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 always love your photos but these ones are especially great!! Looks yum!
Holy wow, just looking at this makes me feel healthy! Beautiful photos, beautiful salad!
We have this cute little tree in our yard with some pretty lavender blossoms and neither one of us knew what it was until I read this today. We have a lilac tree! Thanks IGE!
PS Salad looks delish!
That’s a beautiful salad!!
It looks too pretty to eat! Oh, alright then…
I love all the flavors going on in this springy salad, Kristin! Such a happy way to continue all that awesome salad-eating you did in California. I’ve been thinking about that lettuce-identification quiz since I saw your pictures. It gave me an entirely new appreciation for all the variety at the store.
Glad you had a great time in my state!! I love lilacs, they remind me of my other state, home state, Oregon! That salad!!! Nomy!
Leftover bacon????? Left. over. bacon. What’s that?
This is so calling my name!!
Tarragon should be a part of your kitchen herb garden along with other perennial faves like lemon thyme, chives, oregano, rosemary and parsley. The French use tarragon in their scrambled eggs. Try it! There is nothing like snipping fresh herbs from the yard. Fresh herbs help to turn a good cook into a great one. Thanks for the salad idea. I’ll give it a go this weekend.
This salad looks amazing! The dressing and toppings sound perfect for summertime salads.
So colorful and delicious looking! This is my favorite salad and I love your tasty twist. The vinaigrette recipe looks awesome, too!
I have never even tried tarragon. I have no idea how it tastes or even smells. But that salad looks super yummy so I might just have to give it a shot!