North American

Serving

Cobb Salad

Name: Cobb Salad
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: North American
Ingredients: 6 cups chopped romaine or iceberg lettuce; 2 grilled chicken breasts (diced); 6 slices crispy bacon (crumbled); 3 hard-boiled eggs (quartered); 1 large Hass avocado (diced); 1/2 cup Roquefort blue cheese (crumbled); 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved); 1/3 cup red wine vinaigrette

A composed main-dish garden salad packed with varied ingredients.

20 minutes

Serves 4

Dinner/Lunch

9 min prep

15 min cook

Contains common allergens

Egg Dairy

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Good to know

Ready in under 30 minutes

Matched from this dish's own ingredients and timing. Browse more: 30-minute meals

Instructions

6 steps

1
Prepare the ingredients: grill and dice the chicken, cook the bacon until crispy, boil the eggs to a firm center (10 minutes), and dice the avocado, tossing it in a little lemon juice to prevent browning.
2
Select a wide, shallow serving platter or large individual bowls. Spread the chopped lettuce in an even layer across the bottom to create a vibrant green base.
3
Carefully arrange the toppings in neat, distinct stripes or rows across the bed of greens. Order the rows for color contrast: chicken, tomatoes, blue cheese, bacon, avocado, and eggs.
4
Cover and chill the salad in the refrigerator if not serving immediately.
5
Just before eating, generously drizzle the red wine vinaigrette evenly over the entire salad.
6
Toss the salad gently at the table right before serving to evenly distribute the dressing and ingredients.

Cobb Salad — plated and served — Serving moment. How Cobb Salad looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

69/100

Works for many families

Allergen-friendly 80

Kid-friendly 55

Weeknight-easy 86

Budget-friendly 86

Great leftovers 50

Pantry-friendly 33

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

320

Calories

17 g

Protein

9 g

Carbs

24 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

The Cobb salad was created around 1937 at the Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, California, reportedly when owner Robert Cobb raided the kitchen late at night and combined whatever he found into a late-night snack for Sid Grauman. The arranged row presentation became a signature; the salad was photographed and written about so frequently through the Hollywood celebrity media of the era that it spread to menus across the country within a decade. Its defining characteristic is not the ingredients themselves but the disciplined visual arrangement of separate rows.

Listahan note

This version keeps the toppings arranged in distinct rows rather than pre-tossed so each person can combine them at the table, which also prevents the avocado from browning prematurely in contact with the dressing.

Technique cues

The row arrangement is functional as well as visual: it keeps the avocado from browning on the bacon fat, the bacon from softening in the tomato juice, and the eggs from picking up blue cheese flavor before serving.
Roquefort is the traditional cheese for an authentic Cobb; its sharpness and creaminess cut through the richness of the bacon and egg in a way that milder blue cheeses do not.
Red wine vinaigrette is the correct dressing for Cobb because its acidity lifts every component simultaneously; ranch or Caesar compete with rather than connect the toppings.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: Boil the eggs and grill the chicken in advance; bacon and vegetable prep happen while both are cooling.
Make-ahead: All components except the avocado can be prepared and refrigerated separately up to 1 day ahead; slice and add avocado at serving time.
Leftover move: Leftover Cobb components tossed together with extra vinaigrette make a quick grain bowl over farro or quinoa the next day.
Cleanup rhythm: Grill the chicken and cook the bacon on the same sheet pan session to minimize pans; wipe the platter immediately after serving.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

grilled chicken breasts (diced)

Main protein

Purpose: Grilled chicken adds a slightly charred, lean counterweight to the richness of bacon, egg, and blue cheese.

Handling: Season well and grill to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F; slice across the grain and dice once cooled to room temperature.

Adaptation: Rotisserie chicken pulled from the breast is a practical substitute; smoked turkey works as a lower-fat option.

crispy bacon (crumbled)

Fat, salt, and crunch

Purpose: Bacon provides the fat and smoke that give the salad its indulgent quality despite the otherwise light components.

Handling: Cook on a wire rack in the oven at 400 degrees F for 15-18 minutes for flat, uniformly crispy slices that crumble cleanly.

Adaptation: Pancetta crisped in a skillet adds a more Italian-inflected smokiness; turkey bacon works but delivers less fat and crunch.

Hass avocado (diced)

Creamy richness and color

Purpose: Avocado provides the creamy, buttery counterpoint to the acidic vinaigrette and the salty bacon.

Handling: Toss diced avocado immediately in a little lemon or lime juice to slow browning; add to the salad as the last component before serving.

Adaptation: There is no direct swap for avocado in this role; in a pinch, diced fresh mozzarella fills the creamy mild-fat slot.

Roquefort blue cheese (crumbled)

Sharp, funky accent

Purpose: Roquefort's pronounced sharpness and salty tang are strong enough to register against bacon and egg, unlike milder blue cheeses.

Handling: Crumble by hand into irregular pieces rather than chopping; uneven pieces provide pockets of strong flavor rather than uniform mild coating.

Adaptation: Gorgonzola Piccante or any sharp blue cheese works; for a blue-cheese-free version, use feta, which provides saltiness without the funk.

red wine vinaigrette

Acid dressing and binder

Purpose: The tartness of red wine vinegar cuts through the fat of the bacon, egg, avocado, and cheese while tying the components together.

Handling: Dress the lettuce lightly first, then drizzle a little over the toppings before serving so every component has some dressing contact.

Adaptation: Champagne vinaigrette is a milder alternative; avoid creamy dressings, which compete with the avocado and blue cheese.

Technique notes

Warm the bacon slightly before crumbling so the fat is pliable and the pieces break into clean chunks rather than shattering into fine dust.
A chilled serving platter keeps the salad cold longer during the row-arrangement step, which can take 3-5 minutes if done carefully.
Serve the vinaigrette in a small pitcher on the side so each person can dress their own bowl to their preference rather than pre-dressing the whole platter.

Ingredient swaps

Gluten-free direction: This salad is naturally gluten-free as written; verify that the vinaigrette brand used does not contain any grain-based thickeners.
Blue-cheese-free option: Use crumbled feta or goat cheese for a tangy, salty substitute without the strong funk; the overall flavor profile becomes milder.
Vegetarian direction: Replace chicken with grilled halloumi and omit the bacon; add toasted walnuts for crunch and smoked salt to echo the bacon note.

Serve alongside

Crusty sourdough or French rolls
Chilled cucumber soup in summer
Simple garlic bread
Chilled rose wine or Pinot Grigio
Sparkling water with cucumber
Iced green tea with lemon

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Store undressed, un-assembled components separately in the refrigerator for up to 2 days; keep avocado with pit in and lemon juice to slow browning.
Once assembled and dressed, the salad does not hold; eat immediately after plating.
Cooked chicken and bacon can be frozen individually for up to 1 month and thawed for future salad assembly.

Equipment

Wide, shallow serving platter or large individual shallow bowls
Wire rack and rimmed baking sheet for oven-baking bacon
Grill pan or outdoor grill for the chicken
Sharp chef's knife for clean dicing of all toppings

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