Cobb Salad High Protein (Printer-Friendly)
A protein-packed American salad with grilled chicken, bacon, eggs, and avocado tossed in a tangy vinaigrette.
# What You'll Need:
→ Protein
01 - 2 large chicken breasts (about 10.5 oz), grilled and sliced
02 - 4 slices bacon, cooked until crisp 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
→ 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 freshly ground black pepper to taste
# How to Make It:
01 - Grill or pan-sear the chicken breasts until fully cooked through, then slice them thinly. Cook the bacon in a skillet until golden and crisp, then crumble into small pieces. Hard-boil the eggs for 10 minutes, cool under running water, peel, and quarter each egg.
02 - Wash and chop the romaine lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Halve the cherry tomatoes, dice the avocado, slice the cucumber, and cut the red onion into thin slivers. Set everything aside.
03 - Spread the chopped romaine lettuce evenly across the bottom of a large serving platter or wide shallow bowl to create a crisp foundation.
04 - Neatly arrange the sliced chicken, crumbled bacon, quartered eggs, cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, cucumber slices, red onion, and crumbled blue cheese in separate rows across the lettuce for a classic Cobb presentation.
05 - In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and honey. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is smooth and well emulsified. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
06 - Drizzle the dressing generously over the arranged salad just before serving. Toss gently at the table if desired, and serve immediately while the ingredients are fresh and crisp.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- It delivers 43 grams of protein per serving without tasting like meal prep or punishment.
- The rows of colorful toppings make it look like you spent hours even though the whole thing comes together in about thirty five minutes.
02 -
- Do not dress the salad more than a few minutes before serving or the lettuce will wilt and the avocado will turn an unappetizing brown.
- Letting the chicken rest after cooking instead of slicing immediately keeps every piece juicy rather than drying out on the platter.
03 -
- Warm the chicken slightly before slicing and arranging because cold chicken makes the whole salad feel like it came from a deli case.
- A tablespoon of water whisked into the dressing at the end makes it pour more smoothly and coat the leaves more evenly.