California Cobb Salad gives the classic salad a west coast spin with the addition of crisp cucumber, sweet strawberries, and creamy avocado.
Modern travel never ceases to amaze me. A few days ago I was sipping mocktails at Mundaka and gazing at The Lone Cyprus on the iconic 17 Mile Drive along the Pacific coastline.
Today I was stopping to smell the lilacs on a walk around the neighborhood. What a world!
California Cobb Salad
You can take the girl out of California, but you can’t take the California out of the girl and despite the fact that I’m home sweet home, I seemed to have left my taste buds out west.
Case in point, the gorgeous, fresh, and filling California Cobb Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette recipe I’ve been devouring since returning home!
After three days of eating salads with the Dole folks, you’d think I’d had enough for one week, but it actually inspired me to get even more creative with my greens and give them a California spin.
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Pin ItTypically, Cobb Salad contains a mixture of meats, cheeses, and vegetables layered over crisp salad greens. To give it a west coast spin I also added cool and breezy ingredients like crisp cucumber, sweet strawberries, and creamy avocado.
Drizzled with a homemade Tarragon Vinaigrette, this is the best combo of crispy, creamy, sweet, savory – not to mention super filling. This isn’t a boring side salad – this is a MEAL!
How to Make a California Cobb Salad
Start by preparing 4 hard boiled eggs. Want to know how to get perfect hard boiled eggs every time? Add eggs to a saucepan then fill with cool water 1″ above the tops.
Bring the water to a boil, remove the pan from the heat, then place a lid on top and let them sit for 11 minutes for large eggs.
Drain then submerge in cold water and use right away, or peel then stash in the fridge.
Perfect every time!
Next, get to chopping the fresh ingredients for the salad including 1 cup each tomatoes, cucumbers, and strawberries and 1 avocado.
When the eggs have cooled, chop them up, then also cook/chop 1/2lb chicken breasts and 1/2lb bacon.
Finally, the greens. I like Cobb Salads made with hearty lettuces that stand up to the weight of the toppings, so I use Dole’s Italian Blend which combines crispy romaine lettuce with hearty radicchio to act as the bed for the flavorful ingredients on top.
Ready, set, assemble!
Top the crispy lettuce base with lanes of ingredients then drizzle with an easy Tarragon Vinaigrette. This savory, herby vinaigrette is fantastic with all the other fresh ingredients.
Between the California avocados and sweet strawberries, salty bacon and juicy tomatoes, each bite of this salad is a flavor-packed experience. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 10 oz mixed greens
- 1 chicken breast, ~1/2lb, cooked and chopped
- 1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 4 hard boiled eggs, diced
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup chopped cucumber
- 1 cup chopped strawberries
- 1 avocado, diced
For the Tarragon Vinaigrette:
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoon raspberry blush vinegar, or red wine vinegar
- 10-12 tarragon leaves, torn
- 1 small shallot, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- salt and pepper
- 6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Directions
For the Tarragon Vinaigrette:
- Combine all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor or blender. Slowly stream in olive oil while processing until smooth. Taste then adjust salt and pepper if necessary then refrigerate for at least a couple of hours and up to 3 days to let the flavors meld.
For the Salad:
- Divide lettuce between four plates then divide toppings between plates. Drizzle with Tarragon Vinaigrette then serve.
Notes
- Estimated nutritional information includes the entire vinaigrette recipe.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I have been all about strawberries on my salads lately, and this combo looks delish!
This salad looks so fresh and delicious. I make a version of honey tarragon dressing for sandwiches, but I will have to try your recipe too.
This salad looked so good that I made it on Sunday. I just used Good Seasons Italian Dressing though!
The Cobb Salad looks delicious! I love how colorful it is too!
Tarragon is lovely! It tastes really good with chicken and a little bit of creamy lemon sauce.
Your photos are stunning! I’ve been wanting to try using tarragon. Thanks for the inspiration :)
I LOVE lilacs. My absolute favorite flower. I’ve been begging the hubs to let us put a bush or two along our back fence, but not sure if they’ll survive Vegas summers. :) The salad looks delish too. I love all the colors!
the salad looks unbelievably good! Love the strawberries addition!