If you’re a fan of the Chicken Cobb Salad from Chick-fil-A, but don’t live close, don’t despair! With this copycat recipe, you can recreate all the delicious flavors of the popular salad right in your own kitchen.
You just might want to double the recipe for the dressing, you are going to want to put it on all your salads!
What is a cobb salad?
Cobb salad is a popular American salad that includes greens like iceberg or romaine lettuce, hard boiled eggs, bacon, tomatoes, cheese, avocado, and meat like chicken, turkey or ham.
Packed with flavors and textures, it’s no wonder this hearty main dish salad makes an appearance on so many restaurant menus!
This recipe is similar to the salad served at Chick fil A, which is probably my favorite fast food salad. But honestly, I like this homemade version even better, especially the dressing!
It is just so much more fresh and flavorful! And of course I love that I can control all of the ingredients.
How to make Chick-fil-a Cobb Salad at home
- MARINATE – Place chicken breast, buttermilk, and pickle juice in a gallon sized ziplock bag. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, but up to 24. Drain off and discard the marinade. Let the chicken sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before cooking.
- ROAST CORN – In a small skillet, heat the butter and corn over medium hot heat until the corn starts to brown. Remove skillet from the heat.
- PREP – Boil and slice the eggs, cut up the lettuce, grate the cheese, and crisp up the bacon if desired.
- DRESSING – Place the ranch dressing, cilantro, lime juice, zest, and avocado in a blender. Blend until smooth. Chill.
- SEASON CHICKEN – Stir together the powdered sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, celery salt, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the chicken breasts.
- COOK CHICKEN – Heat a skillet to medium hot heat. Add the olive oil and chicken. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°. Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing into cubes.
- ASSEMBLE SALAD – On salad plates, divide the romaine and spinach. Top with chicken, roasted corn, grated cheese, bacon bits, sliced boiled eggs, and grape or cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with avocado lime dressing, or just serve it on the side.
If you think you will have leftover, I suggest storing the ingredients separately in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. You can prep the salad a day or two before you will be serving it.
The dressing will last for a week or two in the refrigerator.
PRO TIPS:
- Make sure you leave enough time for the chicken to marinade. For best flavor, start it the day before.
- Don’t overcook your chicken. Use a meat thermometer to ensure that when it reaches 165 degrees, you stop cooking it!
- Homemade ranch dressing is a hundred times better than the stuff in the bottle! That alone can take your salad from “meh” to fantastic! Even the dressing made from a packet of ranch dressing mix will work.
VARIATIONS:
- Instead of cooking your chicken in a skillet, feel free to grill it. Or if you are really in a hurry, just use rotisserie chicken. Still delish!
- If you prefer, you can use breaded chicken. The Just Bare chicken nuggets taste almost exactly like the nuggets from Chick-fil a. You can sometimes find them at Costco.
- Use whatever lettuce your family likes. I’ve also had great results with iceberg, spring mix, romaine, spinach, and a combination of all four of them. You can also toss in some cabbage or coleslaw mix.
- Feel free to use blue cheese, crumbled feta, cheddar, parmesan, or any cheese you enjoy.
- Add or subtract any of the ingredients. Other toppings such as cucumber, carrots, diced peppers, avocado, and croutons are all tasty. Get creative!
MORE TASTY MAIN DISH SALADS:
- Tuna Macaroni Salad
- Doritos Taco Salad
- BBQ Chicken Salad
- Chicken Pasta Salad with Grapes
- Cheeseburger Salad
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Chicken Cobb Salad
Love the chick-fil-a cobb salad with avocado lime ranch dressing? Make it at home for a fraction of the cost! It is simply delicious.
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1/2 cup pickle juice
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 tsp powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/8 tsp celery salt
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing:
- 1/2 cup ranch dressing
- 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1/2 tsp lime juice
- 1/8 tsp lime zest
- 1/4 avocado, chopped
Roasted Corn:
- 2 tsp salted butter
- 1 cup corn (fresh or frozen)
Salad:
- 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 6 cups baby spinach
- 3/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
- 6 Tbsp bacon bits
- 4 large boiled eggs
- 16 grape tomatoes
Instructions
- Combine chicken, buttermilk, and pickle juice in a gallon sized ziplock bag. Chill for 6-24 hours. Drain off and discard marinade. Let chicken sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before cooking.
- For dressing, blend all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Chill until ready to serve.
- To roast the corn, heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add the butter and corn, cook and stir for 6-7 minutes, or until corn starts to brown. Set aside.
- For chicken: Combine the powdered sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salts, and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the chicken breast.
Cook over medium high heat with the olive oil until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, about 4-5 minutes per side. Let sit 5 minutes before cutting into cubes or slices. - While the chicken is cooking, chop the lettuce, sliced the eggs, and grate the cheese. Half tomatoes if desired.
- To assemble salad, divide the lettuce and spinach between 4 plates. Top each with chicken, roasted corn, shredded cheese, bacon bits, sliced boiled egg, and tomatoes.
- Either serve dressing on the side, or drizzle it over each salad.
Notes
-I like to use precooked bacon or bacon bits, then just crisp them up a bit in the microwave before using.
-You can make the dressing, boil the eggs, and roast the corn a few hours or even a day ahead of time.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 632Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 315mgSodium: 1407mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 6gSugar: 7gProtein: 55g
Nutrition is calculated without the buttermilk and pickle juice, because they are discarded.
If you love the cobb salad at chick fil a, I think you are going to go crazy for this salad! Whip it up and let me know what you think. 🙂
Love the cobb salad from Chick fil a!! This salad is just as good or even better, since you can make it fresh & add more of or take out what you want! So yummy!
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