This Classic Chicken Cobb Salad is anything but boring! Romaine lettuce is topped with grilled chicken, crispy bacon, creamy hard-boiled eggs, avocado, tomatoes, onions and blue cheese. Toss it in a simple honey mustard vinaigrette for protein-packed salad that satisfies, bite after bite.
I love salads! I really enjoy seasonally inspired recipes like this spring salad, beetroot salad and brussels sprout salad but no matter what the season, fully loaded salads are my favorite!
This grilled chicken Cobb salad always fills me up and I find myself excited about each and every bite.
My favorite thing about making this salad is that it is great all year long! The flavors are perfect for a summer BBQ potluck, but the warm temperature of the chicken and bacon make it super cozy when the weather gets cooler.
This salad is naturally gluten-free and can easily be made dairy-free by skipping the cheese!
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Ingredients
Making a Cobb salad doesn't require anything special when it comes to ingredients! The salad ingredients are easily found in the grocery store or farmer's market and the dressing is made with pantry staples you might already have in the cabinet.
- Romaine Lettuce: Romaine provides excellent crunch and stands up well to the dense ingredients in this chicken Cobb salad, but you can substitute this with any kind of lettuce.
- Hard Boiled Eggs: Diced or egg halves are the traditional way eggs are served in this salad, but if you don't care for hard boiled eggs, you can skip them completely or swap out for egg salad, soft boiled eggs or poached eggs.
- Chicken Breast: For a shortcut, try rotisserie chicken in place of the grilled chicken breasts.
- Cherry Tomatoes: I like the ease of cherry tomatoes, but you can use any tomatoes for this salad. Try sweet yellow or Campari for some variation.
- Red Onion: If red onion isn't your favorite, try green or just leave them out.
- Bacon: Fresh cooked bacon gives the salad the best flavor but replace with bacon bits for a time saving trick! Save time by making air fryer bacon or you could also use turkey bacon for a healthier alternative.
- Avocado: You can replace the avocado with guacamole if you are looking for a short cut.
- Blue Cheese: Blue cheese has sharp flavor that really works in this salad but you can also use feta or another cheese.
See the recipe card further down in the post for exact quantities of each ingredient.
Equipment
You don't need any special equipment to make this salad, but here are some things that may be helpful to have:
How to Make a Tasty Chicken Cobb Salad
Making this hearty main course salad is easy and can be done in only a few steps that should only take you about 10 minutes from start to finish.
To make this salad, start by assembling the prepared ingredients. You can separate them out on a plate or bowl as pictured below or serve the ingredients on top of the romaine. You can also toss everything together if you like.
Gather up the ingredients to make the salad dressing and place in a small bowl.
Whisk them all together until well mixed.
Like any homemade dressing, it will settle a bit as it sits, so if you make it in advance give it a shake or stir before serving.
You can serve the dressing on the side in a dressing jar or bowl. When you're ready to eat your salad add a drizzle over the salad.
Variations
While this cobb salad has tons of interesting variety, it's natural to want to change things up once in a while. If you are looking to switch things up try one of these tips:
- Change up the dressing and add this Avocado Lime Ranch instead!
- Swap out the chicken for shrimp or grilled salmon.
- Make a crispy chicken Cobb salad with crispy chicken tenders.
- Swap out the grilled chicken for bbq chicken to make a bbq chicken Cobb salad.
- Try chopping up all the ingredients into super fine pieces to make a chopped salad version instead.
Storage
When it comes to storing any kind of salad, I always recommend storing the ingredients separately if possible.
I love these glass airtight containers. They come in all sorts of sizes to fit the variety of toppings.
I also recommend storing the salad dressing separately in a glass jar or container like this. Before serving, give it a good shake!
When stored separately, the ingredients for this salad will stay nice and fresh for up to 4 days.
Expert Tips and FAQS
For best results add the dressing to the salad just before serving!
To carry this salad on the go for lunch or other meals, place the heavier and sturdier ingredients such as the chicken, egg and bacon on the bottom of the container so they don't mash the more delicate ingredients or even better, transport in separate containers.
Cut the avocado just before serving or give it a squeeze with some lemon to keep it from turning brown.
Cobb salad is typically a "main dish" salad made with chopped salad greens, tomatoes, bacon, chicken, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, blue cheese and other fixings served with a vinaigrette-type dressing. This salad recipe was made famous by the Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood, California.
These two salads do have a little overlap in ingredients but are quite different. A chef's salad typically contains julienned strips of meats and cheeses, egg and a variety of chopped vegetables. Its recipe is quite fluid and can be made in many different ways or served with any type of dressing. A Cobb salad on the other hand is based on a dish served in a restaurant in the 1920s and consists of a more specific list of ingredients and is usually served with a Vinaigrette dressing.
Yes! When eaten in moderation a Cobb salad is good for you. Each ingredient really does have it's own list of benefits. As long as you choose a light healthy dressing, this salad is always a better choice than a burger!
Traditionally, Cobb salad is served with some type of a vinaigrette, but you can certainly serve it with your favorite. I love this sweet honey mustard option in the recipe, but a red or white wine vinaigrette would be lovely too.
More Easy Salad Recipes
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card right below! You can also write a review in the comment section further down the page I always appreciate your feedback. And don’t forget to tag me @freshcoasteats in your photos on social media, I'd love to see your results!
Classic Chicken Cobb Salad
Equipment
- Cutting board and knife
Ingredients
SALAD
- 5 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 2 cups hard boiled eggs sliced or cut
- 2 grilled chicken breasts sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup red onion sliced
- 6 slices bacon cooked and chopped
- 1 avocado sliced
- ½ cup blue cheese crumbled
DRESSING
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ red wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 1 clove garlic crushed
Instructions
- Assemble salad ingredients in a large bowl. You can top the lettuce with other ingredients displayed on top, or toss to combine.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper and garlic until well combined.
- Pour dressing over salad, or serve dressing on the side.
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