This Southwestern Cobb with Creamy Chipotle Dressing is here for you as we navigate our way through salad season.
It’s hot, it’s busy, and you’re trying to soak up every drop of summer before fall creeps in. You need a salad you can throw together quickly that’s not going to taste like an afterthought. With leftover chicken, this comes together without much fuss. It’s exactly what that cooked chicken in your fridge has been waiting for.
Feel Good Vibes
Protein and staying power: Chicken, eggs, black beans and yogurt give us protein. This salad is substantial enough for lunch or dinner.
Fiber and plant diversity: Romaine, corn, black beans, peppers, avocado and green onions bring fiber and a broad mix of plant nutrients to the party. That’s great for supporting your digestion.
Healthy fats and micronutrients: Avocado contains monounsaturated fat, while the vegetables offer vitamin C, carotenoids, folate and potassium.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Plain yogurt: equal amount of Duke’s mayo with a splash of water to thin it down.
- Lime juice: freshly squeezed lemon juice. Please don’t use the bottled stuff!
- Chipotle in adobo pepper: mix ½ teaspoon smoked paprika + a pinch of cayenne + a teaspoon of tomato paste
- Garlic clove: ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Eggs: crispy bacon, extra black beans and chicken, feta
- Berbere chicken: rotisserie chicken
- Yellow corn: white corn, fire roasted frozen corn, small diced jicama
- Black beans: chickpeas, lupini beans
- Roasted red pepper: freshly sliced pepper, sliced cucumber
- Green onions: minced shallot, pickled red onions
- Avocado: feta, roasted sweet potato, pepitas
- Romaine lettuce: spinach, arugula, green leaf lettuce
Recipe Tips & FAQs
- You can find chipotle peppers in adobo in the international section of your grocery store, or at your local supermercado or tienda. The Embasa can that I used didn’t contain refined sugars.
- Jammy Egg Technique: Start with cold water. Bring the desired number of large eggs to a boil, remove from the heat and cover with a lid. Set a timer for 8 minutes, then drain the hot water and fill the pot with ice water. Immediately start peeling the eggs, using a thin metal spoon to separate the shell from the egg. Return peeled eggs to the ice water to continue cooling until all the eggs are peeled. Once chilled, store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Water pressure from your tap will bruise delicate lettuce. To properly wash your salad greens, first fill a large bowl with cold water, then submerge the greens and agitate them until all the dirt is washed off. Remove the greens from the water and use a salad spinner to dry them, or lay them on a clean towel and let them air dry for 15 minutes.
Southwestern Cobb with Creamy Chipotle Dressing Serving Suggestions
- Wrap & Salad: Pair it with a Sweet Potato & Spinach Wrap.
- Soup & Salad: Serve it with a cup of Beef & Venison Chili.
- Creamy Chipotle Dressing:
- It’s flexible! Use as a dipping sauce for freshly cut veggies, homemade chicken tenders or your next kitchen sink salad.
- Lighten up the Dressing or Kill the Heat: Swap for my Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette.
Storage and Shelf Life
Make Ahead: The dressing, chicken, eggs, black beans and corn can be prepared up to 4 days in advance and refrigerated separately. The romaine can be cut 2 days in advance, but make sure it’s totally dry. Don’t dress the salad until you’re ready to serve.
Refrigerate: All items should be stored separately in the refrigerator in airtight containers. Please note that the avocado shouldn’t be cut and the salad shouldn’t be dressed until you’re ready to serve.
Freezer: Nope!
Final Thoughts
If there’s a Cobb Salad at a restaurant, I’m gonna order it. It overrides every other possibility I might spot on their menu. But that doesn’t stop me from making them at home too. Lately I’ve been enjoying this Southwestern spin on the tried and true Cobb.
And yes, I know, this Creamy Chipotle Dressing is so good, it feels like you’ve unlocked a secret level. I’ve been making it for years, and I recommend you print it out, laminate it, post it to your kitchen wall and make it often. My clients ask for it on the reg and I think you’re going to love how easy it is to throw together.
Have you tried this recipe yet? If so, tell us how it turned out in the comments below. I hear that leaving positive comments on recipe websites is an easy way to bank some good karma. And don’t forget to sign up for the Everyday Alchemy newsletter here.
Southwestern Cobb with Creamy Chipotle Dressing
Special Equipment
- blender or small food processor
- cast iron pan or grill
Ingredients
Dressing (makes about a quarter cup extra, depending on preference)
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 2 limes juiced (about 4 tablespoons)
- 1 chipotle in adobo pepper
- 1 garlic clove grated
- Sea salt to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Salad:
- 2 jammy eggs
- ½ pound cooked Berbere chicken or rotisserie chicken
- 2 ears yellow corn shucked
- ½ cup black beans cooked
- 1 roasted red pepper thinly sliced (from a jar)
- ¼ cup green onions thinly sliced
- 1 avocado diced
- 4 cups of romaine lettuce washed and chopped into bite size pieces
- Sea salt to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Make the Dressing: In a blender or minichopper, combine 1 cup plain yogurt, juice of 2 limes, 1 chipotle in adobo pepper and 1 grated garlic clove. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste and refrigerate until needed. The recipe does make about a ⅓ cup extra, depending on preference.
- Prep the Salad: Cover 2 eggs with cold water and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and cover with a lid. Set a timer for 8 minutes. Prepare the other salad ingredients while you wait, then drain the hot water and fill the pot with ice water. Immediately start peeling the eggs, using a thin metal spoon to separate the shell from the egg. Return peeled eggs to the ice water to continue cooling until all the eggs are peeled. Once chilled, store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Cube half a pound of cooked Berbere or rotisserie chicken.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet on high heat. Place 2 ears of corn in the dry pan, and roast on all sides until slightly charred, about 6 minutes. Once cool, cut the kernels off the cob.
- On a large platter, spread the 4 cups of romaine lettuce. Garnish with the roasted corn kernels, ½ cup cooked black beans, 1 thinly sliced roasted red pepper, ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions, 2 jammy eggs cut in half and half a pound of cooked chicken.
- When ready to serve, add 1 diced avocado and drizzle with the creamy chipotle dressing. I recommend starting with ⅔’rds of a cup and then adding more as desired. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Any leftover dressing can be stored for up to 4 days. Check serving suggestions for other ways to use it.
Hi, I’m Julia.
I’m a chef and wellness advocate passionate about helping others live well through nourishing food. I trained at the Culinary Institute of America and now work as a personal chef and community food advocate in Atlanta.
Want to know what inspired me to start Everyday Alchemy? Click the link icon below to read more.