Main course salads are EVERYTHING. They are my favorite things in the whole wide world and this Chicken Fajita Cobb Salad is about to become your new weeknight obsession. I am a lifelong Cobb salad fanatic and you have already seen my California Cobb Salad and my Grilled Summer Cobb Salad, but this one with the chipotle-marinated chicken might just be my all-time favorite. If you are in a full-on salad moment right now, you are also going to want to check out my Mexican Cobb Salad while you are here, because clearly we take our Cobbs very seriously around here and I am absolutely not sorry about it.
Chicken Fajita Cobb Salad at a glance...
- ✅ Recipe Name: Chicken Fajita Cobb Salad
- 🕒 Ready In: 30 minutes (plus 1 hour marinating time)
- 👪 Serves: 4 people
- 🍽 Calories: 539 calories per serving
- 🥣 Main Ingredients: Boneless skinless chicken thighs, chipotle peppers in adobo, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, market greens, corn, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, avocado, feta, lemon vinaigrette
- 📖 Dietary Info: Gluten-free, dairy-free option (skip the feta), low-carb, high-protein, meal-prep friendly
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: All your favorite fajita flavors served over a bed of greens for a lighter weeknight meal, the chipotle marinade is an absolute game-changer and works on any protein, comes together in 30 minutes, totally customizable with whatever toppings you have on hand, great for meal prep and easy to scale up for a crowd
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Why I Love This Recipe
Imagine everything you normally wrap up in a warm tortilla but served over a bed of greens so you are getting all your favorite flavors with a few less calories. I am 100% on board with that trade every single time. The chipotle adobo marinade on this chicken is truly out of this world and honestly one of my all-time favorite marinades on the entire blog. Just whip up the sauteed peppers, grill the chicken, pile on the corn, avocado, feta, and tomatoes, and dinner is ready. It is that simple. If you want to round out the meal, serve it alongside a big bowl of my Cilantro Rice or my Best Guacamole Recipe for the full spread. And if you love this chipotle marinade as much as I do, you are going to want to use it on the chicken in my Chicken Fajita Bowls or swap the protein and make my Veggie Fajita Bowls for a lighter, meatless option the whole family will love. If you are into main course salads generally, my Summer Grilled Chicken Power Salad needs to be next on your list.
Jump to:
- Chicken Fajita Cobb Salad at a glance...
- Why I Love This Recipe
- Ingredients
- Substitutions & Swaps
- How to Make Chicken Fajita Cobb Salad
- How to Store Chicken Fajita Cobb Salad
- How to Freeze Chicken Fajita Cobb Salad
- 🥗✨ Tips & Tricks for the Best Chicken Fajita Cobb Salad
- FAQs
- Similar Recipes
- Chicken Fajita Cobb Salad
Ingredients
Substitutions:
You could use lime in place of lemon in the dressing if you'd like to go that route instead of the vinegar. It's equally as delicious.
Ingredients:
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs – Feel free to substitute for chicken breasts.
- Vegetable Oil
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo
- Garlic Powder
- Ground Cumin
- Dried Oregano
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Market Greens
- Corn on the Cob
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Bell Peppers
- Avocados
- Feta
- Lemon
- Garlic
- Shallot
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Olive Oil
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below.
Substitutions & Swaps
🍗 Protein Swaps
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs — juicier and more forgiving on the grill, my first choice every time
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts — leaner option, just watch the grill time so they don't dry out
- Skirt or flank steak — a great way to lean into the fajita vibe even more
- Grilled shrimp — quick-cooking and delicious with this chipotle marinade
- Salmon — the marinade works beautifully on salmon and adds a nice smoky depth
🌶 Marinade Adjustments
- Chipotle peppers in adobo — the base of the marinade and what gives it that smoky, spicy punch
- Smoked paprika — use in place of chipotle if you want the smokiness without the heat
- Ancho chili powder — a slightly milder, earthier swap for the chipotle peppers
- Lime juice addition — squeeze some fresh lime into the marinade for extra brightness and citrus flavor
🥬 Greens Options
- Market greens — what the recipe calls for and a great base for catching all the toppings
- Romaine — crisp and sturdy, holds up well under the dressing
- Little gem lettuce — sweeter and more tender, a beautiful option for entertaining
- Arugula — peppery and bold, adds a nice contrast to the smoky chicken
- Baby kale — heartier and great if you want the salad to hold up longer without wilting
🧀 Cheese Options
- Feta — creamy, salty, and the classic WGC move for this salad
- Cotija — more authentically Tex-Mex and absolutely delicious here
- Queso fresco — mild, crumbly, and a great option if you want something less salty
- Pepper jack shreds — melty and spicy if you want to go in a completely different direction
- Skip the cheese entirely — still incredibly flavorful and keeps it dairy-free
🌽 Topping Swaps
- Fresh corn off the cob — sweet and crunchy, the best option when corn is in season
- Grilled corn — charred and smoky, takes the whole salad up a notch
- Canned or frozen corn — totally fine in a pinch, just pat it dry before adding
- Black beans — great for adding extra protein and heartiness
- Pickled jalapeños — adds a punchy tangy heat that I am completely obsessed with
🫙 Dressing Options
- Lemon shallot vinaigrette — the classic dressing for this recipe, bright and clean
- Lime vinaigrette — swap lemon for lime for a more Tex-Mex-forward flavor
- Cilantro vinaigrette — fresh, herbaceous, and absolutely incredible with these flavors
- Chipotle ranch — creamy and smoky, a crowd-pleasing option if you want something richer
- Store-bought salsa verde — a super quick shortcut dressing that works surprisingly well
🌮 Serving Swaps
- On top of nachos — load up some chips with the chicken and all the toppings for the ultimate party snack
- Over greens as a salad — the classic WGC way and totally perfect
- In a burrito bowl over cilantro rice — one of my favorite ways to use leftover chicken
- Stuffed into warm flour tortillas — turn it back into an actual fajita situation
- Over quinoa or farro — heartier grain bowl option that is great for meal prep
How to Make Chicken Fajita Cobb Salad
Step 1: Combine the vegetable oil, chopped chipotle peppers in adobo, garlic powder, cumin, dried oregano, salt and black pepper in a small bowl and stir to combine.
