Cobb salad is one of my favorite salad recipes, well that and Caesar salad. It is not the quickest salad to make because there is cooking and chopping involved, but the recipe is well worth making because it is so good! I love this cobb salad recipe and make it a lot. I also love the dressing for cobb salad.
Cobb salad is also a low-carb salad recipe. The distinctive look of cobb salad is really appetizing because the ingredients are arranged in rows. Traditionally, a red wine vinegar dressing is served with cobb salad, but I like to offer a creamy dressing on the side too, in case anyone wants some of that instead.
It is easy to remember the ingredients in this easy Cobb salad recipe if you remember EAT COBB because each letter stands for an ingredient – Egg Avocado Tomato Chicken Olives Bacon Blue Cheese. The black olives are optional and you might find a few on your plate if you order this in a restaurant. I don’t usually use them though.
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Cobb Salad Recipe History
It is thought this salad was created at the Hollywood Brown Derby in the 1930s and it was named after Robert Howard Cobb, the owner.
Another source says Robert Kreis, who was the executive chef there, created it in 1929, the year the restaurant opened. There might be other stories too.
Whichever is true, there is no doubt this is a wonderful-tasting salad with a perfectly balanced flavor. You have crunchy and soft, sweet and salty, creamy and sharp.
When I made it I forgot the chives (oops) as you can see on the pictures, and next time I would include them. I like too cook the bacon first, then the chicken in the bacon grease. I also cook the eggs ahead, then keep those ingredients in the refrigerator and just assemble the easy Cobb salad recipe later on.
Dressing for Cobb Salad
You might wonder whether the dressing for cobb salad is tasty enough since it’s basically just oil, vinegar and garlic. But these flavors are so good together. A simple vinaigrette is perfect with classic cobb salad ingredients.
I think I’d rank cobb salad as my second favorite salad. For me, nothing can beat Arizona’s stetson salad!
Although you might find the calories in cobb salad on the high side, it is certainly filling enough to be a main meal. Plus it’s low in carbs so if you want a keto cobb salad version this one is already perfect!
Mason Jar Cobb Salad
This is a great recipe if you want to make it ahead in mason jars for grab-and-go lunches. With mason jar recipes, you typically add anything liquid first followed by the ingredients, from the heaviest up to the lightest.
So, here I’d add the dressing first and then the chicken, hard boiled egg, avocado (toss it in lime juice or lemon juice first so it doesn’t turn brown too fast) and then the rest, ending with the iceberg and romaine on top.
A mason jar cobb salad is great for meal prep, easy to make, and is always a fantastic lunch. When you’re ready to serve it, simply shake the mason jar and then pour the contents into a bowl and enjoy.
Optional Variations
You can use turkey bacon or beef bacon in place of regular bacon, cherry tomatoes or chopped larger ones (for salad in a jar, cherry tomatoes will stay fresher for longer) or you can add thinly sliced green onion (spring onion) or chopped cucumber if you want.
Feel free to swap the cobb dressing for ranch dressing or thousand island dressing, or use a different type of lettuce or baby kale or arugula, or even a handful of spring mix.
Easy Cobb Salad
Cobb salad features bacon, chicken, blue cheese, avocado and more, all chopped and arranged in rows. This salad is colorful and attractive and the flavors blend well.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1/2 chopped bunch watercress
- 1/2 shredded head iceberg lettuce
- 1/2 chopped head romaine lettuce
- 1 cubed, cooked chicken breast
- 3 hard-boiled eggs, yolks and whites chopped separately
- 4 oz (115g) crumbled Roquefort or other blue cheese
- 6 chopped cooked bacon strips
- 1 cubed avocado
- 2 chopped fresh tomatoes
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons minced chives
Dressing for Cobb Salad
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 garlic clove
- Pinch each of salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Put the dressing ingredients in a blender and puree to make a smooth dressing.
- Arrange the salad leaves on chilled plates.
- Top with the bacon, blue cheese, avocado, chicken, egg white, egg yolk, tomato in rows.
- Drizzle with some of the dressing and serve the rest on the side.
- Sprinkle the chives on top.
Notes
- You can make this an hour or so in advance, and keep it in the refrigerator. Don’t add the cobb salad dressing until just before serving.
- If you want to use ranch dressing instead of the oil and vinegar dressing, go ahead.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 570
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 717mg
- Fat: 49g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 37g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 13g
- Fiber: 7g
- Protein: 22g
- Cholesterol: 184mg