Southwest Style Cobb Salad

Published on July 12, 2021 | By
southwest cobb salad

The ever-popular Los Angeles-born Cobb salad has a new look and a new taste. The Cobb salad goes southwest this summer with a smoking spicy chipotle salad dressing, grilled sweet corn, black beans, and Jack cheese.

The Southwest Style Cobb Salad has all of the traditional ingredients associated with the classic Cobb. The story is that the Cobb salad was born through necessity late one night in the 1930s at the Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood.

You can choose to make your own chipotle mayo or buy a ready-made chipotle mayonnaise. I whisked my favorite mayo together with some Tabasco chipotle pepper sauce until it reached the desired amount of hot and then blended it with the remainder of the ingredients to make a creamy smoky dressing.

The southwest style Cobb salad is a hearty salad that can be served as a main for lunch or dinner. This salad is loaded with bold flavors and textures. The dressing is one of the best parts of this salad. It’s rich and creamy just like a traditional Cobb, but spicy and savory because of the cilantro, lime, and smoked paprika.

This is also a great make-ahead or take-on-the-go picnic salad. You can grill the chicken and corn ahead and slice them the day of serving. The eggs can also be hard-boiled ahead, the cheese grated, and the chipotle dressing can be whisked together and reserved in a jar. Just shake it up before pouring over the salad.

The salad is most beautifully presented when it is composed on a platter. The lettuce can be placed on the platter first and then allow the platter to be your palate as you create your masterpiece. You can make separate rows of each of the ingredients or layer the ingredients. Always place the eggs and avocados, bacon, and green onions on top. Serve slightly chilled.

    • Prep Time
    • Minutes
    • Cook Time
    • Minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 8 cups of chopped romaine or mixed salad greens
  • 6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 5 ears of corn, grilled or roasted and cut from the cob
  • 12 oz of black beans, cooked and drained
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 cup of pepper jack cheese, grated
  • 1/2 cup green onions, sliced thin
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 3 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
  • For the smoky chipotle dressing
  • 1 cup chipotle mayonnaise, use 1/2 for dressing and 1/2 for chicken
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1/3 cup lime juice
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp honey

Instructions

  1. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish. Coat with 1/2 cup of the chipotle mayonnaise. Set aside to marinate for a couple of hours.
  2. While the chicken is marinating, make the smoky chipotle dressing, cook the bacon and hard boil the eggs.
  3. For the dressing: In a small bowl combine all of the ingredients. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
  4. When you are ready to cook the chicken and the corn, heat the grill on high or the oven to 400. Rub the corn lightly with olive oil. Place it on the grill turning every minute or so until completely charred.
  5. Place the chicken breasts on the grill. Depending on the thickness, cook for 8-10 minutes on each side or until the breasts reach an internal temperature of 165.
  6. Remove from the grill and set aside to cool. Then cut the chicken breast into thin slices.
  7. The salad looks spectacular when it is composed on a large platter. Start by placing the chopped romaine and other salad greens on the bottom. You can either toss in some of the corn, black beans, cheese, and tomatoes, or simply begin to layer them and place them around the edges.
  8. I like to crumble the bacon over the top and place the slices of egg around the edges with the avocado. Place the thin slices of chicken breast across the top of the lettuce in the center of the salad. Sprinkle on any extra cheese and bacon as well as green onions and cilantro. Have fun with it. This is your masterpiece!!
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