Hearty Cobb Salad Without Blue Cheese

There are so many polarizing flavors in food. Some people love Cilantro, others say it tastes like soap. Blue cheese is no exception and I am here to stand with those who are not a fan. This cobb salad without blue cheese recipe redefined for my family what a cobb salad could be and we aren’t looking back at the traditional way.

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What is a Cobb Salad and Why is it Called That?

A cobb salad consists of green leaf lettuce, red onion, avocado, grilled chicken, cheese (blue but we are substituting feta), tomatoes, bacon, and hard-boiled eggs (we like them soft-boiled). It is often served with a red wine vinaigrette, but we prefer a balsamic vinaigrette or even a balsamic glaze.

A restauranteur in Holywood California in the 1930s by the name of Bob Cobb created the salad and it is humbly reproduced in restaurants and homes across the world to this day bearing his name. Thanks, Bob!

Cooking Directions

The beauty of the cobb salad without blue cheese for me is I generally have all of the ingredients on hand, it’s seriously delicious and quite filling, and I can have this visually stunning meal ready in 40 minutes.

Let’s look at the steps to make a Cobb salad without blue cheese.

Cook the Bacon

In a pan over medium-high heat, place the slices of bacon along with a couple tablespoons of water. The water will heat up and begin to boil slowing down the cooking of the bacon, helping to facilitate the rendering of some of the bacon fat. Once the water has evaporated, the bacon will have its own fat to cook in and you will be less prone to burning, and the result will be evenly cooked and crispy!

Once the bacon is cooked, remove it from the pan and place it on a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve the rendered fat because we will use some of that for cooking the chicken in the next step.

Cook the Chicken for the Cobb Salad

Remove the fat from the pan used to cook the bacon but reserve 2 tablespoons of it and pour that back into the pan.

Place the chicken breasts in a sealed plastic bag and use a meat mallet or the bottom of a sturdy pan to pound the chicken. The goal is to flatten the chicken into an even thickness so that your cooking time is uniform and all chicken will be cooked evenly. By doing this important step, we are reducing our chances of having overcooked and dry chicken.

Generously season the top of the chicken with salt and pepper, then place the chicken seasoned side down in the pan with hot bacon fat over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken for 5-7 minutes, you will notice that the sides of the chicken will be white and if you peek at the bottom of the chicken, you should have a nice light browned crust forming.

Flip the chicken over and let it cook for 5-7 minutes on the other side. After it has cooked for several minutes you can check the internal temperature with an instant-read probe thermometer. Once it has reached 135°F internal temperature, add a sprig of thyme, 2 smashed garlic cloves, and 2 tablespoons of butter.

Tilt the pan toward yourself so that the butter pools near the handle of the pan and begin basting the chicken with a large spoon. Ladle the fragrant butter over the chicken breasts infusing the garlic and thyme flavors into the chicken.

Once the internal temperature of the chicken breasts reaches 155°F on an instant-read thermometer, remove the chicken from the pan and let it rest on a cutting board.

Boil the Eggs

Place a pot of water on your stove to boil. Once it is a low rolling boil, gently place your eggs into the water with a slotted spoon. Set a timer for 8 minutes which will give you soft-boiled eggs. The egg whites should be set, but the yolk will be a custard consistency. If you prefer a firmer yolk, try adding 30 seconds to the cooking time. If you prefer a hard-boiled egg, you will want to boil the eggs for 11 minutes.

Prepare an ice bath for the eggs. Once they are done cooking, gently remove them from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and let them rest in the ice bath for 5-10 minutes.

Prepare the Ingredients for the Cobb Salad Without Blue Cheese

Now that we have our ingredients cooked, it’s time to prepare the rest of the cold ingredients.

Lettuce

For me, Romaine lettuce is the clear choice here for its crisp texture and bright flavor. Chop the bottoms off of your head of romaine. Cut them in quarters lengthwise, then chop the salad into bite-sized pieces. I like to quarter a large head and then make cuts every inch or inch and a half.

Toss your chopped-up lettuce into a salad spinner basket and give it a rinse, or if you don’t have a salad spinner rinse it in a bowl and drain it. Then place the lettuce in a clean dish towel and like a rock into a sling go outside and spin it. Just don’t let go, we aren’t slaying Goliath, we are making a Cobb.

Red Onion

Cut the red onion in half through the root, splitting it into 2 even parts. Now take one of the halves and peel back the paper and outer layers to reveal the juicy fresh inner layers. Cut the onion into thin slices that should resemble a rainbow with its layers. You only need about 1/4 of an onion for this salad, so reserve the other parts of the onion for another meal. Feel free to rough chop the onion smaller if you like, I usually just cut each rainbow shape in half which gives you a range of pieces from 1/2 inch up to 2 inches which is perfect.

Tomatoes

Depending on the size of the tomatoes you have, you can choose to leave them whole, halve them, or even quarter them. For best results choose sweet tomatoes that are smaller and bright red. We grow tomatoes and let me tell you, it was a real pleasure to use them in this salad. Fresh-picked and homegrown tomatoes are like nature’s candy.

Avocado

Cut the avocado in half guiding your knife around the pit in the middle. Remove the pit from the side it chooses to stay with then divide each half into half again making quarters. Separate the flesh from the skin of the avocado with a spoon and cut the flesh into pieces appropriately sized for the salad.

Bacon

Crumble it with your hand or run your knife through it forming larger pieces. Is there a wrong way to do bacon?

Feta Cheese

Take the large chunk of feta out of its brine and remove a 4-ounce piece. Cut this piece of feta into 4 equal sticks then cut those sticks diagonal cut into triangles. This is the traditional way to serve feta.

Soft Boiled Eggs

Crack your soft-boiled eggs on a flat surface and peel off the shell. Cut the egg into quarters with a sharp knife. If you went for a soft-boiled egg hold the egg firmly with your off hand pinching it together while you slide your knife through it. This will help to keep the yolk from jumping out onto your cutting board.

Chicken

By this time your chicken should have had plenty of time to rest. Take one breast and slice it across the grain of the meat into thick slices. Cut those thick slices into cubes. They should be a similar size to the rest of your ingredients. With how robust this salad is, my family of 4 only eats one of the breasts. Store the other breast in the refrigerator for tomorrow’s lunch of quesadillas, or chicken tacos, or slice it real thin and make a deli sandwich from it.

Build the Salad

In your salad bowl place the romaine lettuce. In beautiful, organized, well-thought-out lines, lay all of the ingredients just so.

What is the Traditional Dressing for a Cobb Salad?

No salad is complete without dressing, and the Cobb can be found with a myriad of dressings. Traditionally it was served with a red wine vinaigrette, but today you will find it served with creamy dressings like blue cheese, ranch, or even Caesar, or more traditional vinaigrettes like balsamic or Italian dressing. Because we are making a Cobb Salad without blue cheese, let’s grab your favorite vinaigrette or creamy ranch and enjoy! Bon Appetite!