Step 2: Place the chicken in a large zip top plastic bag and add the marinade. Zip the bag and mix the chicken into the marinade. Place it into the fridge and let it marinate for at least 1 hour.
Step 3: Heat an indoor or outdoor grill to about 400 degrees F (medium high heat). Place the chicken onto the grill and grill 5 to 6 minutes per side, until the chicken is cooked.
Step 4: Remove the chicken from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice the chicken against the grain and use as needed.
Step 5: On a large platter arrange the greens with all the toppings on top. Whisk the ingredients for the vinaigrette together. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette and serve.
How to Store Chicken Fajita Cobb Salad
This is best eaten fresh. It would be best to make as much as you need and you can always store extra chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. However, the salad should preferably be assembled fresh. You can also store any leftover vinaigrette in the fridge for a few days.
How to Freeze Chicken Fajita Cobb Salad
You can freeze any leftover chicken in the freezer for 3 months. As with storage, rest of the salad ingredients should be assembled fresh. Just thaw the chicken before eating and properly warm it through when its time to eat.
🥗✨ Tips & Tricks for the Best Chicken Fajita Cobb Salad
Fajita night meets main course salad perfection
Use lime instead of lemon in the vinaigrette. Both work beautifully but lime adds a brighter, more citrusy punch that plays really well with all the Southwestern flavors in this salad. Totally worth trying if you want a little extra zip.
Do not skip the marinating time. At least one hour in that chipotle adobo marinade is what takes this chicken from good to absolutely incredible. If you can swing it, marinate overnight and the flavor will be even more intense.
Make a double batch of the marinade. Seriously, this marinade is so good on everything. Use it on steak, shrimp, salmon, or even tofu. It has just the right amount of smoky heat without being overpowering, and it freezes beautifully too.
Rest the chicken before slicing. Let it sit for a full 10 minutes off the grill before you cut into it. This keeps all the juices locked in so every slice is tender and flavorful rather than dry.
Slice against the grain. Always slice your grilled chicken thighs against the grain for the most tender bite. It makes a bigger difference than you would think.
Char your corn directly on the grill. If you have the grill going for the chicken anyway, throw the corn on too. That slightly smoky, charred corn adds a whole extra layer of flavor that you absolutely cannot get from corn out of a can.
Sauté your bell peppers until they are really soft. Do not rush them. Let them cook down low and slow so they get sweet and jammy and taste like the real deal fajita filling. That is what makes this feel like a restaurant salad.
Dress individual portions only. If you are planning to save leftovers, set aside a portion of undressed salad before you toss everything. Dressed greens get soggy fast and nobody wants a sad salad the next day.
Store the components separately for meal prep. The grilled chicken keeps in the fridge for 3 to 4 days and freezes for up to 3 months. Keep the vinaigrette in a jar in the fridge and assemble fresh portions all week long for lunches or easy dinners.
Swap feta for cotija. Both are great here but if you are leaning into the Tex-Mex vibe, cotija is the move. It is saltier, crumblier, and feels more at home next to the chipotle chicken and corn.
FAQs
What is a typical cobb salad?
Cobb salad usually consists of chopped greens, tomatoes, and other vegetables along with meat and boiled eggs with a vinaigrette. Its usually served as a main course.
How do I make this for weekday lunches in a big batch?
This is such a great candidate for a week lunch or dinner. Just prep a big batch of grilled chicken and vinaigrette per this recipe. Then, when its time to eat, just add your greens and veggies (you can keep corn ready in your fridge when meal prepping), add the chicken and vinaigrette for the portion you are eating.
Similar Recipes
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If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Chicken Fajita Cobb Salad
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
For the Salad
- 3-4 cups market greens
- 2 corn on the cob kernels removed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup sautéed bell peppers
- 1-2 avocados sliced
- ½ cup feta
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
For the Vinaigrette
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Combine the vegetable oil, chopped chipotle peppers in adobo, garlic powder, cumin, dried oregano, salt and black pepper in a small bowl and stir to combine. Place the chicken in a large zip top plastic bag and add the marinade. Zip the bag and mix the chicken into the marinade. Place it into the fridge and let it marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Heat an indoor or outdoor grill to about 400 degrees F (medium high heat). Place the chicken onto the grill and grill 5 to 6 minutes per side, until the chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice the chicken against the grain and use as needed.
- On a large platter arrange the greens with all the toppings on top.
- Whisk the ingredients for the vinaigrette together. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette and serve.
Notes
- Alternatively - you could use lime in place of lemon in the dressing if you'd like to go that route. It's equally as delicious.
- The marinade for this chicken is truly out of this world. If you're taking the time to prep it, make a double batch and use it on steak, shrimp, salmon or any other protein of your choice. It has a subtle kick but it's not overpowering and it's truly a game changer when it comes to a quick marinade / protein dinner option.
Such a wonderful salad. It has become my go to salad
Amazing! Topped with homemade tortilla strips, such a perfect simple summer combination.
WOW! This recipe got rave reviews from the family. Super easy to make a big batch of (or scale down), and I was able to prep almost everything in advance. This will be on repeat!