This Strawberry Cobb Salad is the perfect early-summer dinner, topped with grilled chicken and a mustard vinaigrette. If you’d like to add cheese, the classic blue cheese or even feta is really great with this.
Strawberries in a salad are always a good bet. Every time I put them in any salad, I always wonder why I don’t use them more often. They’re also great in the spring while you wait for tomato season.
The sweet, juicy element they add is so welcome, especially alongside the savory flavors of bacon and a mustard vinaigrette. This particular cobb salad is a bit different from the traditional one, but not by much. Aside from using strawberries in place of tomatoes, I also left out the blue cheese.
However, if you can have cheese, my 2 favorites in a cobb salad are, of course, the traditional blue cheese. But if blue cheese isn’t your thing, feta is a great pairing for these flavors as well.
Meal Prepping Tips
- First up, the hard-boiled eggs are extra easy if you have an Instant Pot . You can also do more than you’ll need for this salad and use them for breakfast, or in my Avocado Egg Salad as well.
- Instead of making this recipe for dinner, you can prep the individual ingredients and assemble them into mason salad jars. Or you can keep all the ingredients separate and assemble salads as desired. You can find more tips about how to make any salad into a salad jar with my Mason Salad Jars 101 .
How to make this Strawberry Cobb Salad
- Start by hard-boiling the eggs so they have plenty of time to cool.
- Prep all the salad ingredients as well as the salad dressing.
- Finally, either pan-fry or grill the chicken and cook the bacon until crispy.
- You can prep the salad ingredients and dressing ahead, but I prefer to cook the chicken right before tossing the salad so it stays warm. However, there’s nothing wrong with cold chicken in this salad, warm is a nice touch!
Tips
If you’re not a fan of raw red onions, try panfrying or grilling them along with the chicken to take the edge off, or use thinly sliced green onions. You can make the dressing honey mustard by adding 1 Tablespoon of honey, (of course then it’s not Whole30 , but it’s a delicious variation).
And one final tip about hard-boiled eggs – if you’ve ever struggled like me with the peels always sticking, no matter what tricks you try, definitely start cooking hard-boiled eggs in the Instant Pot .
They come out perfectly every single time, and I’ve never had the shells stick. Before I got my Instant Pot , I had completely stopped making hard-boiled eggs because it was always a hassle, but not anymore!
INGREDIENTS1x2x3x
- 2 heads omaine lettuce - cut into bite sized pieces and washed, 14 cups
- 4 hardboiled eggs - peeled, see notes, sliced or cubed
- 1 large ripe avocado - cubed
- 6 strips bacon - cooked and cut into bits
- 1/2 small red onion - thinly sliced, 1 cup
- 1 pound strawberries - hulled and quartered/sliced, 4 cups
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs - about 4-5
- 1 tbsp Avocado oil
Mustard Vinaigrette:
- 2 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 1 clove garlic - minced
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice - or white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
INSTRUCTIONS
- Prepare and assemble the romaine, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, bacon bits, red onion, and strawberries in a large serving bowl.
- To pan fry the chicken, preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot but not smoking, add a touch of oil and swirl to coat the bottom.
- Add the chicken thighs to the pan and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for about 6-8 minutes, until browned, and then flip the chicken over and cook for an additional 6-8 minutes, or until no longer pink.
- If you’re grilling the chicken, preheat the grill to 400ºF. Place the chicken on the grill, and lower the heat to medium-high. Grill until the chicken loosens from the grill and is easy to flip, about 6-8 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook for 6-8 more minutes, or until the center is done. Timing varies a little depending on the size of your chicken thighs.
- While the chicken is cooking making the dressing. Whisk together the mustard, garlic, sea salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Then, whisking constantly, add the olive oil in a thin steady stream and continue whisking until all the olive oil has been added and the dressing is emulsified.
- When the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut it into bite-sized pieces and add it to the salad. Toss with the dressing and serve. Or you can serve everything separately, and let each person assemble their own salad.
NOTES
nutrition facts
Strawberry Cobb Salad
Ingredients
- 2 heads omaine lettuce cut into bite sized pieces and washed, 14 cups
- 4 hardboiled eggs peeled, see notes, sliced or cubed
- 1 large ripe avocado cubed
- 6 strips bacon cooked and cut into bits
- 1/2 small red onion thinly sliced, 1 cup
- 1 pound strawberries hulled and quartered/sliced, 4 cups
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs about 4-5
- 1 tbsp Avocado oil
Mustard Vinaigrette:
- 2 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice or white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Prepare and assemble the romaine, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, bacon bits, red onion, and strawberries in a large serving bowl.
- To pan fry the chicken, preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot but not smoking, add a touch of oil and swirl to coat the bottom.
- Add the chicken thighs to the pan and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for about 6-8 minutes, until browned, and then flip the chicken over and cook for an additional 6-8 minutes, or until no longer pink.
- If you’re grilling the chicken, preheat the grill to 400ºF. Place the chicken on the grill, and lower the heat to medium-high. Grill until the chicken loosens from the grill and is easy to flip, about 6-8 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook for 6-8 more minutes, or until the center is done. Timing varies a little depending on the size of your chicken thighs.
- While the chicken is cooking making the dressing. Whisk together the mustard, garlic, sea salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Then, whisking constantly, add the olive oil in a thin steady stream and continue whisking until all the olive oil has been added and the dressing is emulsified.
- When the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut it into bite-sized pieces and add it to the salad. Toss with the dressing and serve. Or you can serve everything separately, and let each person assemble their own salad.
Notes
Nutrition
The recipe Strawberry Cobb Salad appeared first on Get Inspired Everyday! on June 3, 2019
https://getinspiredeveryday.com/food/strawberry-cobb-salad-whole30/
