This delicious Cobb Salad combines grilled chicken, smoked bacon, hard-boiled eggs, sweet sun ripened tomatoes, red onions, avocado, and gorgonzola cheese all in a homemade avocado ranch dressing. Summer perfect, this keto friendly salad is just right for those nights when you just do not want to cook or you just want something cool and refreshing.
Complete main meal summer salads are the best. They are quick to come together and quite often several of the ingredients can be prepared earlier in the day. I always cook the bacon, hard-boil the eggs, and mix the homemade ranch dressing in advance to make things easier during the dinner hour. If you like this salad than you must try my chef salad. It is equally delicious.
What is a Cobb Salad?
The story goes that the first Cobb Salad was made by Bob Cobb at the Brown Derby Restaurant in California. It is a main dish salad made with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, crisp, bacon, grilled or roasted chicken, avocado and hard-boiled eggs. There are lots of different kinds of cobbs salads with slight variations like the Barbecue Chicken Cobb Salad and the Mediterranean Cobb Salad.
How to make Cobb Salad
Start by hard-boiling the eggs, cooking the bacon, and mixing up the salad dressing. All of this can be done up to a day in advance. Then marinate the chicken in a little bottled italian dressing for about 30 minutes. Grill the chicken in a preheated grill for about 10 minutes flipping halfway through. Cover loosely with an aluminum foil tent.
Then chop the bacon, slice the red onion, halve the cherry tomatoes, and peel and quarter the eggs. Add the lettuce to a large bowl or large platter. Now slice the grilled chicken and peel, seed and slice the avocado. For best results brush or spritz the sliced avocado with lemon juice to keep it from browning. Next assemble the goodies on top of the salad and sprinkle with the cheese. It is best served promptly while the avocado is fresh and the bacon is crisp.
Recipe notes and helpful tips for Cobb Salad
- Grilled, baked, and rotisserie chicken breasts or thighs work well for this recipe.
- Do not slice the avocado until the rest of the ingredients are cut and ready to go as it browns quickly. Spritz or brush the avocado with lemon juice to keep it from browning too quickly.
- Blue cheese can be substituted for the gorgonzola cheese.
- Use grape, cherry or any sun-ripened sweet tomatoes. Fresh chopped garden tomatoes are always a bonus.
- Cook the smoked bacon until crispy. I love to cook it in the oven on a baking sheet for about 15 minutes at 375 degrees turning halfway through. Then drain on paper towels and chop coarsely.
- For a super quick and easy dressing mix a mustard vinaigrette. Combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, garlic, salt and pepper into a mason jar. Cap tightly and shake to combine. Use approximately 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar.
Dressing choices
- Avocado Ranch
- Blue Cheese
- Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
- Red Wine Vinaigrette
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Cobb Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Avocado Ranch Dressing
- ⅓ cup milk
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ½ avocado smashed and smooth
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives or ½ teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Cobb Salad
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2/3 cup bottled Italian dressing
- 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce mixed greens, watercress, or iceberg
- 6 slices cooked bacon coarsely chopped
- 4 hard-boiled large eggs peeled and quartered
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/4 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 avocado peeled seeded and sliced
- 1 lemon juiced for spritzing or brushing on avocado
- 5 ounces gorgonzola cheese
Instructions
- In small bowl whisk together milk, sour cream, mayonnaise, avocado, garlic powder, onion powder, chives, dill and parsley. Season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the salad.
- Marinate the chicken in the italian dressing for about 30 minutes. Grill the chicken in a 375-400 degree preheated grill for about 10-12 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees; flipping halfway through. Cover loosely with an aluminum foil tent.
- Fill salad bowl or salad platter with greens. Top with bacon, eggs, tomatoes, and red onion.
- Brush or spritz the sliced avocado with lemon juice. Add the avocado to the top of the salad. Slice the cooked chicken and add it to the salad.
- Top with the gorgonzola. Serve with the dressing on the side or drizzled over the top.
Notes
- Grilled, baked, and rotisserie chicken breasts or thighs work well for this recipe.
- Do not slice the avocado until the rest of the ingredients are cut and ready to go as it browns quickly. Spritz or brush the avocado with lemon juice to keep it from browning too quickly.
- Blue cheese can be substituted for the gorgonzola cheese.
- Use grape, cherry or any sun-ripened sweet tomatoes. Fresh chopped garden tomatoes are always a bonus.
- Cook the smoked bacon until crispy. I love to cook it in the oven on a baking sheet for about 15 minutes at 375 degrees turning halfway through. Then drain on paper towels and chop coarsely.
Nutrition
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Kara
I didn’t have a lemon to brush on the avocado, and I omitted the blue cheese, but made everything as directed. Just as tasty as cobb salad from my favorite restaurant! That dressing is the bomb!
Kellie
I love a good cobb salad and this one is spot on! Love that I can mix things up and add extras on a whim.
Katie
This is the salad that I make the most! The combination of these ingredients is one of my very favorites.
Andrea Thueson
Cobb salad is my ultimate favorite. I made this and used blue cheese dressing as recommended, and it was heaven!!!
Jen Rose
Ok we loved this salad, but the dressing is INCREDIBLE!!
Lisalia
Usually I order this at a restaurant and really never thought how easy it would be to make at home. I meal-prepped and made several helpings of this salad and kept the components separate in the fridge. Can’t tell you how DELICOUS and refreshing it was to have a freshly assembled cobb salad for lunch day after day. It’s so easy and SO good. Thanks!
Catalina
I love how rich and delicious this salad looks! Mmmmm…. yummy!
Allyson Zea
Wow this is the perfect traditional cobb salad!!! I loved it!
Jen
This is one of my favorite salads! Totally filling….I mean who doesn’t love anything with bacon?! Even my hubby loved it.
Erin
This Cobb Salad looks absolutely delicious! Yummy!
Vikki
What a beautiful mix of flavors and colors!
Jo
This cobb salad is AMAZING!! Seriously so much flavor and so delicious!
Tara
Yum! This salad looks so good. I bet my family will love this with the avocado ranch dressing.
Biana
Love making Cobb salad in the spring! All that bacon and Blue cheese take it to the next level.
Natalie
I love a good cobb salad & the dressing is my favorite part! It is so good!
Katie
Cobb salad is one of my favorites. Can’t wait to try this one.