This might be controversial, but we're all friends here right? I hate a confession to make: I hate traditional Cobb Salads. Hard boiled eggs and creamy dressings... it's a hard pass for me. BUT ever since discovering this California Cobb Salad I've changed by tune!!
If you’re a long time reader of WGC, you know that sweet potatoes are my jam. They are constantly stocked in my kitchen because you can use them for so many different recipes! Chips / Loaded Sweetpotatoes / Wedge Fries / Noodles, the list goes on! Today they are front and center in this California Cobb Salad. It’s a game changer especially because up until this Cobb graced my kitchen – I hated Cobbs.
Whaaaaaat? Who says that? Here’s the deal – hard boiled eggs in my salad. NO thank you. Creamy thick dressings... hard pass. I want a healthy, gorgeous, colorful and light Cobb and that’s exactly what this one is! So forget any notion you had of a super heavy cobb salad – this one is 100% guaranteed to rock your world.
It's loaded with roasted sweet potatoes and beets, some chickpeas for that extra protein, plenty of creamy avocado and a dressing that you'll absolutely adore! I've added some flaked salmon on top to make it into a main, but you could easily skip the salmon if you prefer. OR substitute with chicken. Skies the limit when it comes to Cobbs!
California Cobb Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch dice
- 3-4 heads Romaine lettuce, chopped, ¾ inch ribbons
- 4 cooked beets
- 1 cup heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 ripe avocado, diced
- 1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
For the Grilled salmon
- 4 6-ounce salmon filets
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
For the Mustard Herb Vinaigrette:
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 whole shallot, finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Grainy Dijon Mustard
- 2 teaspoons Dried Oregano
- 2 teaspoons Dried Parsley
- ½ teaspoons Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
- ½ cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Finely Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
For the Salad:
- Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Toss the cubed sweet potatoes with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes, stirring once, until golden and softened. Let cool.
- In 4 bowls, arrange equal amounts of the lettuce and top with piles of the sweet potatoes, beets, cherry tomatoes, avocados and chickpeas. Lay a piece of salmon on top of each salad. Toss with vinaigrette as needed.
For the Salmon:
- Season the salmon filets with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill on a hot grill pan for 3-4 minutes on each side until just slightly pink in the center. Remove and set aside.
For the Mustard Herb Vinaigrette:
- Combine all the ingredients in medium bowl and whisk until everything is incorporated.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe by What’s Gaby Cooking
Delicious combination of flavors I never would have thought of combining. The dressing is wonderful and will be yummy on other salads, too! Even got family members to eat chickpeas and beets -- which they never would have, if not on tonight's dinner!
Delicious fresh salad - genuinely looked forward to lunch every day knowing this is what I had waiting for me. My husband loved it too. Highly recommend.
This looks really yummy and unique! I’ve been looking for some new dinner salads! How do you recommend preparing the cooked beets?
Hi, Gaby,
What temperature do you preheat the oven to for the sweet potatoes?
425! good catch
This is a completely delicious/satisfying salad! We made with grilled chicken and didn’t add chickpeas (forgot), and it was wonderful! The dressing is amazing. Thanks!
Made it tonight. Loved it! I’ve been using a lot of your recipes lately. They’re all so good! You are my new go-to recipe guru!
Ah, what a gorgeous salad. I just love the sweet potato and beet additions.