This filling Summer Cobb Salad is loaded with grilled chicken, hard boiled eggs, corn, bacon, avocado, and goat cheese. Dressed in a red wine vinaigrette, this salad becomes the perfect easy lunch, light dinner, or potluck side dish!
There’s no room for boring in this Chicken Cobb Salad recipe. Filled to the brim with color and the most savory, satisfying toppings, this salad is far from average.
This robust, loaded chicken cobb salad is fit as the centerpiece at any potluck, shower, celebration, family dinner, or summer party you’re hosting. I loaded it with all kinds of good stuff, like grilled chicken, delicate hard boiled eggs, and salty, smoky bacon all on a bed of fresh summer veggies. There’s even room for more, so feel free to get creative!
All of the fresh flavors and bright colors in this salad just scream summer. Thanks to the easy cobb salad dressing, every bite tastes bold, tangy, vibrant, and creamy. Cobb salad is an essential piece to every summer get-together, just like this Blackberry Fool dessert and Grilled Steak with Burrata!
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Chef salad vs. cobb salad
When they’re side by side, chef sand cobb salads have a lot of things in common. Both feature a variety of fresh veggies, can be served as a main dish, and are traditionally topped with a vinaigrette. The main differences come from the complexity of the ingredients and the presentation.
Chef salads are typically made with simple ingredients, like chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, cheddar cheese, and ham. Cobb salads on the other hand feature more high-end ingredients like bacon, chicken, hard boiled eggs, avocado, and “fancy” cheeses. All of these toppings are lined in rows or simply placed on top of a cobb salad, making for an exciting presentation.
What goes on a chicken cobb salad?
Most cobb salad recipes start with romaine lettuce before layering on the rows of sliced chicken breast, corn, bacon, hard boiled eggs, and avocado. To give my recipe some extra flare, I added sugar snap peas, radishes, chives, goat cheese, and a tangy homemade vinaigrette.
I find this combination of fresh and filling ingredients makes this exciting summer salad totally filling and satisfying. There aren’t many rules when it comes to cobb salad, so feel free to add more toppings or mix things up!
Chicken cobb salad dressing
This hearty chicken cobb salad is best served with a lighter, tangy vinaigrette. My homemade cobb vinaigrette features sharp red wine vinegar and spicy Dijon mustard to help balance all of the other flavors and textures nicely.
If a lighter vinaigrette isn’t your thing, try pairing this chicken cobb salad with a creamy dressing. My green goddess dressing, blue cheese dressing, and ranch dressing would all pair very well.
How to assemble it
Start by grilling the chicken and corn at the same time (you can do this on an outdoor or indoor grill). Once they’re both done, let them rest for a few minutes before cutting the chicken into bite-sized pieces and slicing the kernels off the ears of corn.
While you wait for the grilled chicken and corn to cool down, make the dressing by blending the ingredients (except the oil) in a blender. Slowly drizzle in the oil as the blender runs to it can fully incorporate.
Combine the lettuce and veggies in a bowl and drizzle the dressing on top. Toss to coat, then divide the salad veggies into separate bowls. Top each bowl with the chicken, bacon, eggs, chives, and goat cheese, then enjoy!
Variations
Looking to step up your chicken cobb salad game even further? Any of these variations would be delicious:
- More flavor – Sub the grilled chicken breast for something a little more flavorful, like my mango chicken or chicken with peanut sauce.
- Pork belly – Try swapping out the bacon for some smoked pork belly or crispy air fryer pork belly.
- Crispy Prosciutto – Try topping your salad with some Crispy Prosciutto.
- No time to grill? Swap the grilled chicken for shredded chicken or sous vide chicken breast instead.
- More veggies – Add as many veggies to the salad as you like, such as red onion, cherry tomatoes, celery, carrots, arugula, cucumbers, kale, or green onions.
What to serve with it
Wine pairings
- Look for a fresh, fruity white wine like a Gewurztraminer or a Sauvignon Blanc.
More salad recipes
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Full Recipe
Summer Cobb Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 2 ears corn (husked)
- 6 slices crisp bacon (chopped)
- 3 hardboiled eggs (halved)
- 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 avocado (diced)
- 1 cup sugar snap peas
- 6 radishes (thinly sliced)
- 2 Tablespoons chives (finely chopped)
- ½ cup goat cheese (crumbled)
- Kosher salt and pepper (to taste)
Dressing:
- 1 Tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic (finely grated or minced)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Heat your grill to medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place chicken and ears of corn on grill. Grill corn until slightly charred. Grill chicken 5 minutes on each side or until done. Let rest 10 minutes and then thinly slice chicken and cut kernels off ears of corn.
- Meanwhile, prepare your dressing. Combine all ingredients except the oil in a blender and blend. Slowly, with the machine running, add the oil and blend to incorporate.
- Combine veggie blend, avocado, grilled corn, snap peas, and radish in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing; toss gently to coat. Arrange about 2 cups greens mixture on each of 4 salad plates. Top each serving with chicken, bacon, egg, chives and goat cheese.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2017. It was updated in 2021 to add new photographs and information. The recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
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