Craving a CFA salad, but you don’t live close enough to pick one up? Make your own copycat Chick-fil-A Cobb salad! We have recreated this famous recipe and have all the textures, colors, and tastes you have grown to love in the original.
Looking for other healthy copycat salads? Don’t miss the Chick-fil-A market salad and the Chick-fil-A spicy Southwest salad.
Jump to:
- About
- Ingredients
- Variations
- How to Make
- Recipe FAQs
- Serve
- Store
- Expert Tips
- Other Chick-fil-A Recipes You’ll Love
- Recipe
- Comments
About
Chick-fil-A is a popular fast food chain in the United States that prides itself on its chicken, so if you don’t want a sandwich, order one of their salads. The Cobb salad is their best selling one, and appeals to customers who want more of a savory taste. In contrast, the CFA market salad appeals to guests that crave the sweetness of fruit and candied nuts.
Ingredients
To make this copycat Chick-fil-A Cobb salad a bit more healthy, we choose to use grilled chicken nuggets instead of breaded and deep fried nuggets.
- Salad Greens: romaine lettuce 80%, spring mix 20%. We used a 50-50 mix for improved texture.
- Vegetables: shredded green cabbage, roasted corn kernels, grape tomatoes
- Cheese: Monterey jack and extra sharp cheddar
- Protein: grilled chicken nuggets, crumbled bacon, sliced boiled egg
- Dressing: avocado lime ranch
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Vegan: omit the chicken and bacon. Use vegan cheese for the salad and vegan mayo in the dressing.
- Keto Friendly: leave out the white sugar, powdered sugar, and the corn.
- Can’t eat lettuce? Try kale and Swiss chard instead of romaine and spring mix.
How to Make
Gather the ingredients for the brine and spice rub.
- Marinate the chicken for 6 hours to overnight. Blot both sides with a paper towel to remove the extra moisture. Sprinkle on the spice rub, then rub it in. Make sure to use all of the rub, and rub both sides of the chicken.
- Next, grill the chicken. In a cast iron grill pan, heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Carefully place the chicken in the pan and cook for one minute. Reduce the temperature to medium low and cook for another 4 minutes. Flip only once to get the best sear marks. Cook for 4 minutes on the other side.
3. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil for 10 minutes. Repeat the cooking and tenting process with the second chicken breast. After the grilled chicken breasts have rested, you’ll see the juice coming out. Keep that juice to pour back onto the meat once it’s cut.
4. Cut each chicken breast into large nuggets, then pour the juices on top to benefit from all that additional yummy flavor.
5. Cook the bacon and blot the excess fat off with paper towels.
6. Boil the eggs for 9 minutes and put them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process then peel and slice them.
7. In a small cast iron skillet, over medium high heat, heat up the oil until shimmering then cook the kernels of corn for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Prep the romaine lettuce by rinsing, blotting it dry with paper towels. Layer the large romaine lettuce leafs and cut them into smaller pieces with a large chef’s knife.
9. Next, assemble the copycat Chick-fil-A Cobb salad. Get a salad bowl and start with the base: romaine lettuce mixed with spring mix and red cabbage. Add the Monterey jack, extra sharp cheese, and the roasted corn kernels. Add the crumbled bacon, sliced hard boiled eggs, and the grape tomatoes, then add 8 to 9 grilled chicken nuggets in the center.
10. Drizzle with our homemade avocado lime ranch dressing when ready to eat, and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Serve
Other Salads: Looking for other hearty main course salads? Try our recipes for lemon kale Caesar and Asian salad. For something lighter and healthier, try our recipes for CFA side salad, kale crunch salad, and superfood salad.
More Dressings: Love the avocado lime ranch or creamy salsa dressing? We’ve got you covered with our copycat recipes! Get even more CFA dressing recipes in our ultimate guide to Chick-fil-A salad dressings.
Round Out Your Meal: Try our copycat recipes for Chick-fil-A sauce, Chick-fil-A mac and cheese, and Chick-fil-A chicken tortilla soup to have an amazing CFA inspired meal at home!
Store
Make Ahead: For maximum freshness, each ingredient can be stored separately and assembled just before eating. The chicken tastes best if it sits in the brine for at least 6 hours or overnight, so it’s perfect for people who like to plan ahead. This recipe is also wonderful for meal prep. Make it on a Sunday and you’ll be good for the rest of week.
Feel free to mix the romaine lettuce, spring mix and red cabbage together before storing. These salad ingredients should also keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Leftovers: The salad dressing is best stored in an airtight container, like a small mason jar with a lid, and refrigerated for up to 5 days. The grilled chicken nuggets can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The other salad ingredients (crumbled bacon, hard boiled eggs, cheese, roasted corn kernels, and grape tomatoes) are best if stored separately to maintain freshness, color and texture.
Expert Tips
- Take the time to taste the dressing and adjust the amount of acidity (buttermilk, vinegar and lime juice).
- Let the chicken sit in the brine at least 6 hours, or to up to 24 hours.
- Don’t skip the freshly grated lemon zest in the spice rub.
- For maximum freshness, assemble the salad just before eating.
Other Chick-fil-A Recipes You’ll Love
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