California Cobb Salad with Bacon Croutons and Basil Vinaigrette

Everyone thinks that Southern Californians eat a lot of salads, and honestly, that’s fair. We do eat a lot of salads around here, so we’re always thinking of new ways to make them fun and exciting. This giant California Cobb Salad is our take on a classic and regional favorite. It has all the ingredients you’re used to eating in a Cobb Salad (chicken, bacon, hardboiled eggs, tomatoes, gorgonzola, avocados, and green onions), and a few new ones as well (basil dressing and bacon croutons). 

It may be based on a traditional salad, but this version is anything but basic! 

Why We’re Obsessed with this Salad

• Chock full of California flavors. When we think of California food, we think of bright and fresh flavors, with ingredients like citrus, avocados, herbs, leafy greens, tomatoes, and anything locally grown. 
• Fit for a crowd or just a few hungry and salad-obsessed adults. This salad can be scaled up or down to feed more or fewer people. The standard recipe has 6 entree-sized servings, but if you’re having this as a side dish or bringing it to a potluck with many other options, it’ll feed more people. 
• A bright green dressing that’s bursting with herby flavor. Red wine vinaigrette is traditional in Cobb salads, but we like the fresh lemon and basil flavors in this basil vinaigrette.
• Two words: bacon croutons. Do we need to say more?

What is a Cobb Salad?

A Southern California classic, the Cobb salad is believed to have been created by Robert H. Cobb at his Los Angeles restaurant, the Brown Derby, according to the Institute of Culinary Education. The legend goes that Mr. Cobb was hungry after a long day at the restaurant, so he decided to make himself dinner with whatever he could find in the fridge. He allegedly grabbed lettuce, hardboiled eggs, bacon, chicken, tomatoes, avocados, blue cheese, and tossed it all with a red wine vinaigrette. 

The result was a salad that sums up our view of California-style food: casual, fresh, and packed with flavor. 

Ingredients in This California Cobb Salad

• Basil Vinaigrette – this blended, bright green dressing is made with fresh basil, lemon, honey, mustard, olive oil, and salt and pepper. It’s tangy and herby and a little sweet, and it gives great balance to this loaded salad. 
• Bacon croutons – yes. BACON croutons. Made with day-old bread (baguette or ciabatta are our favorites) and rendered bacon fat, they’re crunchy and savory and super good. 
• Lettuce – romaine lettuce works best here. It’s leafy with just the right amount of crunch. 
• Cooked chicken – cooked chicken breasts are our preferred option in this salad. You can use rotisserie or other pre-cooked chicken (store-bought or homemade). 
• Bacon – we recommend using pork bacon, but if you don’t eat pork, turkey is another good option. Note: due to its lower fat content, turkey bacon won’t produce much oil, so you will need to use olive oil for the croutons instead of the bacon fat, if using turkey bacon. 
• Gorgonzola cheese – we love the milder blue cheese flavor of gorgonzola in this salad. 
• Avocado – the creamy texture of avocados gives this salad richness and depth. 
• Tomatoes – any tomato will do, but we like using baby heirloom tomatoes for their size and color variation. 
• Green onions – these give the salad a mild allium flavor without the bite of red or yellow onions.
• Hard boiled eggs – eggs add extra protein and rich flavor.

How to Make This California Cobb Salad

STEP 1: Cook the bacon. Place the bacon in a cold frying pan and turn the heat on to medium. Cook for about 8 to 12 minutes for thick cut bacon (if using thin cut, it’ll take less time), flipping over every couple of minutes . Remove bacon from the pan and place onto a paper towel lined plate. Set aside the rendered bacon fat to use on the bacon croutons later. Once the bacon has cooled, roughly chop it.

STEP 2: Bake the bacon croutons. Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the cubed bread in the rendered bacon fat, then arrange on the baking sheet. Bake  the croutons for about 10 to 12  min or until desired crispness. 

STEP 3: Make the basil vinaigrette. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, mustard, basil, salt, and pepper to a blender and blend until smooth. 

STEP 4: Toss the salad. Assemble the salad with lettuce, cooked chicken, chopped bacon, tomatoes, eggs, gorgonzola cheese, avocado, green onions, and croutons. Toss with your desired amount of dressing.

California Cobb Salad

5 from 5 votes

This California Cobb Salad is our take on a classic and regional favorite. It has all the ingredients you’re used to eating in a Cobb Salad (chicken, bacon, hardboiled eggs, tomatoes, gorgonzola, avocados, and green onions), and a few new ones as well (basil dressing and bacon croutons).

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time:20 minutes mins

Cook Time:25 minutes mins

Total Time:45 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American, California

Keyword: summer

Servings: 6

Ingredients

Salad

• 2 Romaine lettuce heads chopped
• 2 cups cooked chicken breast chopped
• 6 strips bacon
• 1 cup baby heirloom tomatoes quartered
• 4 hard boiled eggs sliced
• 1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese crumbled
• 1 avocado sliced
• 4 green onions diced
• 2 cups cubed day-old bread like baguette or ciabatta
• 2 to 3 tbsp rendered bacon fat or olive oil

Basil Vinaigrette

• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
• 1 cup fresh basil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Place the bacon in a cold frying pan and turn the heat on to medium. Cook for about 8 to 12 minutes for thick cut bacon (if using thin cut, it’ll take less time), flipping over every couple of minutes.
  6 strips bacon
• While the bacon cooks, preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Remove the bacon from the frying pan and place onto a paper towel lined plate. Set aside the rendered bacon fat to use on the bacon croutons later. Once the bacon has cooled, roughly chop it.
• Toss the cubed bread in the rendered bacon fat (or olive oil, if using instead), then arrange on a baking sheet. Bake the croutons for about 10 to 12 min or until desired crispness.
  2 cups cubed day-old bread, 2 to 3 tbsp rendered bacon fat or olive oil
• Add the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, mustard, basil, salt, and pepper to a blender and blend until smooth.
  3/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, 2 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard, 1 cup fresh basil, 1/2 tsp salt, Cracked black pepper to taste
• Assemble the salad with lettuce, cooked chicken, chopped bacon, tomatoes, eggs, gorgonzola cheese, avocado, green onions, and croutons. Toss with your desired amount of dressing.
  2 Romaine lettuce heads, 2 cups cooked chicken breast, 1 cup baby heirloom tomatoes, 4 hard boiled eggs, 1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese, 1 avocado, 4 green onions