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    Home » Recipes » Salads

    Cobb Salad

    Published: Jan 12, 2023

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    Jump to Recipe -

    This easy Cobb Salad comes together in just minutes, using deli chicken - or a rotisserie chicken - for a quick and tasty main dish salad.

    2 bowls of quick cobb salad with rolled deli chicken.

    Classic Cobb salad might just be the quintessential American salad - and I certainly ate my share of this main dish salad when living in the USA.

    Obviously, it was top of my list when planning out main meal type salad options, when I went low carb.

    The origins of the Cobb salad are said to be in the kitchen of the original Brown Derby Restaurant.

    According to various accounts, the owner - Robert Cobb - was rifling through the fridge to find something for him and his friend Sid Grauman to eat, late one night.

    He chopped up some leftovers - including leftover chicken and a hard boiled egg, and added them to his chef salad.

    The next day, Sid asked Bob Cobb to make another original Cobb salad for him, and the rest is history.

    My Easy Cobb Salad

    My Cobb salad recipe diverges from the classic salad in a couple of ways.

    First: while the traditional salad is usually assembled on a large platter or in a large salad bowl, mine is served in individual bowls, rather than on one large serving platter.

    This is largely a matter of both accuracy for per-serving nutrition tracking, and also for the way I prep salads ahead of time - more on that in a minute.

    Secondly, I tend to use deli cold cut chicken, rather than leftover cooked chicken breast.

    Shortly after moving home to Ontario, I had the most fabulous Cobb salad in a local pub.

    It used locally produced deli chicken slices - I’d never tasted deli sliced chicken THAT good.

    It was one of the first instances we had of really everyday, basic foods here just being WAY better than back in Minnesota. The tomato slices as GARNISH at another restaurant blew my mind, right around the same time.

    I don’t tend to have leftover chicken on hand, so I followed their lead and started making my Cobb salads with deli chicken. SO good!

    On the rare occasions when I do happen to have some leftover juicy chicken breast - or rotisserie chicken - I’ll swap that in. It’s all good.

    After the fresh ingredients are prepared - and the individual ingredients lined up on top of my classic salad base - I top it all off with some homemade dressing.

    It’s a simple vinaigrette, and the best dressing to tie all those flavours and textures together, IMHO.

    Anyway, let’s get to it!

    2 bowls of quick cobb salad with rolled deli chicken and a bottle of lemon ranch vinaigrette.

    Ingredients

    This hearty salad is a SUPER basic recipe, and you’ll definitely be able to find all the delicious ingredients in almost any grocery store.

    I tend to look at this in 3 parts - the base salad, the toppings, and the dressing. Some notes for you:

    Base Salad

    While traditional Cobb salad tends to be served in a large bowl, family-style, I prefer to make individual salads.

    I like to meal prep several days worth of salad base bowls on grocery day - some sort of a mix of greens, along with some fairly neutral fresh vegetables - Usually shredded broccoli stems, carrot, green onions, cucumber, and radish.

    1 batch makes 10 salads, so we’ve got a few days worth of base salads to adorn all kinds of different ways. (They tend to last 6-7 days in the fridge.

    It’s a pretty slick way to get a lot of vegetables into our diet, and feels like SO much less work than making full salads individually.

    See my Salad Meal Prep post for full details on how I do it.

    Want to make this salad as a standalone thing?

    You can use a base of salad greens, spring mix, baby spinach, iceberg lettuce, and/or romaine lettuce. I’d add some cucumber and green onions in, for good measure.

    Salad Toppings

    First things first - Cobb salad is usually made with skinless chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken, but I’ve gone a different route: Deli chicken slices.

    I had it this way in a local restaurant a few years ago, and loved the texture and simplicity of it. It’s also a really quick option, so it’s kind of become our default.

    Rounding out the proteins, we need some salty bacon and hard-boiled eggs - more on that in a bit!

    In terms of the vegetables, I add only two to my base salad - juicy tomatoes (grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or sliced medium tomatoes), and a medium ripe avocado.

    If you’re not using a base salad, I recommend adding red onion and sliced cucumbers, at the very least.

    Blue cheese crumbles - particularly Roquefort cheese - are traditional... but I can’t handle the smell of bleu cheese. So, I use shredded cheddar cheese instead.

    How to Bake Crispy Bacon

    I am a huge fan of cooking slices of bacon in the oven - it is SO low effort, and makes perfectly crisp bacon.

    If I know I’ll be making more salads that need bacon over the next few days, I’ll bake it all at once and just chill the extra slices until I need them.

    Here’s how I do it:

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

    Arrange bacon slices on the prepared baking sheet, so that they are very close, but not really touching.

    Bake for 21-22 minutes or so, until the bacon is cooked down and crispy.

    Carefully transfer the bacon out of the rendered fat, and onto a plate lined with paper towels.

    Blot with additional paper towels, and chop up into large bacon bits for use.

    Hard-Cooked Eggs

    We like to hard boil the eggs ahead of time, and chill them until we’re ready to use them.

    We get a pot of water boiling, then use a spoon to gently add place eggs in the water.

    Set the timer for 13 minutes (if it’s not boiling hard, we’ll do 14 minutes), and let it boil til the timer goes off.

