Southwestern Cobb Salad is a bold twist on a classic favorite and is packed with vibrant flavors and hearty ingredients. Grilled chicken tops a bed of mixed greens, creamy avocado, sweet corn, black beans and juicy cherry tomatoes. A zesty chipotle lime vinaigrette brings it all together with a spicy, tangy kick. It's a satisfyingly delicious entrée disguised as a salad.
Cobb salad was never at the top of my list. I think it was the processed chicken cubes and heavy ranch dressing that threw me off. But once I started making it myself with fresh grilled chicken and skipping the ranch, everything changed. And the best part? You don’t have to give up the traditional Cobb you love. This Southwestern Cobb salad is just a fun, flavorful alternative to a classic favorite!
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Ingredients for the Southwestern Cobb salad
- Mixed greens of choice
- Cooked chicken
- Avocado
- Cherry tomatoes
- Black beans
- Sweet corn
- Shredded Mexican cheese
- Red onions
- Cilantro
See recipe card for quantities.
Ingredients for the Chipotle Lime Vinegarette
- Lime juice
- Neutral oil (like avocado or grapeseed oil)
- Canned chipotles
- Rice vinegar
- Garlic
- Agave (or honey)
- Salt
- Cumin
Substitutions
- Gluten free - this salad is naturally gluten free, so no adjustments are necessary.
- Vegan - for a vegan salad, omit the grilled chicken and cheese. That still leaves you with a great veggie Cobb salad. You can also use vegan substitutes for those ingredients as well.
Variations
- Different meat - you could also use sliced flank steak, pork tenderloin, fish or shrimp to top the salad.
- Different cooking method for the meat - you can use your favorite method to cook the chicken instead of grilling it. You could also substitute precooked grilled chicken, canned chicken or rotisserie chicken if you're short on time. No judgement here!
- Spicier vinaigrette - to make the chipotle lime vinaigrette spicier, add another canned chipotle and ¼ teaspoon of chipotle chili powder.
Equipment
If you're grilling the chicken, you'll need an outdoor grill or an indoor electric grill. A blender or food processor is also helpful for the chipotle lime vinaigrette.
Storage
Store any extra leftover cooked chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Any lettuce that has dressing on it doesn't last long, so store any leftover, dressed Southwestern Cobb Salad in the refrigerator just overnight. Store any extra Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days.
Next Level Tips
- I like to use cherry tomatoes for the convenience sake. But if you have regular tomatoes growing in the garden, use those. There's nothing like a fresh tomato!
- If you want the salad to be even closer to a traditional Cobb salad, you can add bacon bits and hard boiled eggs. For two salads, plan on 2-4 pieces of chopped, thick-cut bacon and 2-4 hard boiled eggs. You could also make extra hard boiled eggs and bacon, then you'll have breakfast for the next morning.
- To save time, you can use bottled chipotle ranch dressing. Or if you have chipotle almond dip in your refrigerator, you can turn it into a salad dressing by thinning it with water. Chipotle almond dip is something that's always in my refrigerator. At a minimum, I use it as a taco sauce for lunch tacos multiple times a week.
- For this salad, I buy one package of thinly closed chicken breasts. But I only use two of the breasts, one per salad. What to do with the rest? You could sprinkle some homemade taco seasoning on the other breasts and grill those at the same time so that you have the chicken already made for tacos or another meal. Or you could buy one chicken breast from the butcher and ask them to slice it horizontally into two thinly sliced breasts.
- I like to store my homemade salad dressings in little jars. It's easy to pour and also easy to shake if the dressing starts to separate.
- Southwestern Cobb Salad is also amazing for meal prep. Just assemble the salads on prep day but hold the dressing until the day you're eating it.
FAQ
Cheese that you shred yourself always tastes best. If you shred your own cheese, try a cheddar. If you're buying pre-shredded cheese, I like to use a Mexican blend with the largest shreds. Cojita and Queso Fresco, although different textures, would also work well with this salad.
A thinly sliced chicken breast is when one regular chicken breast is sliced in half horizontally to make two thinly sliced chicken breasts. They are typically sold in packages right next to the regular chicken breasts. You can also buy a chicken breast from the butcher and ask them to slice it in half horizontally for you.
If you have extra canned corn or canned beans, you can pile them on your salad or save them for a different salad. They would work great in a build-your-own-salad. You can also refrigerate any extra canned chipotles for another salad dressing or for Chipotle Almond Dip.
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Southwestern Cobb Salad:
Southwestern Cobb Salad
Equipment
- 1 Small food processor or blender
- 1 Outdoor or indoor grill
Ingredients
Entree salad ingredients for two:
- 4 cups mixed salad greens
- 2 thinly sliced chicken breasts grilled
- 1 large avocado diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 1 cup canned black beans rinsed
- 1 cup canned (or cooked) corn kernels
- 1 cup mixed Mexican cheese shredded
- ¼ cup red onion thinly sliced
- cilantro for garnish
- salt and pepper for chicken
Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette
- ½ cup fresh lime juice
- ½ cup neutral oil (like avocado or grapeseed oil)
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 2 medium chipotle peppers (canned)
- 1 tablespoon liquid from the canned chipotle peppers
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon agave (or honey)
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Make the Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette
- Add all vinaigrette ingredients, except the neutral oil, to a small food processor or blender. Blend on medium until smooth and creamy.
- Slowly drizzle in the neutral oil (or add it in stages), blending until it’s fully emulsified and incorporated into the dressing.
Make the grilled chicken
- Turn the grill on high and let the grill heat up for 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of each thinly sliced chicken breast.
- Turn the burners down between medium and medium high and then add the thinly sliced chicken breasts.
- Grill the thinly sliced chicken breasts for 3-4 minutes per side until the internal temperature reaches 165℉. Thicker breasts will take longer.
- Allow the grilled chicken to rest and cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
Put the salad together
- Prep the vegetables and rinse the black beans.
- Add two cups of mixed greens of your choice to a salad plate or bowl.
- Add half of the cut tomatoes, diced avocados, black beans, corn and cheese sections over the mixed greens on each salad. Or you can just sprinkle them over the mixed greens.
- Top each salad with sliced onions and one sliced chicken breast. Garnish with cilantro. Drizzle vinaigrette across each salad. Enjoy!
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