A traditional Irish pub salad is a simple, hearty salad typically served in pubs across Ireland. In many cases, you’ll find it listed in the ‘main course’ section of the menu. Often, it’s chosen as a lighter alternative to heavier dishes like fish and chips, Shepherd’s pie, or an Irish cheese board. You plate this Salad, not toss it, and there’s plenty of variety on the plate to choose from.
This Irish Salad is not just served in pubs. Across the island of Ireland, on any given day when the temperature rises above 22 degrees C. (low 70’s in F.), Irish mammies proclaim, “We’re having salad for dinner because it’s too warm to cook!” Despite regional and familial variations, the ingredients are generally quite similar. Below you’ll see how my mum made it for our family.
Typical Ingredients for an Irish Salad
Protein:
Cheeses such as Cheddar (smoked, unsmoked or mature) which can be sliced or grated and Cashel Blue.
Meats such as chicken, turkey, ham, pork, and beef can be used, usually two meats are chosen. These meats can be deli sliced or leftover from the Sunday roast or a combo of the two.
Eggs are usually included, hardboiled and halved or quartered.
Fish is a lesser used ingredient. Usually canned salmon or tuna are used.
Vegetable Salads
Coleslaw is a staple, the creamy version with or without celery seeds. The vinegary mayo base of the coleslaw helps provide another salad dressing for the salad.
Potato salad is typically with a mayonnaise base, but you can also use a vinaigrette or skip the dressing entirely. Some versions use cold, unpeeled, chopped potatoes as a substitute.
Vegetables
Typically, the vegetables include tomatoes (of any type) and cucumber. Additionally, you might find sweet corn (often tinned), pickled beetroot, scallions, or sliced onions.
Greens
Common lettuces included in an Irish Salad are butterhead, Cos, little gem, green or red leaf lettuce.
Authentic Irish Pub Salad Tips
Too often, salads feel limp, soggy, or underwhelming—leading to what many call “sad salad” syndrome. Fortunately, the ingredients typically found in a hearty Irish pub salad help prevent this common issue. In addition to using bold, sturdy ingredients, here are a few other helpful tips to avoid ending up with a soggy Irish pub salad:
- Ensure the freshness of all ingredients.
- Under no circumstances have this salad sitting around for any length of time. However, you can prepare this salad, minus the lettuce, up to an hour in advance, covered and refrigerated. Just before serving add freshly washed, crisp lettuce.
- You serve salad dressing on the side. Salad Cream is the norm, but serve whatever dressing you like.
- Thoroughly drain the beetroot to prevent its color from bleeding into other foods.
- Buy deli fresh vegetable salads or better yet, make your own.
- The more variation and choices on the plate, the better!
How to Make This Traditional Irish Pub Salad
I used the following ingredients to make my version of my childhood
- Protein: I used pan seared chicken, some smoked deli ham and boiled eggs.
- Vegetable salads: coleslaw and potato salad (homemade).
- Vegetables: tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions and pickled beets.
- Greens: butter lettuce and red leaf lettuce.
Prepare the vegetables by washing, slicing, and halving. Remove the roots from the spring onions. Peel and half the boiled eggs.
Wash the lettuce and dry with a paper towel or in the salad spinner. Slice the chicken breast.
Simply arrange the foods on a plate in an attractive way and that’s it – you’ve just made an Irish Pub Salad at home!
Variations
This particular version of an Irish Pub Salad is naturally gluten free.
For a vegan option, delete the meats and eggs. Add tofu, plant based cheeses, roasted chick peas and additional vegetables to round it out.
What is Served with an Irish Pub Salad?
Food wise, an Irish Salad is served with any of the following:
- an individual packet of crisps (chips in U.S.) especially Tayto cheese and onion!
- wheaten bread or soda bread with salted Irish butter.
- vegetable soup.
Beverage wise, the following are good accompaniments:
- A cold pint of the dark stuff!
- A nice cup of tea.
Got Questions?
I’ve got answers -hopefully!
Irish cheddar is a popular semi-hard cow’s milk cheese with a classic, mild, and buttery flavor with fruity notes.
Dubliner cheese is a hard, cow’s milk cheese. Made in Cork, and named after Ireland’s capital city, Dublin, this cheese boasts a robust, sweet, and nutty flavor, often likened to a blend of mature Cheddar, Swiss cheese, and Parmesan
Blue cheese is formed when Penicillium mold is introduced to cheese. This creates blue-green veins within sheep, cow, or goat milk cheese. Its flavor ranges from mild and buttery to sharp and pungent, with a firm or crumbly texture. Cashel Blue is the most popular blue cheese in Ireland.
Traditionally coleslaw is one of the vegetable salads within an Irish pub salad. The creamy variety is the more traditional.
Add any salad ingredient you choose such as bacon bits, shredded carrots, chick peas, croutons, and olives but remember the more you stray away from the recipe, the less traditional your Irish Pub Salad will be!
How to make a Traditional Irish Pub Salad at Home
Ingredients
- 2 boiled eggs
- 3 slices ham
- 3 oz chicken
- 2 oz coleslaw
- 2 oz potato salad
- 3 oz cherry tomatoes
- 8 slices cucumber
- 3 tbsp pickled beets beetroot
- 6 spring onions
- 6 leaves lettuce
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables by washing, slicing, and halving. Remove the roots from the spring onions. Peel and half the boiled eggs.
- Wash the lettuce and dry with a paper towel or in the salad spinner. Slice the chicken breast.
- Finally arrange the foods on a plate in an attractive way.
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