If you’ve ever been to Ruth’s Chris Steak House, you know that their sides are just about as good as their steak. Their chopped salad is one of those dishes that you think about long after the meal is over. It’s a little bit over the top — packed with a ton of interesting ingredients and textures, tossed in a creamy, herb-forward basil dressing, and presented in that iconic molded tower that makes it feel like a very special event. The good news is that you don’t need a reservation or a steakhouse price tag to enjoy it! This copycat version nails all the flavors and textures of the original and comes together in just 15 minutes in your own kitchen. Date night at home just got a serious upgrade, and you can totally skip that fussy ring mold part.
What Ingredients Do You Need for Ruth’s Chris Chopped Salad?
Look, the list is long. But for a special occasion salad, it’s well worth it. You’ll need:
Iceberg lettuce. (Chopped salads need that satisfying crunch and iceberg delivers!)
Bacon.
Radicchio. (It adds a beautiful color and a slightly bitter bite that balances everything perfectly.)
Green olives.
Hearts of palm. (Find these in the canned goods aisle.)
Blue cheese.
White mushrooms.
Hard-boiled eggs.
Red onion.
And croutons, chopped right into the salad.
French fried onions.
Cherry tomatoes.
For the dressing, you’ll just need sour cream, lemon juice, garlic powder, and some fresh basil.
What are hearts of palm?
They’re exactly what they sound like, though it might be hard to imagine them if you’re not familiar. Harvested from the inner core of a palm tree, they have a mild, slightly artichokey flavor and a tender texture that adds a really interesting element to this salad. You’ll find them canned in the regular grocery store aisle right near the artichoke hearts, and once you try them you’ll find yourself adding them to all kinds of things. (I like them by themselves with a little dijon vinaigrette!)
How Do You Make Ruth’s Chris Chopped Salad?
You’re going to chop a lot of things here. It’s going to be worth it. The most time-consuming part is getting everything uniformly chopped, which is actually the key to what makes a great chopped salad: every ingredient should be small enough that you get a little bit of everything in each forkful.
Things to chop:
Iceberg lettuce, bacon, radicchio, green olives, hearts of palm, mushrooms, hard-boiled eggs, onion, croutons. You can handle that.
Whisk together the dressing right in your serving bowl: that’s the sour cream, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, and all that gorgeous fresh basil. Then add every salad ingredient directly on top and toss it all together until everything is VERY well coated in that creamy green dressing.
For the full Ruth’s Chris experience, divide the salad into portions and pack each one tightly into a ring mold, then unmold it onto the plate so it holds that impressive tower shape. Then, top it with the French fried onions and cherry tomatoes.
Looking for the same flavor but a more casual presentation? No problem — just serve it straight from the bowl like any other salad. Try this for your next date night or special occasion meal at home!
For the dressing:
1/2 cup sour cream
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
For the salad:
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
1/2 lb bacon, cooked and chopped
1 small radicchio, finely chopped
1/2 cup green olives, chopped
1/2 cup hearts of palm, chopped
2/3 cup blue cheese, crumbled
4 medium white mushrooms, chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 cup croutons, chopped
For the topping:
1 cup French fried onions
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
Preparation
In a small bowl, or the bowl you plan to serve in, whisk together all the dressing ingredients.
To the serving bowl, add the lettuce, bacon, radicchio, green olives, hearts of palm, blue cheese, mushrooms, eggs, red onion, and croutons.
Mix well with the dressing.
Divide into four portions, then top with fried onions and cherry tomatoes. If you’d like to serve like they do at Ruth’s Chris, place salad into ring molds and pack tightly. Then, untold and top with onions and tomatoes.
Enjoy!
