This Crispy Chicken Cobb Salad is a classic Cobb salad with the addition of the crispiest, most flavorful chicken, great for meal prep and leftovers.
It’s a salad that is filling enough for dinner, and most of the ingredients can be prepped ahead. It's great for family dinner, weekday lunches, or entertaining.
Recipe Highlights
- Dinner Salad: This salad is a hearty and filling meal (just like this Crispy Chicken Caesar Salad).
- Toppings: Made with tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, bacon, avocados, and blue cheese (goat cheese or feta is a great substitute).
- The dressing: A vinaigrette that’s layered with Dijon mustard, honey, and some of the bacon fat drippings.
- Prep Time: The dish takes some time to prep, but it is worth the return with all of the fresh ingredients and easy leftovers.
Crispy Chicken
This crispy chicken is a recipe that I have perfected over many years and have been making for decades with a few tweaks and special techniques.
This crispy chicken is a staple in our house because it's so versatile. I change it routinely to keep it interesting, making Crispy Lemon Chicken, Crispy Honey Chicken, Breaded Chicken Bruschetta, or adding it to a salad.
The Trick: Use lots of freshly grated Parmesan in the breading. See more below for additional tips and techniques that make this recipe unique.
Ingredients:
Below are the ingredients needed to make the dressing, salad, and crispy chicken in this Cobb Salad with Crispy Chicken.
Salad
- Bacon: Use about 10 strips, or if you love bacon, feel free to make a whole package. This is also helpful if you want plenty of leftovers.
- Eggs: The eggs are hard-boiled. See below for the technique that makes peeling super easy.
- Romaine Lettuce: Use fresh romaine lettuce, which holds up well to all the salad toppings. You can substitute green leaf lettuce or mixed greens, but they are less hearty than romaine. If you have extra romaine lettuce, make these Cajun Chicken Wraps. These wraps also use tomatoes and avocados if you have extra.
- Tomatoes: Use cherry or grape tomatoes, or really any kind that you prefer.
- Avocados: Use ripe avocados.
- Blue Cheese: A traditional Cobb Salad calls for blue cheese, but feel free to substitute goat cheese or feta cheese, which work equally well.
- Chives: Minced, added on top. This is optional.
Dressing:
- Shallot: You don’t need much. Mince it as small as possible so that the texture becomes unnoticeable.
- Vinegar: Use red wine vinegar, but you can substitute champagne vinegar, white wine vinegar, or even balsamic if needed.
- Olive Oil: Use extra virgin olive oil.
- Dijon Mustard: Used not only for emulsification but also to add a tangy mustardy flavor.
- Honey: Adds sweetness and helps with emulsification.
- Salt: Just a small amount to balance flavor.
- Bacon Drippings: Optional, but so good.
Crispy Chicken
- Panko: Use panko rather than regular breadcrumbs for an extra crispy exterior.
- Parmesan Cheese: This ingredient is key. It's best to grate the parmesan yourself. I know... more work, but it makes a big difference in the taste and texture, and you avoid the anti-caking ingredients.
- Salt: Brings out flavor. Feel free to reduce or increase this according to your taste preferences.
- Eggs: Use 3 large eggs.
- Chicken: Use organic chicken breast if possible (there's a difference in taste), roughly 2 large chicken breasts or 3 smaller ones.
- Olive Oil: Use extra virgin olive oil. When pan-fried in extra virgin olive oil, the panko soaks up the flavor and makes the chicken taste so incredibly good.
How to Make Cobb Salad with Crispy Chicken
Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make this Cobb Salad with Crispy Chicken.
Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Step 1. Hard Boiled Eggs: To hard boil the eggs, bring a saucepan filled with water to a boil. Gently add the eggs and boil for 13 minutes. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and plunge into ice water. Once cool, peel the eggs.
Step 2. Crispy Bacon: Cook the bacon in a large sauté pan at medium heat until crispy, flipping once, about 10 minutes. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings and discard the rest. Set the bacon aside to cool, then crumble into small pieces.
