“cobb” salad

There’s nothing better to celebrate the Fourth of July than an all-American dish like the Cobb salad. Including the trifecta of veggies, proteins, and fats, a true Cobb is usually made up of lettuce, tomato, chicken, bacon, avocado, hard-boiled eggs, and blue cheese. I’ve put the “Cobb” in quotations for this recipe, because while it’s based on the classic Cobb, I’ve made some modifications to fit my taste (and, in full transparency, what was in my fridge at the time).

some alterations

What exactly have I modified here? Well, for starters, I did not include chicken. Unless I’m insanely hungry, I don’t really find a need to use both bacon and chicken in this salad (trust me, it’s plenty filling as is). So in order to preserve the salty crunch, I’ve opted to include just the bacon.

Additionally, instead of using tomatoes, I used radishes and pickled onions instead. For this part of the salad, you can really just use whatever you’d like for that pop of color. Bell peppers and carrots would work well too.

Finally, instead of the blue cheese, I used goat cheese. I don’t necessarily recommend going this route, as I love the pungent and flavorful taste of blue cheese, but if you’re serving a lot of people or you don’t like moldy cheese, this is a great alternative.

OH, and I almost forgot—it isn’t replacing anything, but I also sprinkled on some dried cranberries. I love the hint of sweetness, and it also really just ties the whole salad together with a pretty pink ribbon.

a flexible ingredient list

Romaine lettuce I feel like I rarely use Romaine lettuce in salads. It’s usually mixed greens, arugula, spinach, kale, etc. But Romaine adds a great crunch to this particular salad

Pickled red onions You can either buy pre-pickled onions in a jar or you can make your own! See notes below on how to do that

Avocado Make sure your avocado is nice and ripe below slicing and adding to the salad

Baked bacon This is an ingredient you’ll want to prep ahead of time. You can fry your bacon, but personally I like baking it. It’s easier to wipe off some of the grease, and the strips get nice and crispy in the oven.

Eggs It’s a good idea to hard-boil the eggs before starting the salad, so you have enough time to let them cool and peel them

Radishes This was another personal addition of mine to the salad. You can skip these or include a different veggie, but I love the spicy crunch radishes add (and the pretty pink color)

Dried cranberries The tart sweetness of dried cranberries really helps round out the flavor profile of this salad

Goat cheese crumbles I would recommend getting pre-crumbled goat cheese instead of a log, as it’s easier to sprinkle over the salad

Chives Fresh chives are a great final topping to the Cobb

A classic Cobb dressing is made with just olive oil, vinegar, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. I put my own twist on it by using apple cider vinegar and dried oregano (something I love to add to salad dressings). Feel free to play around with the dressing according to your taste!

⟶ the recipe

"cobb" salad

ingredients

1 head Romaine lettuce, torn into pieces

½ cup pickled red onions

1 avocado, sliced

4 strips of bacon, baked and broken into bits

4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered

4-6 radishes, sliced

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup goat cheese crumbles

Handful of chives, chopped

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper

Prep time

30 minutes

Cook time

0 minutes

Total time

30 minutes

4 servings

instructions

Make the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, oregano, and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside or refrigerate until the salad is ready to eat.

Assemble the salad by filling bowls with a handful of the torn Romaine and then topping with the onions, avocado, bacon, eggs, radishes, cranberries, goat cheese, and chives. Drizzle the dressing overtop, and serve.

⟶ recipe notes

You can either buy them in a jar or you can pickle the red onions yourself. They’re super easy to make and only need to pickle for about 30 minutes until they’re ready to go in the salad
Start by combining 1 cup of apple cider vinegar and ½ cup of water with a teaspoon of salt and tablespoon of sugar in a pot on the stove
Once the liquid is simmering and the sugar has completely dissolved, pour it over a mason jar filled with thinly sliced red onion
Let onions marinate for at least 30 minutes either on the counter or in the fridge (just make sure they’re completely cool before serving)

⟶ modifications

Typically, Cobb salad is made with blue cheese, so you can sub that here if you want instead of the goat cheese
Hold the bacon if you want this dish to be vegetarian. Or use tofu bacon if that’s your jam

⟶ make it ahead

Make and refrigerate the dressing ahead of time to speed things up
I would also cook and refrigerate the bacon ahead of time so it’s cold and easy to crumble when you’re assembling the salad
The hard-boiled eggs are another ingredient you can definitely make ahead of time. Boil a bunch all at once, and then you’ll have some extra to snack on throughout the week!