Salads · American
Cobb Salad
Crisp bacon, chicken, egg, avocado and blue cheese over lettuce, with a sharp mustard vinaigrette.
- Hands-on
- 40 min
- Hands-off
- 22 min
- Total
- 1 h 2 min
- Makes
- 4 main-course servings (6 smaller)
- Serves
- 4
40 minutes (30 prep + 10 cook) if the chicken and eggs are already cooked. We add the eggs: about 5 minutes to reach a boil, 12 minutes standing and 5 minutes cooling. You can chop and cook the bacon while they stand. If you also need to cook the chicken, add about 25 minutes (2 min searing, 10 min covered on low, 10 min resting off the heat, mostly hands-off), or use leftover or deli roast chicken. Total = 40 min active + 22 min hands-off for the eggs (5 to boil, 12 standing, 5 cooling).
- easy
- main-dish-salad
- lunch
- classic
- make-ahead
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? Scales easily. The vinaigrette makes about 1 cup and the salad takes 3/4 to 1 cup, so one batch of dressing covers one batch of salad. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: saucepan with lid (for the eggs) · bowl of ice water · skillet with a tight-fitting lid, wide enough for both breasts (if cooking the chicken) · instant-read thermometer · medium skillet and slotted spoon · paper towels · small bowl and whisk · cutting boards (one only for raw chicken) and knife · large straight-sided glass bowl or a platter
Contains: egg · milk
Method
Hard-cook the eggs
Put the 2 eggs in a saucepan in one layer and add cold water to cover them by 2.5 cm (1 in). Heat over high heat just until it boils, then take the pan off the heat, cover it and let the eggs stand for 12 minutes.
Ready when: After 12 minutes off the heat, large eggs have firm whites and firm yolks. A green ring around the yolk means they cooked too long or too hot; they are still safe to eat.
Cool and chop the eggs
Lift the eggs into ice water (or hold them under cold running water) until completely cool, then peel and chop them.
Cook the chicken (skip if using cooked chicken)
Season the 2 chicken breasts. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the skillet over medium-high heat and sear the chicken about 1 minute per side, until lightly browned. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, turn the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes without lifting the lid. Turn off the heat and leave the chicken covered for another 10 minutes, then check it and dice. Use a separate board and knife for the raw chicken and wash them before touching anything else.
Ready when: Check the thickest part with a thermometer: 74°C (165°F) means done, and the meat is white all the way through, not pink or glossy. If it isn't there yet, cover it again and cook on low for 3 to 5 minutes more, then check again.
Otto tried this firstOtto cuts one breast open, sees it looks white and calls it done. The colour isn't proof, so check the thickest part with a thermometer for 74°C (165°F).Crisp the bacon
Cook the 227 g (8 oz) diced bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring now and then. Lift it out with a slotted spoon onto paper towels to drain.
Ready when: Golden and crisp, with the fat melted out of it. Diced slab bacon takes 3 to 5 minutes. Sliced bacon in a crowded pan can take 10 minutes or more, so go by the colour and crunch.
Whisk the vinaigrette
In a small bowl whisk 60 ml (1/4 cup) red wine vinegar, 2 to 3 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp kosher salt and some pepper. Whisk in 160-180 ml (2/3 to 3/4 cup) olive oil a little at a time until smooth. Taste and add salt or pepper if needed.
Prep the avocado
Halve the avocado, remove the pit and scoop each half out of the skin with a large spoon. Dice it and toss it gently with the juice of 1/2 lemon.
Layer the salad
In a large straight-sided glass bowl, layer in this order: the 1/2 head of romaine, the diced chicken, the 2 diced tomatoes, the 1 head of Bibb lettuce, the chopped eggs, the bacon, the 4 sliced scallions, the avocado, the bunch of watercress and the 113 g (4 oz) crumbled blue cheese. Grind pepper over the top.
Dress and serve
At the table, toss the salad gently with about 180-240 ml (3/4 to 1 cup) of the vinaigrette and serve on chilled plates.
Swaps
- Instead of cooking chicken breasts: about 200 g (7 oz, 1 1/2 cups) leftover cooked chicken or deli roast chicken, sliced or diced Cooked turkey works too.
- Instead of red wine vinegar: white wine, balsamic or aged sherry vinegar, same amount With sherry vinegar use the larger amount of oil.
- Instead of blue cheese: Roquefort, Gorgonzola or Oregon blue
- Instead of romaine and Bibb: half butter lettuce and half iceberg, finely shredded
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Make ahead
- The vinaigrette keeps covered in the fridge for up to a week. Hard-cooked eggs keep up to 1 week in the fridge, and cooked chicken and bacon 3 to 4 days. Assemble and dress the salad just before serving. Cut the avocado last so it doesn't brown.
- Storage
- A dressed salad doesn't keep well; dress only what you'll eat. Leftover undressed salad with chicken and egg goes in the fridge within 2 hours and should be eaten within 3 to 4 days, though the avocado and greens soften by the next day.
If something goes wrong
- Grey-green ring around the egg yolks Why: The eggs cooked too long or too hot.
Take the pan off the heat as soon as the water boils and stand the eggs covered for 12 minutes, then cool them in cold water. - Dressing tastes harsh Why: Strong vinegar such as sherry with too little oil.
Whisk in the larger amount of oil, up to 180 ml (3/4 cup).
Good to know
- For the classic look, arrange each topping in its own row over the lettuce instead of layering, then dress at the table (or arrange wedges on each plate).
- Apple-wood smoked bacon gives a richer flavour.
Safety
- Cook chicken to 74°C (165°F) in the thickest part, measured with a thermometer. Colour alone isn't a reliable test.
- Raw chicken: don't rinse it (cooking kills the bacteria), use a separate board and knife, keep raw chicken away from the salad greens, and wash hands, board and knife with hot soapy water after handling it.
- Hot bacon fat spatters. Keep kids back from the skillet and let the fat cool before you throw it away (never down the sink).
- Avocado: halve it on the board, not in your hand, and take the pit out with a spoon.
- Refrigerate perishables within 2 hours (1 hour above 32°C / 90°F).
- Check labels: some bacon, mustards and blue cheeses contain added ingredients or allergens.