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    Traditional Cobb Salad Recipe

    Published January 15, 2021. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

    This traditional cobb salad recipe is loaded with mixed leafy greens, vegetables, cooked chicken breasts, crisp bacon, and blue cheese for the perfect tasty meal!

    We do our best to eat salads, especially after the holidays so we can do a bit of a detox from all of the heavy foods.  If you often find yourselves in the same boat, then definitely check out my Caprese Salad or Caesar.

    cobb salad with chicken and bacon in a bowl

    Cobb Salad

    Cobb salad was created by Brown Derby restaurant owner Bob Cobb during the 1930s in Hollywood, California.  There isn’t anything that makes a cobb salad a cobb salad outside of following the traditional ingredients used, which is exactly what I did in this recipe.  Rumor has it Bob was hungry one night and just started pulling stuff out of the refrigerator wallah, the cobb salad was born.

    Cobb salad and cobb salad dressing over the years has been altered to people’s likings, which is fine, but it does change the traditional nature and intent of the recipe.  You do have the freedom to alter this recipe, but in its original form, it’s absolutely delicious

    What’s the Difference Between a Cobb Salad and Chef Salad

    While the two salads at their core are similar since, they both use lettuce, meat, eggs, tomatoes, and cheese, the ingredients are pretty different, which means the flavors are different.

    In a cobb salad the ingredients are:

    • Romaine
    • Chicory
    • Cress
    • Chicken
    • Bacon
    • Hard-Boiled Eggs
    • Tomatoes
    • Blue Cheese
    • Avocado

    The ingredients you will find in a classic chef salad include:

    • Iceberg
    • Boston Bibb
    • Ham
    • Duck or Chicken
    • Turkey
    • Roast Beef
    • Cheddar
    • Swiss
    • Provolone
    • Hard-Boiled Eggs
    • Tomatoes
    • Cucumbers
    • Olives
    • Avocados
    • Anchovies

    How to Make It

    Follow along with these simple instructions for how to make this delicious cobb salad recipe:

    Prepare and rinse the lettuces and vegetables for the salad.

    washing lettuce in a colander

    Cut the cooked chicken, bacon, and hard-boiled eggs, and set them aside.

    diced cooked chicken breast

    Begin by mixing together the romaine, chicory, and cress in a large serving bowl.

    adding lettuces to a large bowl

    Next, layer on with chopped crisp cooked bacon, cooked chopped chicken, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, and blue cheese.

    adding tomatoes and eggs to a salad

    Serve alongside the homemade cobb salad dressing.

    serving dressing with a salad

    Make-Ahead and Storage

    Make-Ahead: This is salad is meant to be eaten right away, however, if you keep the ingredients separated after they are prepared you can make this 1 day ahead of time.

    How to Store: Keep covered and un-dressed for up to 3 days.  If you can keep all of the ingredients separated and covered it will hold for up to 6 days in the refrigerator.

    Chef Billy Parisi

    chef notes + tips

    • If you have a salad spinner, that would be best when preparing the greens.
    • Other dressings that will work in the salad are balsamic vinaigrette and ranch.
    large cobb salad with bacon in a bowl

    More Salad Recipes

    Be sure to follow me on FacebookYouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest, and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!

    Let's Cook - Chef Billy Parisi

    Video

    Traditional Cobb Salad Recipe

    5 from 7 votes
    This traditional cobb salad recipe is loaded with mixed greens, vegetables, chicken, crisp bacon, and blue cheese for the perfect tasty meal!
    Servings: 6
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes

    Ingredients 

    Instructions

    • Wash the lettuces thoroughly and remove as much water as possible.
    • Combine the lettuces in a bowl and mix until combined.
    • Next, later on as followed: tomatoes, avocado, bacon, chicken breasts, hard-boiled eggs, and blue cheese dressing.
    • Serve alongside cobb salad dressing

    Notes

    Chef Notes:
    • Make-Ahead: This is salad is meant to be eaten right away, however, if you keep the ingredients separated after they are prepared you can make this 1 day ahead of time.
     
    • How to Store: Keep covered and un-dressed for up to 3 days. If you can keep all of the ingredients separated and covered it will hold for up to 6 days in the refrigerator.
     
    • If you have a salad spinner, that would be best when preparing the greens.
     
    • Other dressings that will work in the salad are balsamic vinaigrette and ranch.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 452kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 38gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 228mgSodium: 692mgPotassium: 914mgFiber: 4gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 2925IUVitamin C: 31mgCalcium: 164mgIron: 3mg
    Course: Main, Salad
    Cuisine: American

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