Nearly midnight, tired, hungry, and road-weary doesn’t even begin to describe my state of mind when I sat down to my first Ruth’s Chris Chopped Salad. My darling husband brought one home for me knowing my inner gremlin would be walking through the door.
This salad was an explosion of bright tangy lemony flavors partnered with the juxtaposition of crunch and creamy. It was satisfying on every level and even a bit nostalgic. It transcended heaven.
Did I mention I was REALLY hungry???
The recipe below is my approximation of the Ruth Chris Chopped Salad. The most important component of this salad is the dressing. Fortunately, it’s also the easiest part of making the salad.
Ruth Chris Chopped Salad Recipe
The only thing that could possibly make this salad any better is if you pair it with a sizzling restaurant-style steak.
Lemon Basil Dressing
- In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup sour cream, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil.
Ruth Chris Chopped Salad Ingredients
- Chop 1/2 head of Iceberg lettuce, 1 radicchio, 1 cup croutons, 1/2 red onion minced, and 5 strips of crispy applewood smoked bacon into 1/2 inch pieces.
- Chop the following items 1/4 inch: 1/2 cup chopped green olives, 1/4 cup chilled hearts of palm (rinsed & well drained), 1 cup fresh mushrooms, and 2 eggs hard boiled.
- Mix all of the chopped ingredients in a large bowl with 2/3 cup packed crumbled blue cheese. Set this aside until ready to assemble the salad.
Assemble the Salad
- Gently fold the dressing into the salad body.
- Plate the salad onto small plates and top with crunchy fried onions (the kind mom would top her Thanksgiving green bean casserole dish with).
- Garnish with halved cherry tomatoes.
Watch the How to Make Ruth’s Chris Chopped Salad Video
Smart Salad Substitutions
Here are a few of my favorite substitutions:
- Kosher salt – if you only have iodized Clabor girl table salt, use 1/4 teaspoon. Taste and continue to season little by little. Table salt is MUCH saltier than kosher salt.
- Garlic powder – use 1 small clove of fresh garlic finely minced.
- Iceberg lettuce – bok choy is a great substitute for iceberg lettuce. It’s very mild in flavor and super crunchy!
- Green olives – use equal amounts of chopped capers. Make sure you rinse them.
- Radicchio – I don’t think I’ve EVER found this in our local rural grocery store. Which is too bad because it’s a beautiful purple and white leafy veggie that’s quite tasty. However, some good bitter substitutions are equal parts of any of the following: endive, arugula (rocket), or watercress.
Plate it Like a Ruth Chris Steakhouse Pro!
This is hands down, the best salad to make when having guests over for dinner. Prep all the ingredients 2 days ahead of time. In other words, make the dressing and chop all the veggies except for the lettuce and bacon. For best results, keep everything separate until the day you plan to serve it.
Up to 3 hours before dinner, chop the lettuce and bacon and combine everything together except for the crunchy fried onions. Then plate the salads and garnish them with the halved tomatoes. Add the fried onions right before serving.
For $5-$10 dollars at a kitchen supply shop or Amazon, you can get one of these:
This is a metal salad ring mold. Place it on the salad plate and fill it with salad.
Then with the bottom of a glass, gently tap the salad down to compress it. This will help it keep its shape. Next top the salad (still in the mold) with crispy onions.
Then using the bottom of the glass again to keep the salad on the plate, bring the ring up, and remove the ring.
Viola! You’ve just plated your salad like a pro!
Ruth Chris Copycat Chopped Salad
Equipment
- knife and cutting board
- measuring cups and spoons
- 2 mixing bowls
- metal salad ring mold, optional
Ingredients
Salad Dressing
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 fresh lemons juiced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup basil fresh and finely chopped
Salad
- 1/2 head Iceberg lettuce chopped
- 6 slices bacon cooked and chopped
- 1 small radicchio chopped or 1 cup arugula
- 1 cup croutons chopped
- 1/2 cup green olives chopped
- 1/2 cup heart of palm chopped
- 2/3 cup blue cheese crumbled
- 4 medium mushrooms chopped
- 2 boiled eggs chopped
- 1/2 red onion minced
Topping & garnish
- 1 cup crunchy fried onions
- 8 cherry tomatoes halved
Instructions
Salad Dressing
- Mix all the salad dressing ingredients together and set aside.
