Southern Layered Cornbread Salad

A simple layered cornbread salad comes together in just 20 minutes, creating a show-stopping potluck dish that only looks like you spent hours in the kitchen. The decadent combination of sweet cornbread, crispy bacon, and sharp cheddar cheese is paired with fresh, crisp veggies and pickle juice for a salad that will add a touch of the South to your next meal!

I’m a big fan of minimal effort for maximum gain. What’s the saying? Worker smarter, not harder? 

Well this Layered Cornbread Salad is the culinary version of that phrase. In fact, that mantra dictates 99.9% of the recipes that I share on this blog! I just don’t have the time (or desire) to spend hours in the kitchen, yet I still want our food to taste amazing!

What is Cornbread Salad?

You can think of this Layered Cornbread Salad as a Southern version of Italy’s Panzanella. For those of you who are not familiar with Panzanella, it’s a traditionally Tuscan salad that combines chunks of stale bread and tomatoes, tossed with olive oil, vinegar, and often onion and basil.

For my own twist, I’m using chunks of Jiffy cornbread, plus plenty of tomatoes, onions, bacon, cheese, and a simple creamy dressing.

How to make Cornbread Salad:

While you can certainly just toss all of the ingredients together in a bowl, the strategic layers allow you to prepare this salad in advance without fear of the lettuce getting soggy! Here are the ingredients that you’ll need:

• Lettuce
• Jiffy cornbread, baked and cooled
• Bacon
• Tomatoes
• Onion
• Cheese
• Peas
• And a creamy dressing made with mayonnaise, sour cream, sweet pickle juice (or apple cider vinegar), sugar and garlic salt!

The process for actually making the cornbread salad is just a matter of layering all of the ingredients. Start with the lettuce on the bottom, and then add additional ingredients in the order listed. If you want the layers to look distinct, concentrate on arranging most of the ingredients along the outer rim of your dish, and then fill in any remaining space in the bowl with extra lettuce.

In a small separate bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients and spread over top of the salad. The dressing “locks in” the freshness so that the salad will keep for up to 8 hours in the fridge without getting soggy or dry!

When ready to serve, give everything a good toss to coat with dressing.

Tips For Making A Cornbread Salad:

• Cooking for a Smaller Crowd? If you like the idea of this salad, but you don’t want to prepare a giant bowl for a group, you can use the same ingredients and toss them together in a regular salad bowl. Cut the ingredients in half or in quarters for 2-4 servings, and coat with the same dressing. The taste will be great, even if you don’t bother to form the separate layers!
• Want to Prep Ahead? Thanks to strategic layers, this salad keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours without getting soggy.
• Add some grilled chicken and serve this salad as a main dish, or pair it with this fried chicken tenders recipe.
• That sweet pickle juice in the dressing gives the salad so much flavor! You can substitute with an equal amount of dill pickle juice if you prefer a less sweet dressing, or you can just use apple cider vinegar instead.

More easy cornbread recipes that you might enjoy:

• Cowboy Casserole with Cornbread and Chicken
• Taco Pie
• Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn (4-Ingredient Corn Pudding)
• Barbecue Chicken Jiffy Cornbread Casserole
• Orange Cranberry Corn Muffins

Did you make this recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!

Southern Layered Cornbread Salad

4.50 from 2 votes

Prep: 20 minutes minutes

Cook: 30 minutes minutes

Cornbread Chilling Time 2 hours hours

Total: 2 hours hours 50 minutes minutes

Servings 8 -10 servings

Calories 396 kcal

Author: Blair Lonergan

A simple layered cornbread salad that comes together in only 20 minutes. Full of flavor and a sure crowd pleaser!

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 (10 ounce) package chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 (8.5 ounce) box Jiffy cornbread mix, cooked and cooled according to package instructions
• 16 ounces bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) container grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 small Vidalia onion, chopped
• 8 ounces grated cheddar cheese
• 1 (10 ounce) bag frozen peas, partially thawed

For the Dressing:

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon sweet pickle juice (or substitute with dill pickle juice or apple cider vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt

Optional For Garnish:

• minced chives
• green onions

Instructions

• In a clear glass bowl or trifle dish, layer salad ingredients in the order listed above – starting with the iceberg lettuce on the bottom. Reserve about ¼ bag of lettuce for filling in the center of the salad later, as necessary. 
• Concentrate the ingredients around the outer edges of the bowl so that they show in pretty, even layers. Fill in any remaining gaps in the middle with additional lettuce or spinach. After adding the layer of peas, prepare the salad dressing.
• In a small bowl, whisk together all of the salad dressing ingredients.
• Spread dressing evenly over the top of the salad. Garnish with fresh chives, if desired.
• Refrigerate (for up to 8 hours) until ready to serve.
• Just before serving, toss together the ingredients to completely combine.

Notes

• Cooking for a Smaller Crowd? If you like the idea of this salad, but you don’t want to prepare a giant bowl for a group, you can use the same ingredients and toss them together in a regular salad bowl. Cut the ingredients in half or in quarters for 2-4 servings, and coat with the same dressing. The taste will be great, even if you don’t bother to form the separate layers!
• Want to Prep Ahead? Thanks to strategic layers, this salad keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours without getting soggy.
• Add some grilled chicken and serve this salad as a main dish!
• That sweet pickle juice in the dressing gives the salad so much flavor! You can substitute with an equal amount of dill pickle juice if you prefer a less sweet dressing, or you can just use apple cider vinegar instead.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/10 of recipeCalories: 396kcalCarbohydrates: 25.7gProtein: 16.7gFat: 24.3gSaturated Fat: 9.4gCholesterol: 43.6mgSodium: 998.8mgFiber: 2.6gSugar: 8.7g

Keyword: cornbread salad, southern layered salad

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Author: Blair Lonergan

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