This Chicken Cobb Salad recipe is a classic summertime meal that turns simple chicken into a delicious, satisfying, and healthy meal. It's Paleo, simple, and made with staple ingredients! And I have suggestions to make it AIP-friendly.
Prepare the boiled eggs. Bring 4 cups of water to boil in a large saucepan and gently lower eggs into the water. Let it cook for 7-8 minutes. Immediately transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water and let sit until eggs are cooled at room temperature. When ready, peel eggs and set aside.
Make the crispy bacon bits. Meanwhile, roughly chop bacon slices and add to a hot cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Saute with a wooden spoon occasionally until brown and crispy (8-10 minutes). Transfer cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Allow the skillet to cool slightly just so it’s not smoking.
Using the same skillet, reduce the heat to low-medium. Spoon out 2 Tbsp of bacon grease and pour into a large salad bowl to reserve for the dressing. Using remaining bacon grease (or enough to just coat the bottom of the skillet).
Make the chicken. Meanwhile, add chicken to the skillet and let cook on one side for at least 5 minutes without moving it so it will have a crisp exterior. Flip using tongs, and add the ghee or butter. Continue to cook for another 5-8 minutes, until a thermometer inserted in the center registers at 165f degrees. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing into thin pieces.
Make the dressing by vigorously whisking the bacon grease in the large salad bowl with vinegar, dijon mustard, raw honey, and then adding the olive oil while continuously whisking until thick and emulsified. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the dressing aside in a container and add the lettuce to the large salad bowl with the rest of the dressing, mix well to dress the lettuce.
Assemble and plate the salad. On top of the dressed lettuce, add sliced boiled eggs, sliced chicken, cherry tomatoes, avocado, and crispy bacon pieces. Drizzle reserved dressing on top of all ingredients and serve.
Notes
*To make this more AIP-friendly, omit the eggs and tomatoes. Try adding in sliced cucumber or other AIP-compliant veggies instead. Omit the ghee/butter just using the bacon grease and olive oil for searing the chicken and omit mustard in the vinaigrette. Omit black pepper.