Learn how to make the most epic healthy cobb salad recipe + the 411 on cobb salad calories and nutrition comparisons from your fav eateries.

The Most Epic Cobb Salad Recipe

I’m pretty obsessed with the green goddess cobb salad from Panera Bread. I don’t know if you’ve tried it yet, but I pretty much get it every time I go. Note to self, make green goddess dressing ASAP.

We tend to eat cobb salad out, right? Chick fil a cobb salad, zaxby’s cobb salad, but ya know FWIW, the calories in cobb salad can be insane, especially when dining out.

No need to ask Alexa for “cobb salad near me” when you can make this epic cobb salad recipe at home! Plus you’ll get the health benefits of eating cobb salad without the unhealthy cobb salad ingredients you’ll find at restaurants.

How to make a healthy cobb salad?

First gather your cobb salad ingredients: an epic cobb salad is a combo of chicken and shrimp and of course bacon, eggs, green peas, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, avocado and a mix romaine and butter lettuce.

To start this recipe off, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Toss the chicken breast, bacon, and shrimp with some Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Then, add the chicken and bacon to a sheet pan and set the timer for 30 minutes. If you want to cook your bacon separate, check out this easy bacon in the oven recipe!

Shrimp does not take as long to bake, so add this to the pan with 10 minutes remaining. Before you’re done, use a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken reaches 165 degrees. The nice thing about cooking the chicken and bacon together is that there is no need to add any oil because the bacon renders enough yumminess for the chicken.

Easy meal prep salad recipe

It’s super easy to prep the toppings ahead of time, especially the hard boiled eggs! Boil them up, make eggs in an instant pot, or simply buy them already prepared.

Another thing I love about Panera’s cobb salad is their pickled onions! Taking the extra little step to do this can really be a game changer for your salad. You can prep these a day ahead, but if you’re really in a rush, they can be made in an hour. Here’s a link to an easy way to make your own pickled onions.

This epic salad sits on top of a bed of chopped romaine and butter lettuce. Top it off with your prepped ingredients – peas, cheese, tomatoes, avocados, and your go-to dressing. Now you are ready to eat your nutrient-dense cobb salad!

Cobb salad dressing recipe

What type of dressing to serve with cobb salad? Personally, honey mustard is my go-to salad dressing. Here are a few of my favorite homemade salad dressings:

• Cashew Honey Mustard Dressing

• Avocado Ranch Dressing

• Zesty Greek Yogurt Dressing

Feel free to also drizzle this yummy salad with any of your favorite store bought dressings, such as honey mustard, blue cheese, thousand island, green goddess dressing, ranch dressing, or even bbq sauce.

Cobb Salad Nutrition

Salads are extremely versatile, which is why we LOVE them. You can totally adjust the calories, fat, carbs, etc. to meet your dietary needs.

Our healthy cobb salad recipe is only 331 calories and supplies 32 grams of high quality protein and 18 grams of healthy fat. It is also a low carb dinner option with only 10 grams! It should be mentioned that these nutritional stats are for the “naked” salad (without dressing) – so any dressing you add will be additional. 

Low calorie cobb salad

Looking to decrease the calories in cobb salad? Load your salad up with more veggies and decrease the amount of fat you put on it (avocado and bacon). If you make cobb salad at home, you could also go for turkey bacon for less calories and salt.

I’m not usually one for low fat dressings, but TBH, this salad is already filled with healthy fats. In this case, if you need a lower calorie cobb salad recipe, choose a lower fat version of your favorite dressing to save you from dumping a bunch of calories on top of this salad. Or opt for a simple drizzle of apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar for tang without the fat.

Cobb salad at your favorite restaurants

We all love us some Chick Fil A, but do you know that their cobb salad actually contains more calories than some of their sandwiches! A Chick Fil A Cobb Salad with grilled chicken contains 680 calories, 50 grams of fat, 23 grams of carbs, and 34 grams of protein with the dressing – that’s only one packet of the dressing! And we all know we love more than one packet!

