The Classic Cobb Salad
The iconic Cobb Salad combines chicken breast, crispy bacon, avocado, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, and blue cheese with lettuce and the most delicious homemade vinaigrette. This hearty salad is a meal unto itself!
Servings: 4
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup neutral oil vegetable, canola, avocado, etc
- salt and pepper to taste
For the salad
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts can also use precooked roasted chicken or rotisserie chicken
- 1/2 pound bacon
- 1 head iceberg lettuce outer leaves removed and roughly chopped
- 1 head endive roughly chopped
- 3/4 pound cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 hard boiled eggs chopped or halved
- 1 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 3 tablespoons minced chives
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the dressing
- Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a food processor except for the oil. Turn the processor on and slowly drizzle the oil through the top and blend until emulsified. Taste test and season the dressing with salt and pepper to taste. Note: The dressing can be hand whisked or can also be prepared in a wide-mouthed mason jar with an immersion blender.
For the salad
- Heat a large pot of salted water so that the chicken breasts will be submerged by at least 3 inches of water.
- Once boiling, add the chicken breasts and cover. Bring back to a boil and once it comes back to a boil, remove the pot from the heat and set aside, remaining covered, for at least 20 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and chop into chunks. The chicken can be added to the salad warm or can be cooled before moving on to the salad.
- Cook the bacon in a pan over medium heat until crisp, then place the bacon on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Break the cooked bacon into pieces and set aside.
- Add the iceberg and endive into a mixing bowl. Add half of the dressing and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then place the greens into a large salad bowl or platter.
- Arrange the tomatoes, hardboiled eggs, blue cheese, avocado, bacon, and chicken in rows on top of the salad greens. Top with the chives. Drizzle a bit more of the dressing on top of the salad and serve with the remaining dressing on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
- Servings. Makes 4 large dinner-sized portions or ~6 side salad portions.
- Chicken. If you prefer not to poach chicken, you can use precooked chicken cutlets, roasted chicken, or rotisserie chicken instead.
- Poaching the chicken. Follow the process outlined above and you will have perfectly poached chicken. You can check the internal temperature after letting the chicken sit in the pot for 20 minutes. If it isn't 160°F when checked with and instant read thermometer, place the chicken back in the pot covered for another 20 minutes then check again.
- Dressing. If the dressing is too thick add a couple of teaspoons of water to thin. If too thin, add a bit more olive oil and blend once more.
- Calories. Calorie info reflects using half of the dressing. You will most likely not need all of it.
- Leftovers. Leftovers can be saved for 3 days in the fridge. If you want leftovers, don't dress the salad portion you plan on storing.
Nutrition
Calories: 574kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.1g | Protein: 44.7g | Fat: 41.2g | Saturated Fat: 11.9g | Cholesterol: 469mg | Sodium: 702mg | Fiber: 1.3g | Sugar: 3.7g | Calcium: 243mg | Iron: 3mg
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