Felicity Cloake’s cobb salad. Photograph: Robert Billington/The Guardian. Food stylist: Loïc Parisot. View image in fullscreen Felicity Cloake’s cobb salad. Photograph: Robert Billington/The Guardian. Food stylist: Loïc Parisot. Felicity Cloake's masterclass Food How to make cobb salad – recipe Its origin story may be full of holes, but there’s no disputing this American classic’s status as a world beater when it comes to a tasty, satisfying salad
Felicity Cloake Sun 5 Jul 2026 14.00 CEST Share Prefer the Guardian on Google A ccording to the US Institute for Culinary Education , the cobb salad is an embodiment of “the spirit of American ingenuity”, thanks to a strangely familiar creation myth involving a restaurateur (in this case, at Hollywood’s Brown Derby ) throwing it together for a late-night snack. It’s also perfect game-day food: satisfying, flavour-packed and, crucially, easy to eat while all eyes are on the pitch.
Prep 30 min Cook 30 min Serves 4 , and easily scaled up or down
2 skinless chicken breasts Salt and black pepper 2 eggs 4 rashers streaky bacon 2 heads cos lettuce 100g watercress 2 heads chicory 12 cherry tomatoes 100g blue cheese (roquefort, ideally), crumbled 1 ripe avocado 1 small bunch chives For the dressing ½-1 tsp sugar , or honey (optional) 3 tbsp red-wine vinegar 1 tbsp dijon mustard 1 small garlic clove 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 80ml light olive oil , or other neutral oil
Classically, a cobb salad contains meat and dairy. However, you could easily substitute grilled tofu (smoked would be good) or seitan, slices of grilled vegetables (courgettes, aubergine, sweet potato), artichoke hearts, toasted walnuts or drained chickpeas or beans (personally, I’d steer clear of grilled halloumi because of the blue cheese element, but to each their own).
View image in fullscreen Poach the chicken breasts from cold in lightly salted water for 10-15 minutes, until they’re cooked through. Alternatively, and my preferred option, fry them in the bacon pan, so see step 5. If you go down this latter route, put the breasts between two pieces of baking paper and use a meat mallet (or similar) to bash them to a fairly even thickness. Sprinkle lightly with salt on both sides and leave for 30 minutes before cooking as in step 5.
View image in fullscreen Put the eggs in a small saucepan and cover with about 3cm water. Bring to a boil over a high heat, then cover, take off the heat and leave to sit for 10 minutes (if you prefer a softer boil, give them seven minutes). Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with cold water. When the eggs’ time is up, lift them out of the pan and put in the bowl so they cool in the water.
View image in fullscreen Dissolve the sugar (or honey), if using, in the vinegar, add a pinch of salt, then stir this mix into the mustard. Peel and crush the garlic, stir that in, too, then add the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. Finally, whisk in the oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning as required.
Fry the bacon until crisp in a griddle or frying pan, then set aside. Its fat should have greased the pan, so if you haven’t poached the chicken breasts in step 2, cook them in the same pan for 10-15 minutes, until just done (check by cutting through one of the breasts; you’ll be slicing them later anyway, so this won’t ruin the look), turning them once halfway through. Take them off the heat and leave to rest.
View image in fullscreen Photograph: Robert Billington/The Guardian. Food stylist:…