Description
Hearty Cobb salad combines crisp romaine, grilled chicken, bacon, eggs, and blue cheese in a delightful midcentury American classic. Colorful ingredients deliver fresh flavors that make dinner feel like a satisfying culinary adventure you’ll crave again.
Ingredients
Scale
- 6 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast, chopped (grilled or rotisserie)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese (or feta if preferred)
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
- ½ cup red onion, thinly sliced (optional)
- 1 avocado, diced
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- dressing of choice (ranch, blue cheese, or balsamic vinaigrette)
Instructions
- Bacon Preparation: Sizzle bacon in a skillet until golden and crisp, rendering fat completely. Drain on paper towels to remove excess grease.
- Egg Technique: Gently boil eggs in simmering water, creating firm yolks. Immediately transfer to ice bath to stop cooking and preserve texture.
- Lettuce Foundation: Thoroughly cleanse and pat romaine lettuce dry, then slice into uniform ribbons that form a crisp green base for the salad.
- Protein Layer: Season and dice chicken into precise, consistent cubes that deliver tender, flavorful bites throughout the dish.
- Fresh Accents: Slice avocado into clean wedges, protecting from oxidation with a light splash of citrus. Dice tomatoes into vibrant, uniform cubes that burst with freshness.
- Flavor Enhancers: Crumble pungent blue cheese into delicate fragments. Slice red onion into whisper-thin rings that provide sharp, aromatic complexity.
- Final Composition: Strategically arrange ingredients in elegant, parallel rows atop the romaine base, creating a visually striking and texturally balanced salad. Finish with a complementary dressing that harmonizes all components without overwhelming their individual characteristics.
Notes
- Bacon Crispness Key: Cook bacon on medium-low heat to ensure even rendering without burning, creating perfect crispy texture.
- Egg Perfection Technique: Use room temperature eggs and set a timer for exactly 9-10 minutes for the ideal hard-boiled consistency with no green ring around yolk.
- Avocado Preservation Hack: Immediately toss avocado slices in lemon juice to prevent oxidation and maintain vibrant green color for up to 2 hours.
- Salad Assembly Pro Tip: Keep ingredients chilled and separate until just before serving to maintain optimal texture and prevent wilting of delicate lettuce.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Appetizer
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5
- Calories: 380
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 26g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 15g
- Fiber: 7g
- Protein: 30g
- Cholesterol: 180mg