Easy Chicken Cobb Salad with the best homemade Cobb Salad Dressing! This protein-packed salad is a meal in itself loaded with crisp lettuce, juicy tomatoes, chicken, bacon, boiled eggs, creamy avocado, and crumbled blue cheese.
You will want the easy Balsamic Vinaigrette on all of your salads. Watch the video tutorial below and you will be craving this Classic Cobb Salad.

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Chicken Cobb Salad Recipe
The original Cobb Salad was developed by Bob Cobb in 1937 for his Brown Derby Restaurant in Los Angeles. It has become a famous American dish and is similar to a Chef’s Salad. It starts with a bed of green lettuce with rows of ingredients arranged over the top just like we did in our Salmon Cobb Salad, or Shrimp Cobb Salad, and it is served with a vinaigrette dressing.
Cobb Salad Video Tutorial
I hope this Chicken Cobb Salad recipe becomes a new favorite salad for you. If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to our Youtube Channel and make sure to click the bell icon so you can be the first to know when we post a new video.
What’s In a Cobb Salad?
This is one super satisfying salad. Since it has so much protein, you can eat it as a main course or as a side salad.
- Chicken – We love using Baked Chicken Breast or our juicy Instant Pot Whole Chicken, but a store-bought rotisserie chicken works great to save time
- Bacon – try air fryer bacon or crispy oven-baked bacon. You could also sautee bacon in a skillet.
- Eggs – a great way to add more protein to the salad. Use hard-boiled eggs or Instant Pot Boiled Eggs.
- Lettuce– chopped romaine bulks up the salad nicely
- Tomatoes – add a juicy sweet bite – you can use just about any tomatoes (see variations below).
- Avocado – Adding an avocado always elevates a salad!
- Cheese – blue cheese is classic to a cobb salad but you can swap it out if you prefer (see variations section for ideas).
- Onion – a little red onion goes a long way but adds tons of fresh vibrant flavor
- Parsley – it’s an optional but very nice garnish that makes the salad taste a little fancier.

Variations
- Protein – you can use a variety of meats here which is why we have everything from a Salmon Cobb Salad to Shrimp Cobb Salad. We also have a delicious Steak Cobb Salad in my debut Cookbook.
- Cheese – The cheese of choice for the original Cobb Salad is blue cheese. We used a gorgonzola blue cheese but a Roquefort or other blue cheese would work as well. If you aren’t a fan of blue cheese, a crumbled feta works great.
- Lettuce – iceberg is the classic option, but you can substitute it with chopped iceberg lettuce or even some green lettuce.
- Tomatoes – I love using cherry tomatoes, but grape tomatoes or even diced heirloom tomatoes would work great here.
What is the Best Cobb Salad Dressing?
A vinaigrette is the classic dressing for Cobb Salad. We use a homemade balsamic vinaigrette here. It’s one of our most loved dressings and the same one we use for Beet Salad and Autumn Chopped Chicken Salad.
If you want to substitute the dressing, try the Red Wine Vinaigrette from our Greek Pasta Salad. A classic Creamy Ranch Dressing, Avocado Ranch, or Jalapeno Ranch would also work well. Note: if you are using a creamy ranch-based dressing, I would recommend using feta cheese instead of blue cheese.

How to Make Cobb Salad
- Pre-Cook Everything – Cook your chicken, bacon, and eggs and set them aside to cool (see all of our make-ahead tips below).
- Chop your Lettuce, rinse and spin it dry (a salad spinner is such a time saver!), then arrange it on a large shallow platter.
- Arrange toppings in rows – this makes for such a beautiful presentation. Sprinkle finely chopped parsley over the top.
- Make the Dressing – shake it up in a mason jar and drizzle over the salad just before serving.

Make-Ahead
You can make the salad and the dressing 2-3 hours ahead of your dinner; just keep them covered and refrigerated separately. Otherwise, the dressing will start to soften the vegetables. Here are some make-ahead tips:
- Dressing – make this in a mason jar so you can shake it well just before serving in case it separates. Serve it right out of the mason jar.
- Lettuce can be rinsed and dried 2 days ahead (a salad Spinner works best), then refrigerate until ready to use.
- Avocado should be sliced shortly before serving since avocado tends to discolor when it comes in contact with air.
- Chicken Breast can be pre-cooked and chilled
- Bacon can be browned ahead. Drain on paper towels and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Eggs – Cook hard-boiled eggs and refrigerate for several days until ready to use.

