Classic High Protein Cobb Salad (Printable)
A protein-packed American salad with grilled chicken, bacon, eggs, avocado, and tangy blue cheese dressing.
# What You Need:
→ Protein
01 - 2 large chicken breasts (about 10.5 oz), grilled and sliced
02 - 4 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
03 - 4 large eggs, hard-boiled and quartered
→ Vegetables
04 - 6 cups romaine lettuce (about 7 oz), chopped
05 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
06 - 1 large avocado, diced
07 - 1/2 cup cucumber, sliced
08 - 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
→ Cheese
09 - 1/2 cup blue cheese (about 2 oz), crumbled
→ Dressing
10 - 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
11 - 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
12 - 1 tsp Dijon mustard
13 - 1 tsp honey
14 - Salt and black pepper to taste
# How-To:
01 - Grill or pan-sear the chicken breasts until fully cooked through, then slice them thinly. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until golden and crisp, then crumble into small pieces. Hard-boil the eggs for 10 minutes, cool under running water, peel, and quarter each egg.
02 - Wash and chop the romaine lettuce into bite-size pieces. Halve the cherry tomatoes, dice the avocado, slice the cucumber, and cut the red onion into thin slivers.
03 - Spread the chopped romaine lettuce evenly across the bottom of a large serving platter or wide shallow bowl, creating a full bed of greens.
04 - Neatly arrange the sliced chicken, crumbled bacon, quartered eggs, cherry tomato halves, diced avocado, cucumber slices, red onion, and crumbled blue cheese in separate rows across the lettuce for a classic Cobb presentation.
05 - In a small bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and honey until the mixture is smooth and fully emulsified. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
06 - Drizzle the dressing generously over the arranged salad just before serving. Toss gently if desired, or serve with the dressing on the side for individual portions. Serve immediately while the ingredients are fresh.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The protein hit from chicken, eggs, and bacon together keeps you full for hours without feeling heavy.
- It looks fancy arranged in rows but honestly takes barely any effort to throw together.
02 -
- Do not dress the salad more than a few minutes ahead or the lettuce wilts into something deeply unappetizing.
- Resting the grilled chicken for at least five minutes before slicing keeps it juicy instead of letting all the liquid run out onto the board.
03 -
- Cook extra chicken and bacon so you have leftovers for a second salad the next day without any effort.
- Make double the dressing and keep it in a jar in the fridge for up to a week because it works on almost any salad.