I Tried the “Real” Jennifer Aniston Salad Recipe and It’ll Actually Fill You Up

Famous celebrity-approved salads had quite the moment last year. By the middle of 2022, we were gifted unique salad recipes from the Kardashians, Bella Hadid, and the uber-exclusive celeb hotspot Carbone. We also had what was thought to be the official Jennifer Aniston salad.

Aniston’s supposed favorite salad came about via a People magazine article from 2015. But Aniston has since debunked this piece of lore.

In June 2022, Aniston revealed that the viral salad recipe was not the one she would eat while on the set of Friends, according to Insider. And in an interview with Shape, Aniston expressed a bit of guilt saying that she felt like she was disappointing people by telling the truth about the salad. 

Then came a Youtube video from Allure in November 2022, in which Aniston reacts to a range of different TikTok videos, including, yes, you guessed it, the salad. Instead of just straight-up denying any association with the bulgur and cucumber situation, she revealed what the real Jennifer Aniston salad is, aka the one she ate on the set of Friends.

The salad, which Aniston described as a “butchered” Cobb-adjacent salad, consists of the following ingredients: chopped iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, chickpeas (not too many!), chopped salami, chopped “crunchy, crunchy” turkey bacon, diced grilled chicken, finely grated pecorino Romano cheese, and Italian dressing. 

In putting together this salad, I didn’t go off of any particular measurements, but rather “eyeballed” everything. Aside from a whole head of iceberg lettuce, I used about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of each of the mix-ins and then just a few circular drizzles of the Italian dressing. I then tossed the salad with two wooden spoons, et voilà! The real Jennifer Aniston salad. Overall, I’d say the salad could easily feed anywhere from 4 to 6 people.

The thing I love the most about this salad is that it doesn’t skimp on the meat! Something I grapple with a lot when it comes to salad as a main meal is not always feeling totally full or satisfied, so I often reach for protein-rich ingredients to compensate.

The salad has diced grilled chicken (some lemon juice would be great on it), crispy turkey bacon, and diced salami (not deli-sliced salami, but a link of uncured Genoa salami that I sliced into rounds and then into small strips). Plus, the chickpeas are filling and add a bit of fiber.

Additionally, the dressing and the meat alone deliver a lot of flavor. Because salami and turkey bacon (and the pecorino) are naturally pretty salty, I didn’t feel the need to add any salt or pepper.

I opted for bottled dressing, although homemade Italian dressing would be even better. Plus, if you did decide to make your own small variations, you could definitely swap out the chickpeas for another legume you like, such as cannellini beans or edamame.

All in all, I think the salad was tasty and, although it required a bit of prep, it was definitely worth it! And I think I speak for many when I say we’re just thankful to Jennifer for finally confirming the salad.