13 Superior Cobb Salads That Will Turn You Into a Salad Freak

Megan Porta

May 17, 2024 at 6:08 AM·6 min read

Survey the most hardcore salad haters and even they may agree: a Cobb salad is just too good to pass up. Bacon, cheese, avocado, creamy dressing...is there anything better in salad form? Not really. Then you add grilled chicken into the mix and a hearty helping of greens, plus tomatoes, and you have a meal that feels (and tastes) decadent, but still qualifies as a salad. Pure genius.

If you've never had a Cobb salad before, then you're really in for a tasty surprise with these 13 best Cobb salad recipes. Yet before we delve into the all-star Cobb salads in this list, let's begin with the Cobb basics.

What Is a Cobb Salad?

The base of a Cobb salad involves a mixture of lettuce, any favorite chopped, crunchy vegetables you have on hand, as well as crisp bacon, tomatoes, avocado and chicken, all drizzled with your favorite salad dressing. It's a delicious salad that's versatile and easy to make because you can simply use the ingredients you have on hand to create it.

What's the Difference Between a Cobb and Chef Salad?

The Cobb salad is very similar to a Chef salad because they both start with a big bed of lettuce with a mixture of healthy vegetables. A Chef salad starts with lettuce, but its greens aren't mixed and it typically contains ham along with other ingredients not usually found in a Cobb salad.

Who Invented the Cobb Salad?

Cobb salad received its name from a restaurant owner named Robert Cobb. After a long night of service, Chef Cobb was tired and hungry at the Brown Derby in Hollywood, CA. He threw together a bunch of leftover ingredients into a bowl with lettuce and tossed them together with French dressing.

How to Make a Cobb Salad

If you enjoy spring mix lettuce, use it as your base for the salad. Otherwise, any combination of iceberg, romaine, kale and spring mix works great. The main protein in a Cobb salad is chicken, which can be grilled, pulled from a rotisserie chicken or baked and shredded chicken breasts. From there, it's as simple as chopping some crispy bacon to add a complementary salty touch to the sweet red peppers and Roma tomatoes. Sliced avocados, hard boiled eggs and red onions also make great additions. Finish it off by topping it with your favorite dressing—anything from red wine vinegar to creamy avocado ranch dressing or balsamic vinaigrette.

Best Cobb Salad Recipes

We have a well-rounded selection of 13 best Cobb salad recipes inside this roundup. Now that you know how easy it is to make, you can easily throw one together for lunch or dinner! Whether you're preparing a classic Cobb salad, or you want to experiment with a Cobb salad twist, there are many tasty options to choose from.

Check out the Cobb Salad Pizza in this list, or Stacked Cobb Salad for an aesthetically pleasing presentation of the salad. Cobb salad can also be transformed into a dip, or dive into a Copycat Chick-fil-A Cobb salad! Another fun twist on the classic is to switch up the meat you use—instead of chicken, try lobster, turkey or ham.