A classic Cobb salad is a meal you can feel good about. It’s filling yet light and has all the nutrients you can ask for in a healthy meal.
This classic Cobb salad recipe is a very basic version topped with a creamy ranch dressing. Traditionally, you would see blue cheese instead of cheddar and a vinaigrette instead of creamy ranch dressing.
The combination of these changes makes for a simple Cobb salad that hopefully helps you use up some leftovers from the fridge.
I happen to have bacon bits, a hard-boiled egg and some chicken thighs in the fridge from this week’s meal prep so this truly was a dump salad for me.
Preparing a Classic Cobb Salad
Ingredients
Produce
Iceberg lettuce: Iceberg lettuce is also known as crisphead lettuce. It comes in what is called a head. It is typically a vibrant green colour and although the outer leaves can be quite soft, the inside is much more crisp.
Grape tomatoes: Tomatoes are actually a fruit, despite most people believing them to be vegetables. Grape tomatoes are a type of small and usually oval tomato. They are meatier than cherry tomatoes but not as sweet.
Cucumber: Cucumbers are the fruit of a creeping vine plant. They are often grown on trellises, in cool climates in greenhouses and as a field crop in warmer areas. There are many different varieties of cucumbers, with the smaller varieties most often used for pickling. Hence the name pickling cucumber.
Meat
Chicken: Use boneless skinless chicken thighs for this dish. They are easy and quick to cook and keep their moisture well.
Bacon bits: Bacon is salt cure pork from different cuts of the back. It is typically sold in slices. There are also non-pork alternatives such as turkey bacon that can also be used.
Dairy
Cheddar cheese: I like to use old cheddar in this recipe to add a bold flavour. The longer the cheese is aged the sharper the flavour will be. Medium cheddar will also work as well.
Egg: Eggs are laid by many different animals but chicken eggs are what we use in this recipe. Eggs provide protein, fat and many other nutrients and therefore are a healthy part of our diet. Here they are used as a binder.
G&K Ranch Dressing: This simple dressing with fresh lemon and herbs is the perfect addition to any salad, bowl or wrap. It’s versatile and keeps very well in the fridge.
How to Make Classic Cobb Salad
This salad is very basic and just requires some chopping skills.
If you don’t have the cooked ingredients already prepped start with those.
To make the chicken simply follow our Perfect Baked Chicken Breast recipe. You can cook chicken thighs using the same method.
In the meantime, chop a couple of slices of bacon into small squares and cook on medium heat in a small pot
. A pan will work too but there is less splatter with a pot. Cook until crispy.And lastly, boil an egg. Place the egg into boiling water for 9 minutes at fridge temperature, or 8 minutes at room temperature.
Also, if you don’t have ranch dressing already handy, make it now by following our quick and easy ranch dressing recipe.
Step 1: Chop the veggies
Start by chopping the lettuce, if you are using a head of lettuce rather than prepackaged greens. Wash the chopped lettuce and dry it well before moving to your serving bowl.
Next, wash the tomatoes and cucumbers and dice them. I cut the cucumber into four then slice. For the tomatoes, I cut the grape tomatoes into 12 pieces.
Step 2: Prep the protein
Once the chicken is ready, dice it into small pieces. Cut the egg into 8 wedges and grate the cheese on the coarse grater.
Step 3: Plate the salad
A cobb salad just isn’t a classic Cobb salad if it’s not plated nicely. There are different ways that you can plate a Cobb salad but the most common is to line all of the veggies and protein in strips on a bed of greens.
I have played around with different patterns so feel free to step out of the norm.
Substitutions
Chicken: This is the basic protein option for a Cobb salad but its definitely not the only one. If you want to make this salad vegetarian try adding tofu instead, see our FAQ below for details on how to prepare the tofu. You can also keep it simple and use canned chickpeas or lentils. Simply rinse and add as much or as little as you’d like.
Tomatoes: Tomatoes are tomatoes. Sure there are over 10,000 varieties across the world but chances are that whichever variety you have in your fridge will be great in this salad.
Cheddar cheese: Cheddar is a simple and classic choice and an ingredient you probably have readily available. If you want to elevate your Cobb salad add blue cheese or gouda to add an extra pop of flavour. Although if you are using blue cheese dressing I would stick to a milder flavour cheese.
Iceberg Lettuce: You can use any greens that you like but the crunch of iceberg lettuce or romaine hearts add the perfect balance
G&K Ranch Dressing: Some might say that a blue cheese dressing is the only way to accent a cobb salad and who am I to argue? Blue cheese, Italian or even a sweet maple Dijon dressing would be perfect for this chopped salad.
Serving Classic Cobb Salad
When you are serving cobb salad it looks very pretty when plated in a nice pattern. With that said, once all the ingredients are combined this classic Cobb salad turns into a basic chopped salad. Add all the ingredients to a larger bowl, mix everything well to coat the ingredients in the dressing and serve as an appetizer. One serving will be plenty for 3-4 people as an app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you make Cobb salad vegetarian?
The short answer is yes! Here is the most delicious way to eliminate the meat and still have a delicious classic Cobb salad.
Replace the chicken with Tofu. Pat the tofu dry, cut into cubes and season with G&K All-Purpose Spice. Then fry on a greased pan for a few minutes.
Next, instead of bacon use salad topper. This is a mix of toasted sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries. This delicious mix will add a wonderful flavour to your salad and some very healthy nutrients.
Let us know in the comments if you have any other questions. And if you like this recipe be sure to leave us a five-star rating below.
Are you looking for dinner ideas? Check out our recipes:
Classic Cobb Salad Recipe
Equipment
- Knife
Ingredients
- 2 cups iceberg lettuce (1/4 head) (note 1)
- 2 oz grape tomatoes (approx. 6 grape tomatoes)
- 1.5 oz cheddar cheese
- 3 oz cucumber
- 2 oz chicken (note 2)
- 1 oz bacon bits (2 tbsp)
- 1 egg (hard-boiled)
- 2 tbsp G&K Ranch Dressing
Instructions
- If you don’t have the chicken, egg and bacon bits ready you will have to start with those. Dice the bacon and fry in a small pan until it reaches your desired crispness. Bring water to a boil and gently lower the edd into the pot.2 oz chicken, 1 oz bacon bits, 1 egg
- Next, chop the iceberg lettuce then wash and dry it.2 cups iceberg lettuce
- Now wash and dice the tomatoes and cucumber.2 oz grape tomatoes, 3 oz cucumber
- Then grate the cheese.1.5 oz cheddar cheese
- Once the egg is cooked and cooled cut it into 8 wedges.1 egg
- To plate the salad, place the greens in a pasta bowl, then add all of the other ingredients in a pattern of your choice. Finally, top with ranch dressing.2 cups iceberg lettuce, 2 oz grape tomatoes, 1.5 oz cheddar cheese, 3 oz cucumber, 2 oz chicken, 1 oz bacon bits, 1 egg, 2 tbsp G&K Ranch Dressing
- TIP: You can turn this into a yummy chopped salad by mixing all the ingredients with the dressing. It makes a great appetizer!
Notes
Note 2: You can use rotisserie chicken here or simply bake chicken breasts or thighs using this recipe: Perfect Bakes Chicken Breast
