner.
This salad is so full of flavor, and because you make it ahead of time, they have time to merry together and create a bowl full of deliciousness!!
Also, don’t ask why we call it the name we do….because I don’t know!! It’s just always been Sarah Salad my whole life.
Sarah Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 large head of iceberg lettuce
- 6oz of frozen peas
- 1 8oz package of sliced swiss cheese
- 3 stalks of green onion
- 12oz package of bacon, cooked and crumbled
Sauce:
- 1/2 cup mayonaise
- 1/2 cup miracle whip
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- salt & pepper to taste
Cut your swiss cheese into small pieces. It will stick to itself so you will need to break it up before putting it in the bowl. Put the peas into a strainer and run warm water over top to thaw them out. Drain and add to the bowl with the cheese. Dice up your green onion as well into small pieces and add to the others in the bowl.
Now cut up your head of lettuce. The best way to go about this is to hit the stem of the head on the counter top a few times, pushing it into the head of lettuce. This will release it from the lettuce. Throw it away. Next, slice all the lettuce into this sections. Turn those sideways and do the same thing the other way, creating small lettuce squares. Rinse and dry or use a salad spinner. Add to the big bowl!
Now you need to make the sauce. Combine all the ingredients into a small bowl and stir until well combined. Now add the sauce to the top of the salad, and stir everything really well until the salad is completely covered.
Put the salad into a container with an air tight lid like the Rubbermaid Brilliance containers and put it into the fridge to settle. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
When you are ready to eat, give it a good toss, top with bacon bits (I like to crumble a whole 12 oz package of bacon) and serve! Store remaining salad in the container and in the fridge for up to 48 hours.
I love the Rubbermaid Brilliance containers, especially for things like a holiday dinner where you are going to be storing leftovers from the email. They are air tight and leak proof, so you don’t have to worry about flavors/smells going from one thing to the other, and it helps keep the food fresh for days! I’m excited to use it for my deviled eggs too, because I can trust that the egg smell isn’t going to overwhelm the fridge and also won’t stick to the container either! There’s also built in vents for easy microwaving without removing the lid (latches open!), so you can heat up those holiday leftovers without all the splatter!
Right now (limited offer) you can get $2 off a single Rubbermaid Brilliance container or $4 off a set. I grabbed myself a set with medium/small and also a large container as well while at Smith’s Marketplace. They stack so easy in the fridge that they will make things easy to organize and also find easily with the crystal clear containers.
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What do you use for the sauce dressing?
I’m glad you commented. I don’t know what happened to the section with the ingredients!! It’s updated in the post, but here’s the ingredients for the sauce.
1/2 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup miracle whip
2 tablespoons sugar
salt & pepper to taste
What a great dish to share! This salad seems pretty simple to make plus it seems like a crowd pleaser! I mean who wouldn’t like bacon all over salad? [client]
Add hard boiled egg and this is amazing!
I use real bacon and we call it “Favorite Salad”, LOL.
I use real bacon on occasion….but sometimes I’m lazy!
At what point in time will this get soggy? How far in advance should I make it? Thanks!
I usually make it about 18-20 hours ahead of time. On the second day the lettuce will get more wilted.
I’ve made this for years and I have made it the night before and also hours before. The secret is to layer ingredients with dressing on top. Do not toss until ready to serve. We usually don’t keep leftovers as it is very soggy next day. I use grated Parmesan in place of Swiss cheese which we like the best
OOOH, grated parmesan sounds amazing. I might need to try that next time.
Do you have to use half mayo and half Miracle Whip for the dressing? We don’t use Miracle Whip and I don’t want to buy a whole jar just for 1/2 C.
I would suggest it, but if you want to use straight mayo I would suggest a little more sugar to the mixture since miracle whip is sweeter than the mayo.
I’ve made a variation of this too for a long time, I like mozzarella cheese and my dressing is mayo and PICKLE JUICE !
Pickle juice? I’ve got to try this!
Can you substitute Romaine for Iceberg?
I would not. They are a different texture of lettuce.
Thanks for sharing! How far ahead of time can I make it?
isSarah Salad could be reference to Martha and Mary, Jesus’ friends.
Made this yesterday and it was gobbled up quickly. I had to guess on size of ingredients for cheese and peas. Used 6oz pkg of Swiss, handful of peas – will use more next time… four bacon strips crumbled —will double next time
Thank you for the comment. Exact measurements have been added to the recipe for future reference.
Very tasty but it was runny. I made it at 10:00 a.m. for a 6:00 p.m. potluck. Disappointing.
I would try making a little less dressing, or maybe you need a bigger head of lettuce next time.
It’s called Sarah Salad because it is originally from the Lion House Recipe Book. One of our family favorites too.
Very frustrating…..what size package of peas and what size package of Swiss cheese?
Hi! This salad looks yummy! One question…when serving do you toss first, to have the sauce over all the lettuce or do u serve just as the sauce as a separate layer? Thx for this recipe…looks sooo good!
Yes we toss it all together before serving!!
We are not fans of Swiss cheese any other cheese you can recommend, sorry. Margot
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it at Christmas for the family and they loved it. I have, since, made it a few more time, cutting the recipe in half as I am mostly cooking for 2. I am making the whole recipe again for Easter dinner tomorrow. So, so good!
I made if with taco shredded cheese blend which also, adds additional perfect spices.
You know that this recipe actually belongs to “The Lion House” restaurant in Salt Lake City, correct?! You don’t need own any of this!
I have never said I own any of it. I have grown up eating this salad my entire life. Kudos to The Lion House if they are the original makers of it. I’m a fan of their rolls and now can thank them for my life long love of this salad!
That’s pretty harsh. Recipes pass around all the time. Sometimes their origins are not known. If she had it her whole life I’m sure she was a child. I don’t know any kids that ask for recipes. Much less research the original creator.
She never said she owned it! Geez, get a life and go away!
Why not try this with blue cheese salad dressing and add crumbled blue cheese to the top with the bacon. Maybe chopped tomatoes too. It’s that season.
I was skeptical about mixing in the dressing ahead of time but thought I’d try. I mixed it all together in the morning, tasted it, and it was awesome! I served it that night for dinner and the lettuce was completely soggy, it was kinda gross. I’ll definitely make it again because it is very good but I will definitely wait to stir in the dressing just before serving. I like my lettuce crisp.
Could you use hellmans instead of the miracle whp and mayo combo?
Hi Sarah – Can’t wait to make this salad!
It would be great if you created a printable page for your recipes with ingredients and directions. It would make it so much easier to print them out.
Thanks!
I’ve had this salad at my friend Mary’s house and it was fabulous! I’m making it for father’s day with some sliders which I can make ahead as well.