This Vegetarian Cobb Salad is a delicious way to eat more veggies. It’s loaded with filling protein and tossed with a flavorful red wine vinaigrette, and makes an easy packed lunch for the week!
What is a Cobb Salad? It’s an American garden-style salad that is intended to serve as a main dish, typically topped with tomatoes, avocado, hard boiled eggs, bacon, and chicken.
Cobb salads are traditionally served with a red wine vinaigrette, but I also love this with Honey Dijon Dressing , if you’d like to try that, too.
Why You’ll Love It
- It’s filling. This is definitely a “meal sized” salad with protein from the hard boiled eggs, healthy fats from the avocado, and tons of fiber to help keep you feeling satisfied for hours.
- You can make it ahead. This is one of my favorite salads to meal prep, because the components can be made in advance and stored in the fridge separately. When it’s time to eat, it will take less than 5 minutes to assemble!
- It’s flexible. If you’d prefer a vegan cobb salad, simply leave off the eggs and cheese. You’ll still get plenty of protein when you add chickpeas on top!
- It’s delicious. The red wine vinaigrette ties all of these components together, with a slightly different flavor and texture in each bite. You shouldn’t get bored while eating this salad!
You can use any type of lettuce you like as the base, but I typically use either spring mix, or chopped romaine for extra crunch.
How to Make a Cobb Salad
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Lettuce
- Hard boiled eggs (try Instant Pot hard boiled eggs to save time)
- Mushroom Bacon (the most authentic & easiest vegetarian bacon)
- Tomatoes
- Avocado
- Blue cheese (optional, but recommended)
- Roasted chickpeas , for added crunch
- Red Wine Vinaigrette (recipe below!)
Directions
- Prepare the components. Roast the mushroom bacon and hard boil the eggs, if you haven’t already. In a glass mason jar or bowl, combine the red wine vinegar, olive oil, mustard, maple syrup, salt, pepper, and oregano. Shake or whisk well to combine, then set it aside.
- Assemble the salad. Start with a base of lettuce, then pile on the hard boiled eggs, bacon, tomatoes, avocado, blue cheese, and chickpeas, if using.
- Enjoy! Drizzle the dressing over the salad, and enjoy right away.
You can store these components separately for up to 5 days in the fridge, so you can make this in advance if you’d like an easy packed lunch for the week.
Tip: If you’re going to use chickpeas as part of a make-ahead meal, I recommend NOT roasting them, as the texture isn’t as nice when they are stored in the fridge.
Helpful Variations
- Make it dairy-free. Leave off the cheese and this salad is dairy-free.
- Make it vegan. Omit the eggs and cheese. The red wine vinaigrette is already vegan, and so are the mushroom bacon and chickpeas!
- Make it properly combined. Omit the chickpeas and avocado for a properly combined animal protein meal, or omit the eggs and cheese for a starch meal.
More Salad Recipes
If you need more salad ideas, try one of these other favorites!
- Vegan Caesar Salad
- Kale & Peach Salad
- Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing
- Sweet Sesame-Lime Cabbage Salad
IngredientsUS CustomaryMetric1x2x3x
Red Wine Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon salt + pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Cobb Salad
- 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce (or mixed greens)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes , sliced in half
- 1 avocado , sliced
- 3 hard boiled eggs , peeled and sliced
- 1/4 cup mushroom bacon
- 1 cup roasted chickpeas (optional)
- 1/4 cup crumbled gorgonozla (optional)
Instructions
- To prepare the red wine vinaigrette, combine the vinegar, olive oil, mustard, maple syrup, salt, pepper, and oregano in a small jar or bowl. Whisk well to combine, then set it aside. Prepare the other components, like mushroom bacon, eggs, and chickpeas, if you haven’t already.
- To assemble the salad, add the lettuce to two large serving bowls, then top with the cherry tomatoes, avocado, hard boiled eggs, mushroom bacon, roasted chickpeas, and cheese, if using.
- Drizzle the dressing over the top of each salad (you won’t use it all– start with 2 tablespoons per serving) then toss and enjoy it right away. You’ll get a little bite of everything in each forkful! Store any leftover components in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. They are best stored separately, so the lettuce won’t get soggy.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
— Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite type of salad?
Vegetarian Cobb Salad
Ingredients
Red Wine Vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon salt + pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Cobb Salad
- 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce (or mixed greens)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes , sliced in half
- 1 avocado , sliced
- 3 hard boiled eggs , peeled and sliced
- 1/4 cup mushroom bacon
- 1 cup roasted chickpeas (optional)
- 1/4 cup crumbled gorgonozla (optional)
Instructions
- To prepare the red wine vinaigrette, combine the vinegar, olive oil, mustard, maple syrup, salt, pepper, and oregano in a small jar or bowl. Whisk well to combine, then set it aside. Prepare the other components, like mushroom bacon, eggs, and chickpeas, if you haven’t already.
- To assemble the salad, add the lettuce to two large serving bowls, then top with the cherry tomatoes, avocado, hard boiled eggs, mushroom bacon, roasted chickpeas, and cheese, if using.
- Drizzle the dressing over the top of each salad (you won’t use it all– start with 2 tablespoons per serving) then toss and enjoy it right away. You’ll get a little bite of everything in each forkful! Store any leftover components in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. They are best stored separately, so the lettuce won’t get soggy.