Speaking of nutrition, the popular (and personal fav) Green Goddess Cobb Salad at Panera is 550 calories, 32 grams of fat, 24 grams of carbs, and 43 grams of protein… but ya know that’s not including the side of bread 🙂

How about Zaxby’s? A grilled cobb “zalad” from this restaurant topped with blue cheese dressing provides 860 calories, 54 grams of fat, 36 grams of carbs, and 56 grams of protein!  

Cobb salad for special diets

How to make a keto cobb salad?

Easy! Because this recipe is already low in carbs, but to improve it even more for a keto cobb salad, swap out those starchy peas for a lower carb vegetable, such as green onions or green peppers. Top with your favorite keto-friendly dressing!

How can you make this recipe vegetarian?

Simply swap out the bacon and shrimp for some walnuts to add some crunch, and replace the chicken with chickpeas! This chick swap will add some plant-based protein and dietary fiber. Try our Cashew Honey Mustard Dressing. 

How to make a vegan cobb salad?

Follow the vegetarian options, and then swap out the cheese for a vegan cheese. Just make sure your dressing is vegan friendly! These swaps will keep it comparable to a classic cobb salad. For a vegan salad dressing, sub in maple or agave for honey in this Cashew Honey Mustard Dressing.

More healthy salad recipes:

• Farmhouse Chicken Chopped Salad

• Avocado Chicken Caesar Salad

• Mediterranean Quinoa Chicken Salad

• Winter Greens Salad

• Strawberry Balsamic Grilled Chicken Salad

• Chicken Salad with Avocado Ranch Dressing 

The Most Epic Cobb Salad Recipe

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★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

• Author: Kristina LaRue, RD, CSSD
• Prep Time: 15mins
• Cook Time: 30mins
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings

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Description

Learn how to make the most epic healthy cobb salad recipe made with our favorite cobb salad ingredients + the 411 on cobb salad calories and nutrition comparisons from your fav eateries.

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Ingredients

8 ounces thick cut bacon, uncooked

1 pound uncooked peeled, deveined shrimp

1 pound raw chicken breast

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper

8 hard boiled eggs

1 cup fresh green peas

1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced

¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese

2  avocados, sliced

6 cups butter lettuce, chopped

6 cups romaine lettuce, chopped

Favorite cobb salad dressing

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F; line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Arrange bacon and chicken on baking sheet and season with Italian seasonings, pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper.

Bake in oven for 2o minutes; remove from oven and add shrimp, season and return to oven for 10 minutes until meat and shrimp are fully cooked.

Assemble each bowl with romaine and butter lettuce, boiled egg, tomatoes, cheese, avocado, peas, sliced chicken, bacon and shrimp.

Enjoy with your favorite dressing: I love honey mustard but other favorites are ranch, blue cheese or BBQ sauce.

Notes

Note: Nutrition information does not include dressing.

• Category: Salad
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/8 recipe
• Calories: 331
• Sugar: 2g
• Sodium: 477mg
• Fat: 18g
• Saturated Fat: 5g
• Unsaturated Fat: 9g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 10g
• Fiber: 4g
• Protein: 32g
• Cholesterol: 236mg

Keywords: cobb salad calories, keto cobb salad, healthy cobb salad

Kristina LaRue, RD, CSSD

Hi I’m Kristina LaRue, registered dietitian and millennial mom of two active and hungry boys. Here on Love & Zest, you’ll find (mostly) healthy recipes to fuel the whole family and real life stories of modern motherhood. I’m all about veggie-filled breakfast meal prep recipes, healthier sweets, and easy weeknight dinners made in the Instant Pot or sheet pan.

Did you make one of my recipes?? Leave a review in the comments and tag @loveandzest #loveandzest on Instagram!

If you’re a modern mama– I’d love for you to join my Facebook group A Modern Motherhood Collective!

https://loveandzest.com