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Ella Cooks

The Best Cobb Salad for a Crowd (Ultimate Potluck Platter)

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I have made a lot of Cobb salads over the years, and this is the version I actually reach for now. It is the one where the chicken gets cooked in the bacon fat instead of just sitting there being polite about it, where the dressing has real shallot and real Dijon in it, and where every row on that platter earns its place. This is not a salad you make to feel virtuous. This is a salad you make because you want something that eats like a full dinner and still looks like a showstopper on a potluck table.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Calories: 450
Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

For the salad
  • 2 hearts romaine lettuce chopped (about 10 cups)
  • 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 8 slices thick-cut bacon
  • 4 large eggs hard-boiled and chopped
  • 2 large avocados diced
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes halved
  • ½ cup thinly sliced red onion
  • 4 oz blue cheese crumbled (gorgonzola or a mild Danish blue both work well; swap in feta if blue cheese is not your thing)
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives for garnish
For the dressing:
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 small shallot finely minced
  • 1 tsp honey
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Method
 

  1. Cook the bacon. Lay the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat and cook until crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and leave the fat in the pan. Once cool, chop into bite-sized pieces.
  2. Cook the chicken in the bacon fat. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and add them to the same skillet with the reserved bacon fat. Cook over medium heat, 5 to 6 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through (165°F internal temperature). Let it rest for 5 minutes, then dice.
  3. Make the dressing. Add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon, shallot, and honey to a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Season with salt and pepper, then shake hard until it thickens and emulsifies. Taste and adjust.
  4. Assemble. Spread the chopped romaine over a large platter. Arrange the chicken, bacon, eggs, avocado, tomatoes, red onion, and blue cheese in neat rows across the top. Scatter the chives over everything.
  5. Dress and serve. Drizzle about half the dressing over the salad right before serving and pass the rest at the table. If you toss it, toss gently so the avocado stays intact.

Nutrition

Calories: 450kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 28gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 8gSodium: 760mgFiber: 4gSugar: 2g

Notes

A Cobb salad platter is one of the best things you can bring to a potluck because it looks like you tried a lot harder than you did, and it does not wilt into a sad puddle sitting out on a buffet table.
Assemble on site. Cook everything at home, pack each component in its own container, and build the platter when you arrive. This keeps the lettuce crisp and the avocado from browning.
Dressing on the side, always. Bring it in its shaking jar. Nobody wants a dressed salad that has been sitting for two hours.
Go individual. For a more grab-and-go potluck setup, layer the ingredients in mason jars with the dressing at the bottom and the lettuce on top. Guests shake and pour into a bowl. No serving utensils fighting for space on a crowded table.
Scale it up cleanly. Everything in this recipe multiplies well. For a bigger crowd, just double the quantities and use two platters rather than piling one impossibly high.

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