Step 3. Dressing: In a medium bowl, add the minced shallot, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings, honey, and salt. Whisk to combine.
Step 4. Panko Mixture: In a medium flat-bottom dish, like a square casserole dish, add the panko, grated parmesan cheese, and salt and toss to combine.
Step 5. Egg Mixture: In a separate dish or bowl, whisk the eggs.
Step 6. Tenderize Chicken: Cut each piece of chicken in half horizontally. Then cut the horizontal pieces in half to create 4 thin cutlets. Place a piece of parchment or wax paper on top of the chicken and tenderize the chicken with a meat hammer such that the chicken is 1½ times the original surface area.
Step 7. Breading the Chicken: Bring a large sauté pan to medium heat. Add two tablespoons of olive oil. Quickly, dip each piece of chicken in the egg mixture, then in the panko mixture, pressing the panko firmly into both sides of the chicken with your fingers.
Step 8. Pan Fry the Chicken: Place the chicken in the oil in the pan and allow to cook, undisturbed, until crispy, about 2-4 minutes. Once a medium golden brown, flip over (it should release easily from the pan), and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Set the chicken aside on a wire cooling rack with a sheet of paper towels under the wire rack to catch any excess oil that drips off. This is key to helping the chicken maintain its crispiness (rather than just putting it on a plate or resting it directly on paper towels, which creates a steaming or softening effect).
Step 9. Assemble the Salad: Add the diced romaine lettuce to a large serving bowl. Arrange the crispy chicken, sliced hard-boiled eggs, crumbled bacon, tomatoes, sliced avocados, and blue cheese on top, either in neat rows or arranged in groupings. Sprinkle with minced chives.
Serve with the dressing on the side.
Tips for Making Cobb Salad with Crispy Chicken
- Tenderize the Chicken: This makes such a difference in the taste and texture of the chicken.
- Press the Panko: Press extra panko breadcrumb mixture into both sides of the chicken. This makes it crispier.
- Set up Your Workstation: To ensure success and low stress, set up a workstation in the following order:
- Cut and tenderized chicken
- Egg mixture
- Panko mixture
- Stove and sauté pan
- Use Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The panko soaks up and pan-fries in the oil. Using a good quality extra virgin olive oil goes a long way in adding flavor to the chicken.
- Pan Temperature: On an electric stove, aim for a temperature that is roughly a "4" on a scale of "1-10". Anything higher than that and your bread-crumb coating is more likely to burn. It will also help to prevent the olive oil from smoking. If the olive oil is smoking, you know that the pan is too hot.
- Don't Overcrowd the Pan: To ensure crispy chicken, don't overcrowd the pan, which creates a steaming rather than a crisping effect.
- Use a Cookie Drying Rack: You spent a lot of effort making crispy chicken. Don't let it get soggy by putting it on a plate or stacking the chicken on top of each other. This will soften the crispy breadcrumbs. Place the chicken in a single layer on a cookie drying rack as you cook the rest of the chicken and until serving.
- Romaine: Ensure that the romaine lettuce has been washed and patted dry. Lettuce that is wet is hard to coat in dressing and wilts faster.
- Dressing the Salad: I recommend serving the dressing on the side, which makes it easier to prep this salad ahead and gives each person the chance to add as much or as little dressing as they like. Alternatively, you could dress the romaine lettuce only and layer the toppings on top.
Make Ahead, Storage, and Reheating Tips
- Make Ahead: The eggs and dressing can be made one or more days ahead. The bacon and chicken can also be made ahead and recrisped in a pan the day of if desired. The chicken is best when crispy, either made the day of or recrisped in a sauté pan.
- To Store: Store each part of the salad separately. The lettuce, toppings, chicken, and dressing should each be stored in their own container to ensure maximum freshness.
- To Reheat the Chicken: The best way to reheat leftover chicken is to add it back to a sauté pan with a little extra virgin olive oil to get it crispy on both sides. A faster way is simply to place the chicken in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 400°F for about 10 minutes until warmed through.
