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Bringing you all the spring/summer vibes with my Chicken Cobb Salad with Avocado Ranch. Peppery, lemon grilled chicken and thinly sliced. Then tossed together with creamy avocado cilantro dressing, tomatoes, crispy bacon, and your favorite cheese. The avocado ranch is quite possibly one of my favorite dressings. It’s great atop this salad, but also doubles as a yummy dip for chips and crackers.
Half Baked Harvest At Home
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Oh, how I adore this salad! You all, this week’s recipes have been some of my favorites to share in a long time. I of course love each and every recipe I share with you all, but some feel more special than others.
Between the skillet chicken and orzo, those garlic butter pretzels knots, and we can’t forget yesterday’s fun sushi cups. I am loving this week’s recipes!
This week’s recipes have so much color and flavor. Plus, each recipe has been simple to toss together, which feels key to me as we head into the summer months.
And this salad goes right along with the rest of this week’s recipes, colorful, flavorful, and really simple. My favorite element has to be the creamy avocado ranch dressing. It’s become one of my favorites.
Let’s talk details
Go ahead and start with the chicken breast. I’m a big fan of lemon pepper seasoning, so to keep the recipe simple, that’s what I’m using here. You could also use something a little spicier, like a Cajun seasoning. But I think using something lemony and peppery is so nice in the spring and summer.
Toss the chicken with seasonings, then grill it up. For easy grilling, I use chicken tenders, which cook up so fast!
While the chicken cooks, get started on the dressing ingredients. You’ll need a blender or food processor for the dressing to purée the avocado.
Simply add all the ingredients: avocado, yogurt, mayo, lemon, cilantro, chives, dill, and garlic powder to your blender along with salt and pepper.
Blend until creamy!! I usually thin the dressing with buttermilk if I have some on hand. Or you can also just use water.
The rest is assembly. Toss the greens with the dressing. Now arrange the cherry tomatoes, cheese, crumbled bacon, and ripe avocado on top. I like to include a handful of fresh basil and cilantro as well.
Then simply serve up the salad, always with the remaining dressing on the side!
If you want to make this ahead of time, I recommend assembling the salad first, but leave the dressing and cubed avocado off until just ready to enjoy.
And if you’re hosting friends for dinner – make this! It never disappoints, and it doubles as the prettiest centerpiece for any dinner table!
Looking for other fun recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Everything Cheddar Tomato Bacon Grilled Cheese
Picnic Style Brie and Prosciutto Sandwich
Grilled Vegetable Burrata Sandwich
Spinach and Artichoke Pita Grilled Cheese.
Lastly, if you make this Chicken Cobb Salad with Avocado Ranch, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Chicken Cobb Salad with Avocado Ranch
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken tenders
- 2 tablespoons cajun or lemon pepper seasoning
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 6 cups shredded lettuce
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 1-2 cups cherry tomatoes. sliced
- 1 cup crumbled blue cheese or cubed cheddar
- 6 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
Avocado Ranch
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 1/4 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- kosher salt and black pepper
Instructions
- 1. In a bowl, toss the chicken with olive oil and seasoning. SThen season with salt and pepper. Set your grill, grill pan, or skillet to medium-high heat. Grill the chicken until lightly charred and cooked through, turning halfway through cooking, about 10 to 12 minutes.2. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy, adding buttermilk or water to thin the dressing. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.3. Thinly slice or chop the chicken.4. In a large bowl, toss the greens, basil, and cilantro with 1/2 the dressing. Arrange the chicken, tomatoes, cheese, bacon, avocado, and eggs on top. Gently give the salad a toss with additional dressing. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Love this salad! My daughter loves to dip cucumbers in this dressing. Do you think it would freeze in small cubes so that I could send in her lunch box?
Hi Charlyn! I haven’t ever tried that before so I can’t say for sure! I would say the dairy might not freeze super well so I would maybe just stick to refrigerating it ahead of time! 🙂 xT
This was my first Half Baked Harvest recipe and it definitely won’t be the last. I am currently on a low FODMAP diet and I am dairy free so for my needs I omitted the bacon and dairy then added cucumber, red and yellow bell peppers. This was so delicious! Every bite brought a wonderful flavor surprise to my tastebuds. Absolutely delightful.
