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All of a sudden, you hear about it everywhere. But this tasty and easy salad is definitely worth making.
Cobb Salad with Avocado and Chicken
Sometimes I’m amazed at how a seemingly simple salad suddenly gets a makeover and a fancy name—like this one: “Cobb Salad.” I first saw it in delicious magazine, where our friend Jamie Oliver shared a recipe for it. A closer look revealed that it’s not all that different from a regular salad. Then again, what is a regular salad these days? Apparently, it’s a Cobb salad. 🙂
What’s in a Cobb Salad?
The short version: lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, eggs, and chicken.
Except for the chicken, that’s basically the salad we used to make at home all the time. Still, I’m happy to go along with the trend, because whatever you call it, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this salad. In fact, I think it’s delicious—even if I’m not quite used to the fancy name yet.
So, What Exactly Is a Cobb Salad?
Traditionally, it’s a hearty American-style meal salad that includes:
- Lettuce (any kind you like)
- Bacon
- Chicken
- Cucumber
- Tomato
- Eggs
- Avocado
- Chives
- Blue cheese
- Red wine vinegar
Those are more or less the standard ingredients you’ll find. It’s often served “old school” with all the toppings arranged neatly in rows over the lettuce.
In my version, I skip the blue cheese—but you can absolutely add it! I think it would taste amazing in this salad. And if you love blue cheese, make sure to check out the recipes for gorgonzola sauce, gorgonzola pasta and this tomato soup with gorgonzola.
Dressing
There are a few classic ingredients that typically go into a Cobb salad dressing. Of course, this is open to interpretation:
- Red wine vinegar
- Worcestershire sauce
- Lemon juice
- Mustard
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Water
I’m a big fan of mayo-based dressings, so that’s what I used here. Not exactly traditional, but hey—whatever makes you happy, right? Just make a dressing you enjoy.
Is a Cobb Salad Healthy?
Absolutely. It’s packed with wholesome ingredients, so it definitely fits into a balanced diet. That said; it does contain a relative big amount of calories due to the bacon, the eggs, the dressing and the avocado. But it’s still pretty good!
Variations
If you Google Cobb salad, you’ll find tons of versions. That’s part of the fun—it’s easy to customize. Personally, I love using a basic head of lettuce (also known as butter lettuce nowadays). It’s what we always used when I was growing up, since other types just weren’t available then.
That’s my favorite for this salad, but feel free to use baby greens, arugula, curly lettuce, or whatever you have on hand.
Cobb salad
Ingredients
- 150 gram chicken breast
- few slices bacon
- 1 avocado diced
- 100 gram cherry tomatoes quartered
- 1/2 cucumber sliced
- 50 gram baby spinach
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 1/2 head lettuce
- Cress for serving
Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic
- 1/2 tsp dill dried
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- Start by frying the chicken breast. I usually season it with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika, but you can use whatever herbs and spices you like. Meanwhile, fry the bacon and drain it on a paper towel.
- Wash the lettuce, then mix it with the spinach in a large bowl. Add the avocado, cucumber, tomato, eggs, and chicken breast pieces, finishing with the crispy bacon. Sprinkle with cress.
- Make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients together. Drizzle it over the salad. Serve the rest on the side.
Nutrition Information per portion:
Disclaimer:
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
