High Protein Cobb Salad (Printable Version)
Loaded with grilled chicken, bacon, eggs, and avocado for a filling, protein-packed meal.
# What You'll Need:
→ Protein
01 - 2 large chicken breasts (about 10.5 oz), grilled and sliced
02 - 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
03 - 4 large eggs, hard-boiled and quartered
→ Vegetables
04 - 6 cups (about 7 oz) romaine lettuce, 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 (about 2 oz) blue cheese, crumbled
→ Salad 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
# Directions:
01 - Grill or pan-sear the chicken breasts until fully cooked through, then slice them thinly. Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp, then crumble into pieces. Hard-boil the eggs, peel, and cut into quarters.
02 - Wash and chop the romaine lettuce. Halve the cherry tomatoes, dice the avocado, slice the cucumber, and thinly slice the red onion. Set all vegetables aside.
03 - Spread the chopped romaine lettuce evenly across the bottom of a large serving platter or bowl to form a bed for the remaining toppings.
04 - Neatly arrange the sliced chicken, crumbled bacon, quartered eggs, cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, cucumber, red onion, and crumbled blue cheese in separate rows over the lettuce for a classic Cobb presentation.
05 - In a small bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and black pepper until the mixture is fully emulsified and smooth.
06 - Drizzle the dressing evenly over the salad just before serving. Toss gently if desired, and serve immediately for the freshest flavor and texture.
# Expert Hints:
01 -
- The rows of colorful toppings make it look like you spent hours, but it comes together in about thirty minutes flat.
- Forty three grams of protein per serving means you will actually stay full until dinner, which is more than most salads can promise.
- The homemade red wine vinaigrette pulls everything together without any heavy store bought dressing.
02 -
- Do not dress the salad more than ten minutes before eating or the romaine will wilt and the avocado will get mushy.
- The rows look gorgeous but they are also practical because each guest can see exactly what they are getting before they toss it.
03 -
- Make extra dressing and keep it in the fridge because it stays good for a week and works on almost any salad or roasted vegetable.
- Cook the bacon in the oven at 400 degrees on a sheet pan for fifteen minutes if you want perfectly flat strips without the stovetop mess.