Layered salads make a great lunch bowl – and, for some strange reason, taste much better than if you’d put the same items on a plate!  What you put in a layered salad will depend on what you like and, often more importantly, what you have.

You see these all the time in supermarkets, but they are quite pricey and it’s easy enough to make yourself at home.

I made today’s layered salad with pasta and cheese as I had half a midget gem lettuce to use up and some tomatoes.

The layers today were: lettuce, tomato, pasta, cheese.

I’d have liked to have had a layer of grated carrot in it, but that would have meant going out to buy a single carrot, so that wasn’t an option!

I used:

• Half a midget gem lettuce at the bottom, chopped up small
• One salad tomato, with the juice/pips removed, then sliced
• 80 grams (raw weight) of conchigliette pasta, which is miniature sea shells pasta perfect for layered salad bowls
• 1 heaped tablespoon of mayonnaise/salad cream
• 40 grams of grated cheddar cheese

Note: 80 grams of the pasta was way too much, 40 grams is perfectly adequate, but I chose to double up the quantity today as I wanted it to be super filling!

I chopped up the lettuce and put it at the bottom, then sliced the tomato and put that on top.  Next I cooked the conchigliette pasta in the microwave and rinsed it through with cold water to cool it – I then mixed the tiny seashell pasta with some salad cream (mayo is optional) and finally I topped it with a layer of grated cheese.

Other layered salads I will often make use cold boiled potatoes, sliced hard boiled eggs, a 3-bean layer, pieces of plain or flavoured cooked chicken – it’s entirely up to you what you put in….

Making a salad like this, in a bowl, is MUCH more satisfying than simply having a plate of salad.

Make Ahead:

Once made, if you cover your layered salad with clingfilm, a lid, or stretch covers for food, you can keep the layered salad in the fridge for a few days.  How long it keeps will depend on the lifespan and quality of the ingredients you started with.  If you started with a lettuce on its last legs and turning brown, then it needs to be eaten within one day as making it into a layered salad won’t halt degredation.

How Long Does Salad Cream Last in the Fridge?

If you’ve used salad cream, or mayonnaise, it’s best to eat what you’ve made within 2-3 days. Salad cream has a long lifespan in its container in the fridge, but after 2-3 days you won’t fancy it if you’re wondering how long it lasts! Say 3 days maximum.

More Layered Salad Ideas:

You can look for inspiration by searching supermarket websites for layered salad. Prawn, chicken tikka, mexican hot, potato, boiled egg, or simple poached chicken are popular.

So long as you’ve got the basics of some salad + pasta/mayonnaise …. after that it’s up to you!