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A copycat Chick-Fil-A cobb salad recipe that you can make at home in about 30 minutes! Crispy fried chicken, fresh veggies, roasted corn, smoky bacon, hard-boiled eggs, and cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses come together with a flavorful avocado lime ranch dressing.
Table of Contents
If you love dinner salad recipes, be sure to try Aunt Bee’s shrimp pasta salad, a Dorito taco salad, and this steak salad, too!
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Easy. I’ve included plenty of shortcut tips (from store-bought dressing to frozen chicken nuggets) that make this copycat recipe almost as easy as purchasing a salad at the restaurant.
- Satisfying. Sometimes entree salads leave you hungry for more, but not in this case! With hearty ingredients like bacon, fried chicken, and cheese, this meal is packed with satisfying flavor.
- Less Expensive. As always, it’s much more budget-friendly to prepare your own meal at home. Skip that drive-thru!
Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients in a Chick-Fil-A Cobb salad, including both homemade and store-bought options. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Chicken nuggets: we prefer the Just Bare Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Bites for this recipe, which my kids have deemed “Chick-Fil-A copycat” nuggets. They are remarkably close to the restaurant’s! Find them in the frozen section at many grocery stores and at Target. If you want to make your fried chicken from scratch, our Chick-Fil-A nuggets are the absolute best!
- Lettuce: the restaurant uses mixed greens (a “spring mix”), but feel free to sub with your favorite greens, such as chopped romaine lettuce, iceberg, or kale.
- Roasted corn: roast your own corn on the cob to use here, or purchase canned fire-roasted corn for a shortcut.
- Cheese: the Chick-Fil-A cobb salad recipe includes both cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. I usually purchase a pre-shredded blend of the two cheeses for convenience, but you can also grate your own. Other good options include Swiss, Colby, and crumbled blue cheese.
- Bacon: fry your own bacon at home until it’s crispy, or purchase thick-cut fully-cooked bacon that you heat up just before serving. Turkey bacon works, too!
- Hard boiled eggs: you can boil your own eggs at home, or purchase hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerated section at your grocery store for a shortcut.
- Tomatoes: use sweet grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes.
- Dressing: the Chick-Fil-A cobb salad typically comes with an avocado ranch dressing. You can purchase a bottle of this salad dressing at the grocery store (in the refrigerated produce section) or make your own at home. Alternatively, try a different dressing such as homemade buttermilk ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, honey mustard, or a simple vinaigrette. Really, anything goes!
Directions
Named for its creator, Robert Howard Cobb, who invented it at the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant in the 1930s, the Cobb salad has been a popular American dish for almost a century. Fortunately for us, the Chick-Fil-A version is super-simple to assemble at home! You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Bake the frozen chicken nuggets or make your own Chick Fil A nuggets from scratch. Cut them into bite-size pieces.
- While the chicken cooks, gather the rest of your ingredients.
- Assemble the salads by arranging the chicken, bacon, egg, cheese, tomatoes, and corn kernels on top of a bed of lettuce.
- Add dressing to taste, and serve immediately.
Serving Suggestions
Just like at Chick-Fil-A, you can serve this cobb salad alongside waffle fries and a glass of freshly-squeezed lemonade! Other sides that go well with the salad include mac and cheese, crusty no-knead bread, cast iron skillet cornbread, buttermilk biscuits, sour cream blueberry muffins, Southern potato salad, store-bought potato chips, or baked potato wedges.
Preparation and Storage
This salad is best enjoyed immediately while the chicken is still warm. Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Do not add the dressing until just before serving. I also do not recommend freezing the salad, since the veggies will be soggy and mushy when thawed.
If you’d like to prepare the salads in advance for meal prep, just leave off the dressing and the chicken. Bake the chicken when you’re ready to enjoy, and add the dressing at the last minute.
More Chicken Salad Recipes to Try
Strawberry Chicken Salad
15 minutes mins
Southern Chicken Salad Recipe
1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Tortellini Salad with Chicken
30 minutes mins
Chick-Fil-A Cobb Salad
Ingredients
- 12 ounces frozen chicken nuggets (I prefer Just Bare Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Bites)
- 8 cups mixed greens
- 1 cup canned roasted corn, drained (I use Del Monte Fire-Roasted Corn)
- ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup cooked, crumbled bacon
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
- 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
- Chick-Fil-A Avocado Lime Ranch dressing, to taste
Instructions
COOK THE CHICKEN
- Bake the chicken nuggets according to package directions. Let them rest for a few minutes until they’re cool enough to handle, but still warm. Slice into bite-size chunks.
ASSEMBLE THE SALAD
- Place the mixed greens in a large bowl or on individual plates. Top with the sliced chicken nuggets, corn, both types of cheese, crumbled bacon, eggs, and tomatoes. Drizzle with the dressing. Serve immediately.
Notes
- The Chick-Fil-A cobb salad typically comes with an avocado lime ranch dressing. You can purchase a bottle of this dressing at the grocery store (in the refrigerated produce section), or make your own at home. Alternatively, try a regular store-bought ranch dressing, homemade buttermilk ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, honey mustard, or a simple vinaigrette. Really, anything goes!
- We prefer the Just Bare Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Bites for this recipe, which my kids have deemed “Chick-Fil-A copycat” nuggets. They are remarkably close to the restaurant version, and can be found in the frozen section at many different grocery stores and at Target. If you want to make your fried chicken from scratch, our Chick-Fil-A nuggets are the absolute best!