For More Salad Recipes You May Love
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Cobb Salad With Crispy Chicken
Ingredients
Cobb Salad
- 6 eggs to be hard-boiled
- 8 strips bacon 10 oz
- 1 large head Romaine lettuce, diced 14-16 oz
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 2 avocados thinly sliced
- 4 oz blue cheese, goat cheese, or feta cheese
- handful chives minced (optional)
Dressing
- ½ shallot minced
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon bacon drippings optional
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Crispy Chicken
- 2 cups panko
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 lb chicken breast
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus more as needed
Instructions
Hard Boiled Eggs
- Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the eggs. Boil for 13 minutes. Use a fine mesh strainer or slotted spatula to carefully remove the eggs and plunge them in a bowl of ice water. Once cool, peel the eggs, and slice into quarters.
Bacon
- Cook the bacon in a large sauté pan at medium heat until crispy, flipping once, about 8-10 minutes. Set aside to cool, then crumble into pieces. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings and discard the rest.
Dressing
- In a medium bowl, add the minced shallot, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, salt, and reserved bacon drippings. Whisk to combine.
Crispy Chicken
- In a medium flat bottom dish, like a square casserole dish, add the panko, grated parmesan cheese, and salt and toss to combine. In a separate dish or bowl, whisk the eggs.
- Cut the chicken in half horizontally so that you have two thin cutlets. Cut each thin cutlet in half to create 4 smaller cutlets.Place each chicken cutlet on a cutting board, covered with a sheet of wax or parchment paper, working in batches as needed. Pound the chicken very thin with a meat hammer so that each cutlet is about 1.5x the original surface area.
- Bring a large sauté pan to medium heat (or just under medium heat at a setting of #4 out of 10). Add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Dip each chicken cutlet first in the egg, then in the panko mixture, pressing the panko firmly into both sides of the chicken. Place the chicken in the pan with the olive oil and cook undisturbed until medium golden brown and crispy, about 2-4 minutes. The chicken should release easily from the pan when ready.Flip the chicken over and cook for another 1-3 minutes. The chicken should be a medium golden brown on both sides.
- Set the chicken aside on a wire rack with a sheet of paper towels underneath to catch any olive oil that drips off.
Assemble the Salad
- To assemble the salad, add the diced romaine lettuce to a large serving bowl. Arrange the crispy chicken, sliced hard boiled eggs, crumbled bacon, halved tomatoes, sliced avocados, and blue cheese on top, either in neat rows or arranged in groupings. Sprinkle with minced chives. Serve with the dressing on the side.
Notes
- Tenderize the Chicken: This makes such a difference in the taste and texture of the chicken.
- Press the Panko: Press extra panko breadcrumb mixture into both sides of the chicken. This makes it crispier.
- Set up Your Workstation: To ensure success and low stress, set up a workstation in the following order:
- Cut and tenderized chicken
- Egg mixture
- Panko mixture
- Stove and sauté pan
- Use Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The panko soaks up and pan-fries in the oil. Using a good quality extra virgin olive oil goes a long way in adding flavor to the chicken.
- Pan Temperature: On an electric stove, aim for a temperature that is roughly a "4" on a scale of "1-10". Anything higher than that and your bread-crumb coating is more likely to burn. It will also help to prevent the olive oil from smoking. If the olive oil is smoking, you know that the pan is too hot.
- Don't Overcrowd the Pan: To ensure crispy chicken, don't overcrowd the pan, which creates a steaming rather than a crisping effect.
- Use a Cookie Drying Rack: You spent a lot of effort making crispy chicken. Don't let it get soggy by putting it on a plate or stacking the chicken on top of each other. This will soften the crispy breadcrumbs. Place the chicken in a single layer on a cookie drying rack as you cook the rest of the chicken and until serving.
- Romaine: Ensure that the romaine lettuce has been washed and patted dry. Lettuce that is wet is hard to coat in dressing and wilts faster.
- Dressing the Salad: I recommend serving the dressing on the side. Serving the dressing on the side makes it easier to prep this salad ahead and gives each person the chance to add as much or as little dressing as they like. Alternatively, you could dress the romaine lettuce only and layer the toppings on top.
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