Best Cobb Salad Recipe with Chicken and Bacon

Honestly, this salad is so hearty it doesn’t really need side dishes. It stands on it’s own! But a side of bread isn’t going to hurt. (It never does, right? Unless you’re entering your mid-30s and your body is trying to send you salad messages. Eat more saladdd. Less carbs pleeeease. We just want to live)

Cobb salad in a bowl with a gold serving spoon.

If you are feeding kids (or close-minded adults who don’t think salad counts as a meal 😉 you could serve some buttered noodles on the side. Or, if you have a lot of people to serve, you could round out the meal with a pureed soup such as Asparagus Soup or Creamy Zucchini Soup.

Also for kids, it’s helpful to serve the salad in parts. Chicken on this side of the plate, eggs over here, bacon over there, then a side salad with dressing. Sometimes kids have a hard time with a big salad all mixed together, at least my kids do! Not me though, I’m like a monster eating this salad. I get out the biggest bowl I can find and mix it all together, tornado style. It’s HEAVEN.

Chicken Cobb Salad Recipe variations

Make your chicken cobb the salad of your dreams! Here are some ideas for switching it up.

Use spring mix instead of watercress as a salad green, or even try arugula if you love the peppery bite.
Substitute gorgonzola or blue cheese for Roquefort, or try crumbled feta or grilled halloumi (omg can you imagine).
Instead of grilled chicken, bake or fry crispy chicken tenders. Rotisserie chicken is also a great fast option!
Make or buy red wine vinaigrette, the most traditional dressing for Cobb salad, or top it with whatever you like: ranch, Italian, French, balsamic vinaigrette.

cobb salad ingredients in rows in a bowl.

How to store leftover Chicken Cobb Salad

This salad is great for meal prep; you can store ingredients together in individual portions with the exception of the dressing, which you should keep separately to avoid a soggy salad. Otherwise I recommend storing ingredients separately so it’s easy to put together a salad whenever you want one. Don’t freeze this salad, unless you’re really into wilted lettuce.