Thank you so much, Alison:) I love to hear this salad was a hit, I appreciate you making it! xT
Love, love, loved this salad!!! Perfect for hot days and very filling. Making for the second time and will be keeping in rotation all summer.
Hey Briana,
Happy Monday! Love to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xx
I was thinking about making this salad for meal prep to have for lunches throughout the week, or perhaps jus the dressing to put on a different salad because it sounds so amazing. How long would this dressing keep? The avocados are the component that make me wonder if if would stay fresh all week?
Love all you do, Tieghan!
Thanks so much, Elizabeth:) The dressing is good for 2 weeks in the fridge and then I would just add fresh avocado each day. I think this would be a great salad for meal prep! I hope this helps! xx
Made this again tonight…delicious and looks so appealing. Thank you Tieghan 🙂
Hey Pauline,
Awesome! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out nicely for you, I appreciate you making it! xx
What kind of lettuce do you use? Looks delicious!
Hi Brooke,
I just used chopped romaine:) I hope you love this salad, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Can’t wait to try this recipe, any tips on how to get the hard boiled eggs to peel perfectly?
Hey Nixie,
Lol still trying to figure that out myself:) I feel like no matter what “tricks” I use, it’s always inconsistent on the peeling. I hope you love this salad! xx
I have finally found the best way to get easy peel eggs- I think it’s Ree Drummond’s recipe? Carefully lower eggs into boiling water and then lower heat to simmer. I usually cook the eggs for 11 min. Then put eggs into an ice bath for 5 min. I always put eggs into the water before heating but this way (the boiling water and the ice bath) is magic. I’ve done this several times now and only had one egg the cracked
Hey Sue! Thank you so much for the input on the easy to peel eggs! This is super helpful! Have a great week! 🙂 xT
Edit my comment about the eggs- I always USED to put eggs into the water before heating, until I found this new method
Making this again…. re the eggs. Fresh ones are great for poaching, but not for boiling.. we have chooks and save some eggs aside for 2-3 weeks in the fridge so that they peel better when boiled. Works a treat!
Thanks so much, Claudia!!
Hi!
Have you tried hard boiled eggs in the Instapot? 1 cup of water, the basket insert, 5 minutes and quick release . I like them on the softer side so adjust accordingly. I run them under cool water immediately and they peel easily. 🙂
Making this salad tonight!! Looks amazing!
Easiest method I’ve found is to pressure cook for 5-6 minutes, quick release and put in an ice bath for a few minutes. Works like a charm every time!
Delicious! Next time I’ll cut bs k a bit ok the lemon pepper but all and all it is delicious. Cobb salad is a favourite. I’ll be making this a lot this summer I think!
Hey Kimberly,
Happy Friday! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xT
Made this for a group. It was a hit – very good. I tossed the lettuce with dressing and then served all the ingredients separately so people could choose what they wanted to add to their salad, and then more dressing on the side.
Hey Fera,
Happy Monday!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for trying and your feedback! xT
This was my first HBH recipe. The salad and dressing were amazing!
Thank you so much Ida! xT
So yummy!!
Thanks so much Lynn! Love to hear that this salad was enjoyed! xT
In the picture it looks like there is a smaller green being used almost looks like a sprout, what is that ?
Hi Cherish,
I added some micro greens that I had on hand:) Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Lovely flavorful salad. Can you please think up a salad dressing with fresh dill? Its the basis of ranch dressing and so fitting for spring! Can’t wait to see what you make!
Hi Gretel,
Amazing!! Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and your comment! This does have fresh dill:) xx
Loved this salad so much! I was wondering what technique and time you use to boil your eggs (I can’t quite get that nice consistency like the picture!). Thanks!
Hi Brooke,
Wonderful!! I’m so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! I put the eggs on the stove, let the water come to a boil and then boil for 5 minutes. xT
Made this for my teen boys and they loved it-one doesn’t love salad and he even liked it! This will be in the rotation for sure!
Hey Hannah,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for trying it out! Have a great week:)