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Ruth Chris Chopped Salad: Everyday Luxury on a budget

October 24, 2021 by Madalaine 5 Comments

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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 Chris Chopped Salad. My darling husband brought one home for me knowing my inner gremlin would be walking through the door.

stacked chopped salad spin on Ruth Chris's Chop Salad Secret salad dressing recipe

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.

Butterfly in a mass of basil
Butterfly in a sea of organic basil

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.
big white bowl filled with Ruth Chris Chopped 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.

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 – boy choy is a great subsitute for iceberg. 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:

metal salad ring mold

This is a metal salad ring mold. Place it on the salad plate and fill it with salad.

filling the mold ring with ruth chris chop 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.

keep the ring around the salad then top it with onions before removing the ring

Then using the bottom of the glass again to keep the salad on the plate, bring the ring up, and remove the ring.

slide ring up while holding salad down with a glass

Viola! You’ve just plated your salad like a pro!

stacked chopped salad spin on Ruth Chris's Chop Salad Secret salad dressing recipe
stacked chopped salad spin on Ruth Chris's Chop Salad Secret salad dressing recipe

Ruth Chris Copycat Chopped Salad

Print Recipe
This salad is an explosion of bright tangy lemony flavors partnered with the juxtaposition of crunch and creamy. It is satisfying on every level and even a bit nostalgic.
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Keyword basil, keto, low carb, salad dressing, vegetable
Prep Time 30 mins
Servings 5 salads
Calories 427
Author Madalaine

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 427kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 1300mg | Potassium: 946mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1138IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 187mg | Iron: 2mg
Easy enough for an everyday salad and pretty enough for a party! This Copy Cat Ruth Chris Chopped Salad can be made DAYS in advance for an easy make ahead meal you are going to LOVE for lunch or dinner! ❤️

Filed Under: Restaurants, Salads Tagged With: budget, keto, low carb, ruth chris, salad

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nancy M.

    December 16, 2021 at 5:46 pm

    As soon as I get a kitchen I am going to make the salad!! it looks fabulous!

    Reply
  2. Joan Sharer Ressman

    July 28, 2022 at 11:37 am

    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 )

    Reply
    • Madalaine

      July 28, 2022 at 4:33 pm

      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! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Joyce Beeman

    December 10, 2022 at 12:24 pm

    5 stars
    Like all the detail. What size of metal mold??? thanks

    Reply
    • Madalaine

      December 11, 2022 at 4:27 pm

      Hi Joyce, I used 3-inch rings.

      Reply

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