Chicken Cobb Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing (Low FODMAP)
20 Minutes prep • 10 Minutes cook • Low FODMAP • Gluten-free • Serves 4 • Ok to make ahead: Steps 1-6
This salad is simple to make, beautiful to look at, and has the most delicious creamy avocado dressing! It’s a perfect main course dinner for a warm summer evening, or a wonderful hearty side for your next barbecue. Make extra Avocado Caesar dressing because it’s so creamy, flavorful, and thick, it makes a great dip for veggies and crackers as well.
Ingredients: Salad
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons Smoke N Sanity Cajun Creole or Lemon Pepper Seasoning
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
6 cups shredded lettuce
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
6 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
Ingredients: Avocado Caesar Dressing
1/2 avocado, chopped
3 tablespoons heavy cream, plus more to thin the dressing if needed
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped, plus more for serving
1/2 teaspoon Smoke N Sanity Essence of Garlic Salt
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
(1) Cook the bacon: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and lay out the bacon slices so they aren’t crowded together. Bake 8-10 minutes, until the bacon is crisping, watch closely so it doesn’t burn. Remove from the oven and lay on paper towels to cool. Once cool, chop the bacon and set aside.
(2) Hard boil the eggs: Put the eggs in a saucepan and just cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil on the stove. Turn the heat off and cover the pan. Let the eggs sit in the pan to cook in the hot water for about 10 minutes (longer if you like a very firm yolk). Pour off the hot water and run cold water over the eggs until they are cooled. The fresher the eggs, the harder they are to peel after boiling so use eggs that you have had for a little while if you can!
(3) Slice the chicken: You can buy “thin cut” chicken, or slice it horizontally yourself. This will help the seasoning reach more of the chicken and it will cook quite fast on the grill.
(4) Marinate and grill the chicken: In a bowl, toss the chicken with olive oil and cajun or lemon pepper seasoning. Set aside until you’re ready to cook. Set your grill, grill pan, or skillet to medium-high. Grill the chicken until lightly charred and cooked through, turning halfway through cooking, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let rest on a cutting board while you make the rest of the salad.
(5) Make the dressing: While the chicken is cooking, combine all ingredients in a blender or in a compact food processor and blend until creamy, adding more cream or lactose-free whole milk to thin the dressing if needed. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
(6) Slice the chicken: Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and chop the bacon into crumbles.
Make-ahead note: At this point, you may set everything aside in the refrigerator until you’re ready to plate and serve.
(7) Finish: In a large bowl, toss the greens and basil with the dressing.
(8) Plate and serve: Put 1/4 of the dressed greens on each plate, then arrange the chicken, tomatoes, cheese, bacon, and eggs on top. Drizzle with additional dressing if you like. Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil and a few grinds of black pepper.
Eat and enjoy every bite because you can!
Recipe note: I use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt in all my recipes because it has a wonderful flat and crisp flake that tastes delicious. It is also the least salty salt available so you can use it more liberally as a seasoning than you can table salt or sea salt. If you use another type of salt, you may need to reduce the amount so it is not over-salted.
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