Cobb Salad with eggs, avocado, crisp bacon, cherry tomatoes, edamame, corn, and cheese, tossed with a tangy herb blender vinaigrette that steals the show!
The Best Cobb Salad Recipe
Cobb Salad is always my go-to restaurant order, so I created my ultimate version with eggs, creamy avocado, crispy bacon, and plenty of fresh veggies, all tossed in a flavorful homemade dressing.
This recipe includes marinated chicken (it soaks in the dressing—easy!), but you can swap in steak, shrimp, or skip the meat for a vegetarian twist. However you make it, this salad is packed with delicious possibilities!
Recipe Short-Cuts
This salad takes time, so I use a few shortcuts to speed things up:
- Chicken: Skip it or use rotisserie or leftover grilled chicken.
- Eggs: Buy pre-cooked hard-boiled eggs to save peeling time.
- Bacon: Use pre-cooked bacon and warm it in the microwave.
Cobb Salad Variations
This salad is flexible—swap in any seasonal produce while keeping quantities balanced.
- Greens: Top with microgreens for extra freshness.
- Protein: Chicken, bacon, and eggs add plenty of protein, but you can use just one or two. Try salmon, shrimp, or steak for variety.
- Cheese: Feta or bleu cheese crumbles.
- Veggies: Cucumbers, roasted carrots, peas, onions, green beans, or bell peppers.
Quick Tip
Leftover dressing may separate or solidify—normal for olive oil. Let it sit at room temp for 20 mins, shake, and drizzle over the salad.
Storage
Leftovers?
Cobb Salad doesn’t store well once dressed, so only toss what you’ll eat.
For leftovers, keep the dressing and toppings separate, and store in the fridge for up to 3 days—except avocado.
More Delicious Salad Recipes
- Panzanella Salad with a balsamic dressing
- Mango Salad with a cinnamon yogurt dressing
- Quinoa Fruit Salad with a citrus vinaigrette
- Chipotle Chicken Salad with a chipotle dressing
- Thai Quinoa Salad with a peanut dressing
Cobb Salad Recipe
This Cobb Salad Recipe is packed with crisp lettuce, creamy avocado, salty bacon, eggs, cheese, and the freshest herb dressing. It’s the kind of salad you’ll actually CRAVE!
Equipment
- Grill or grill pan, optional
Ingredients
Herb Vinaigrette Dressing (See Note 1)
- 6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro or fresh basil
- 2-1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup olive oil best quality
- Salt and pepper
Optional Grilled Chicken Addition (See Instruction #1)
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts plus 1/3 cup of dressing
Salad
- 8 cups green leaf lettuce coarsely chopped
- 2 to 3 hard-boiled eggs peeled and diced or sliced, see note 2
- 1/3 cup cooked and crumbled bacon 6–7 slices
- 1/3 cup frozen shelled edamame or sweet peas
- 2/3 cup grape tomatoes halved
- 1 large avocado diced
- 1/2 cup corn see note 3
- 1/2 cup goat cheese or feta or blue cheese
Instructions
- Optional Recipe Shortcuts: Skip the chicken, use rotisserie chicken, or use leftover grilled chicken. Use store-bought hard-boiled eggs. Use microwave bacon.
- Make The Dressing: Add all dressing ingredients plus 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper to a small blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust with more salt, pepper, or sugar as needed. Transfer to a jar and refrigerate until ready to use. Shake well before serving.
- Optional Grilled Chicken: Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally to make 4 thinner pieces. Add chicken to a large plastic bag and pour in 1/3 of the dressing. Seal the bag, pressing out the air, then knead the dressing into the chicken. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. Don’t marinate longer than 4 hours. To Cook The Chicken: Remove chicken from the bag and discard the marinade. Grill chicken over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until it reaches 160°F. Remove chicken from the grill, tent with foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes. Slice or chop into bite-sized pieces.
- Prep The Salad: Peel and dice or slice the hard-boiled eggs. Cook and crumble or finely dice the bacon. Cook edamame or peas according to package directions, then drain and cool. Halve the tomatoes and dice the avocado. Prep the corn (note 3).
- Assemble: Add lettuce to a large bowl or platter. Layer the cooled chicken, if using, eggs, bacon, edamame, tomatoes, avocado, corn, and cheese on top. Drizzle with dressing right before eating, adding as much as you like. Don’t dress any portion you plan to save, since this salad doesn’t store well once dressed.
Final step! Please let us know how it was by leaving a review.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: If adding grilled chicken, make the full dressing recipe and use 1/3 of it as the chicken marinade. If skipping the chicken, you can halve the dressing recipe or make the full amount and store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Note 2: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Gently lower in fridge-cold eggs, reduce heat to a gentle boil, and cook 10 minutes for hard-boiled eggs. Transfer eggs to cold water for 10 minutes, then crack and peel under water, starting at the base.
Note 3: To grill corn on the cob, see my Elote post for detailed directions. Let it cool, cut it off the cob, and add to the salad.
Storage: Store the salad, dressing, and toppings separately in airtight containers in the fridge. Only add dressing to the portion you’re eating right away so the lettuce stays crisp. If using avocado, slice it fresh right before serving.
Nutrition Note: Nutrition information does not include the optional grilled chicken or the 1/3 cup dressing used as marinade.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 444kcal | Carbohydrates: 18.3g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 38.2g | Cholesterol: 115.5mg | Sodium: 345.3mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8.4g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Wow, this Cobb salad looks incredibly refreshing and flavorful! The addition of the herb vinaigrette is genius – I can almost smell the aromatics. Can’t wait to try this out this weekend!
I’m so excited for you to give it a try! Let me know what you think!
PLEASE, please, please, figure out how to coy cat Chic-Fil-A’s Charred Tomato Crispy Red Bell Peppers! Alone, they don’t taste that great but for some reason when you put it in the salad, it tastes just like BACON! (Have you noticed that?) I know there are dried Crispy Bell Pepper packs in the grocery store next to the salad aisle, but none of them taste like Chicks. It may be because of the smoked flavoring and the charred tomato. Thanks! Luv your articles.
Thanks Anne!! I can add that to the list of things to work through! 🙂
Wasn’t sure why there was no egg or avocado, plus there was fried instead of grilled chicken on my Cobb Salad from the drive-thru. A little disappointed. ????
From Chick-fil-A?
This is absolutely the best salad my husband and I have ever had. It’s a weekly request in my household!
I’m so glad to hear this! It’s a favorite at my house too! I hope you continue to enjoy! 🙂
I’m always looking for fresh and healthy salads to put in my lunch box. Looks like this fits the bill. Thanks!
I’m a sucker for a good salad; It’s all we’ve been eating for dinner lately. I’m excited to try this one! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I can never say no to a delicious salad! I love all the flavors you used