This Chicken Cobb Salad is easy to assemble but sure looks stunning when served. Everything about this salad is good! This homemade version blows the Chic-fil-A Cobb Salad and Cheesecake Factory’s Cobb Salad out of the water.
More Top-Rated Salad Recipes to Love
- Caesar Salad
- Avocado Chicken Salad
- Beet Salad
- Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad
- Avocado Corn Salad
- Chickpea Salad
Cobb Salad with the Best Cobb Salad Dressing

Ingredients
Chicken Cobb Salad Ingredients:
- 6 oz bacon, (6 slices) chopped and browned
- 1 medium head romaine lettuce, 5 cups chopped, rinsed and dried
- 2 cooked chicken breasts, *
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 large avocado, sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled (or feta cheese)
- 2 Tbsp parsley, finely chopped
Cobb Salad Dressing:
- 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Bake, Air Fry, or Sautee bacon on a skillet.* Cook 2 hard-boiled eggs, chill in ice water then peel and quarter the eggs. C
- Chop, rinse and spin dry romaine lettuce and arrange on a shallow platter.
- Arrange the remaining salad ingredients (chicken, eggs, avocado, tomatoes, onion, blue cheese, and bacon) in rows over the salad, then sprinkle the finely chopped parsley over the salad.
- Transfer dressing ingredients to a mason jar and shake like crazy. Drizzle over salad just before serving or let guests add their own dressing to taste.
Notes
*To Sautee bacon, set a skillet over medium heat and cook bacon until browned and crisp on both sides. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to cool then crumble.
What garlic press do you use? I didn’t see it in your shop
Love your videos!
Hello Dana, here’s the Garlic Press from our shop.
I’m looking for the salad spinner link please
Hi Jackie, we used this salad spinner here.
Made the Cobb Salad for dinner tonight. It was delicious. Such a nice change from a regular tossed salad or Caesar salad. Will definitely make this again and will try it with your Avocado Ranch dressing recipe.
Sounds good, Debbie! Thank you for giving this recipe great feedback.
Love your video’s & recipes.
Thank you!
YUM!!! Thanks so much for this recipe Natasha! I am a lazy cook, so salads are not something that frequent my menu… That being said, I opted to make this with only the chicken, lettuce, bleu cheese, and avocado. The homemade dressing was honestly so good that I’m now inspired to put the extra effort into making bacon and egg to go into it next time! Thanks again for making such a yummy salad that even a lazy cook likes
So wonderful to hear that loved this recipe! I hope you enjoye every new recipe that you will try.
Thank you. Your recipes are special. And you have incredible artistic designing way .I like watching your kitchen
Thanks for your good comments, I appreciate it!
This was such a pretty and tasty salad! We will definitely make it again. I’d totally make for a party, too.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
This was so yummy! I could keep eating and eating it. I don’t usually do dressing but this dressing was perfect. My husband even was like hey you’re eating your salad with dressing. Haha. He even said this is one of your best meals in a while. I said thank Natasha. We are doing gluenten and dairy free so it’s been interesting. But this was a meal that gives us hope that we can do this diet. I just had to hold the blue cheese but it was still so yummy.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review Maria!
I love Cobb salad, but really need a great recipe for a blue cheese/buttermilk dressing. I like it with garlic and slightly sweet…any help?
Hi Chris, I don’t have anything like that.
CHRIS: That sounds like a winner with this salad. I love Blue Chz Dressing also. If you don’t have a recipe, try Ken”s Light Blue Cheese Dressing. It’s really good and lighter in fat than regular.
Great video
You are a joy to watch. You make
food prep fun and accessible to everyone.
Can I get link to salad spinner? Mine is a dud
Thank you
Keep cooking!
Thank you for watching and for your compliment, Pat. Here’s the Salad Spinner that we used.
Q
Can’t find the link for the salad spinner.
Hi Diana, here is the salad spinner we used.
Best salad in my life!
Thank you for the wonderful review! Appreciate it.
Love your recipes!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m so glad you’re enjoying our recipes.
Your salads look so yummy,Im wondering where I can get a salad spinner like urs,I need one badly and price please. Im in canada
Thank you! Here’s the salad spinner that I always use.
What is the size of the large platter you make this salad in? I need to purchase one and would like it to be large enough. Thanks
Hi Gail, that is a 15×10 platter. I hope you love the cobb salad!
Made this Cobb Salad a few times but yesterday had it for a dinner of 8. Rave reviews. So gave the recipe to all including your website.
This recipe first caught my eye of the photo. I/we eat with our eyes. So glad and this dressing is a staple, so easy to shake, shake, shake. Thanks so much.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review Lynn!
Natasha, you never disappoint. This Cobb salad is a winner for sure.
Thank you for your great feedback, Albert!
Can you make the dressing and keep in the fridge? If so, how long does it last?
Hi Cara, our dressing hasn’t lasted more than a day to advise but I imagine it will last a few days.
Such a great salad! I grabbed a rotisserie chicken and Costco yesterday and made it for dinner, so easy and the dressing got so many compliments! Thanks for another great recipe! Q:how would you store left over dressing? I think I want to make this dressing for other salads too, not just this Cobb salad.
Thanks for your great feedback! To maximize the shelf life of leftover stuffing, refrigerate in covered airtight containers. When reheating stuffing, heat to a minimum internal temperature of 165 °F before serving. To further extend the shelf life of stuffing, freeze it; freeze in covered airtight containers or heavy-duty freezer bags.
I think she meant the balsamic dressing for the Cobb salad…
Balsamic vinegar gives it that oomph! I use it on Spinach Salad and almost everything. Thanks Natasha.
You’re welcome Lynn! Thank you for that wonderful review!
What is the name of the salad spinner and where can I get it
Hi Angelea, our favorite is this OXO Salad Spinner.