Salad
- Gently mix all of the ingredients together except for the crispy fried onions and cherry tomatoes.
- Pour salad dressing over the salad and mix together until thoroughly combined.
- Divide salad between 4 plates and top with crispy fried onions and garnish with cherry tomatoes.
- OR place the metal salad ring mold on the salad plate and fill it with salad. Then with the bottom of a glass, gently tap the salad down to compress it. This will help it keep its shape.
- Remove the glass and top the salad with crispy onions. Then using the bottom of the glass again to keep the salad on the plate, bring the ring up, and remove the ring.
- Garnish with tomatoes.
Video
Nutrition
As soon as I get a kitchen I am going to make the salad!! it looks fabulous!
Did you leave out the red onions in your recipe. I see it in the directions but not the list . Thanks, Making it right now ( added cucumbers )
Hi Joan! Yes I sure did! Thank you so much for catching that detail. There are a lot of chopped veggies in here and that one fell through the cracks. I think it’s an important one too! I’ll add it to the recipe at the bottom of the post. Thanks again! BTW… I bet those cucumbers were a great addition! 🙂
Like all the detail. What size of metal mold??? thanks
Hi Joyce, I used 3-inch rings.
Just a note: the name of the restaurant is Ruth’s Chris.
Thanks Robyn! Noted and changed 😊
Alot going on in this salad! I was excited to make this and alway make exactly as recipe first time. This was way too salty for our taste. I think a whole head of chopped iceberg and 2 cups of arugula would be better. Also I served the dressing on side.
Thanks for your feedback, Denise! Serving the dressing on the side is a great option if you’re not going to mold it. I like a lot of dressing on my salads and most of my family likes just a little. So putting it on the side lets everyone enjoy it just the way they like it.
Empty tuna can might sub for mold?
Great idea, Regina! 😊
I use an empty tuna can when I make a salad similar to this. It works great. I wash and reuse.
How many serving does this make? Can you get 10 out of this recipe?
Sadly the basil and lemon were so overpowering, we couldn’t taste all the delicious ingredients.
Hi Jade, next time just cut back on the lemon and basil. That’s the beauty of cooking at home! You can adjust any recipe just the way you like it! 🙂
Gorgeous! I’m making ASAP – I happen to have all ingredients on hand and you’ve made me hungry!! Beautiful plating.
The quantities of some of the ingredients seem faulty- either too much lemon – too much basil, or not enuf sour cream.
Also – too much bacon and too much red onion. Please look over the quantities and adjust accordingly.
Thanks in advance
Pat
Thanks for your input, Pat. I made this again this past weekend when my parents were in town and we all agreed the recipe is spot on. However, that is the beautiful thing about cooking at home… you can adjust any recipe any way YOU like! 🙂 If you think you would enjoy a different ratio, start with the juice of 1/2 lemon and 1/4 cup freshly chopped basil and increase any (or none) of the ingredients as you desire. Enjoy! ❤️
Hi Madaline, your recipe is tempting.
The radicchio is either expensive or hard to find in my country. I don’t like arugula. What other substitute would you suggest? And how much should I mix in? Also the heart of palm, any substitute?
I buy basil from store. What is the best way to clean it. (Every time after rinsing it lightly in water twice, I dry them with paper towel, but always ended up the basil becomes wilted , browned on the edge! The fragrance lost.)
Thanks
Hi May, Thank you for such great questions!
Radicchio is very difficult to find in my area too. I will either leave it out completely and not worry about replacing it with something else, or I will use endive. These both are crunchy with a bitter bite to them. However, there is SO MUCH going on in this salad, I find that I don’t miss the radicchio if I leave it out.
Arugula ~ If you like iceberg lettuce, I would use that. Arugula is very peppery and iceberg is not at all. What I like about iceberg is that it is very strong, does not wilt, and has a lot of crunch!
Basil ~ Yes, I feel your frustration with browned wilted basil! Try this: after you rinse the basil twice, gently shake off the excess water over the sink. Don’t pat them dry. Instead, fill a small vase or glass with cool water and place the stalks in the water. Keep the basil on your counter, not in the refrigerator. If the stalks are long enough, cut a bit off the ends. This will help the plants absorb the water better. Basil will turn brown if it is bruised or if it gets too cold.
I hope these tips help!