    Drain the water off, then run cold water into the pot until the water and the sides of the pot are cool.

    We find that the eggs are easier to peel if you do them right away, and if they’re not SUPER fresh.

    Peel the eggs, run them under cold water to clear off any bits of shell.

    Transfer to an airtight container and chill for up to 2 days.

    Lemon Ranch Vinaigrette Dressing

    I whip up a quick vinaigrette dressing as my default Cobb salad dressing. The ingredients you need for it are:

    Fresh Lemon Juice
    Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    Dijon Mustard
    Dill Weed
    Dried Parsley
    Garlic Powder
    Onion Powder
    Ground Black Pepper
    Salt

    I recommend using an Immersion Blender or Milk Frother to blend this dressing to a thick consistency.

    Want to use a premade or creamy dressing?

    French dressing, a homemade ranch dressing, red wine vinaigrette, or a creamy blue cheese dressing are all good options, depending on your tastes.

    2 bowls of quick cobb salad with rolled deli chicken.

    How to Make Quick Cobb Salad

    The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post. Here is the pictorial walk through, with some more detailed information where necessary.

    Lemon Ranch Vinaigrette

    Add the lemon juice olive oil, dill, mustard, seasonings, and garlic to a measuring vessel, whisk or blend until emulsified.

    Season with salt, to taste.

    Cover and chill until ready to use.

    Note: May need to be re-whisked before serving.

    Also: this makes more dressing than you’ll need for 2 servings, but the nutrition info reflects the entire amount called for.

    A 5 part image showing the vinaigrette being made.

    Salad Assembly

    Uncover and fluff 2 base salads, or divide salad greens between 2 bowls.

    Tightly roll each slice of deli chicken, then slice into pieces.

    A 2 part image showing sliced deli chicken being rolled and cut in half.

    Arrange all salad topping ingredients in a single layer on top of the lettuce / base salads.

    A close up photo of quick cobb salad with rolled deli chicken.

    Serve immediately with the dressing.

    2 bowls of quick cobb salad with rolled deli chicken and a bottle of lemon ranch vinaigrette in front.

    More Main Dish Salad Recipes

    Looking for more healthy salad recipes that are substantial enough to serve as a meal? Look no further!

    Buffalo Chicken Salad
    Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
    Chicken Satay Salad
    Curried Chicken Vietnamese Noodle Salad
    Grilled Halloumi & Peach Salad
    Hazelnut Crusted Chicken Salad
    Honey Ginger Shrimp Salad
    Italian Sub Salad
    Keto Taco Salad
    Mediterranean Chicken Salad
    Salad Meal Prep
    Seafood Cobb Salad
    Seared Tuna Salad
    Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad
    Shawarma Chicken Salad
    Steak Salad with Creamy Wasabi Dressing
    Teriyaki Chicken Salad
    Thai Pesto Salmon Salad

    A close up photo of quick cobb salad with rolled deli chicken.

    Share the Love!

    Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

    Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

    Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and/or a comment below, and maybe even sharing this post on social media!

    2 bowls of quick cobb salad with rolled deli chicken and a bottle of lemon ranch vinaigrette.

    2 bowls of quick cobb salad with rolled deli chicken and a bottle of lemon ranch vinaigrette.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    5 from 1 vote

    Cobb Salad

    This easy Cobb Salad comes together in just minutes, using deli chicken - or a rotisserie chicken - for a quick and tasty main dish salad.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Total Time10 mins
    Course: main, Main Course, Salad
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free
    Servings: 2 Servings
    Calories: 968kcal
    Author: Marie Porter

    Ingredients

    Lemon Ranch Vinaigrette Dressing

    • 3 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
    • ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • 1 ½ teaspoon Dill Weed
    • 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
    • 1 teaspoon Dried Parsley
    • ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
    • ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
    • ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
    • Salt to taste

    Salad Assembly

    • 8 Slices Deli Chicken
    • 2 Hard boiled Eggs peeled and quartered
    • 4 Slices Bacon Cooked till crisp and crumbled
    • 2 Base Salads or 4 cups Salad greens
    • ⅓ cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
    • ½ Ripe Avocado Sliced
    • Cherry Tomatoes halved

    Instructions

    Lemon Ranch Vinaigrette

    • Add the lemon juice olive oil, dill, mustard, seasonings, and garlic to a measuring vessel, whisk or blend until emulsified.
    • Season with salt, to taste.
    • Cover and chill until ready to use.
    • Note: May need to be re-whisked before serving.

    Salad Assembly

    • Uncover and fluff 2 base salads, or divide salad greens between 2 bowls.
    • Roll each slice of deli chicken, then slice into pieces.
    • Arrange all salad topping ingredients over the base salads, serve immediately with the dressing.

    Notes

    This makes more dressing than you’ll need for 2 servings, but the nutrition info reflects the entire amount called for.
    See the post for details on how I do base salads.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 968kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 92g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 56g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 259mg | Sodium: 1025mg | Potassium: 769mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1464IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 191mg | Iron: 2mg

    A close up photo of quick cobb salad with rolled deli chicken.

    A close up photo of quick cobb salad with rolled deli chicken.

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    Marie Porter


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