This crispy chicken cobb salad is my favorite one yet with flavorful crispy “breaded” chicken plus all the usual cobb salad goodies and a homemade garlic ranch dressing. It’s paleo, with a Whole30 option, low in carbs and family approved!
My family is always asking me to make chicken cutlets because let’s be honest – crispy chicken is better than non-crispy – right?!
Since I’ve been craving cobb salads all summer, I figured I needed to make a crispy (or “breaded”) chicken version because YUM!
And a delicious garlic ranch to go with it.
This salad has a Whole30 option if you omit the dairy free cheese – trust me with this dressing, you’re not missing out on flavor!
If you eat dairy, feel free to throw on some real cheese of course! I’m never going to tell you to NOT use cheese. If you can have it – go for it!
What You Need to Make this Crispy Chicken Cobb Salad
Dressing:
- plain unsweetened almond milk
- paleo mayo, homemade or store bought (or 1/4 cup mayo +1/4 cup dairy free sour cream)
- lemon juice
- dried dill
- onion powder
- dried chives or chopped fresh chives
- garlic, minced
- sea Salt & black pepper to taste
Chicken:
- boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts) thin sliced or pounded to 1/2” thickness
- egg
- blanched almond flour
- tapioca flour, or arrowroot
- sea salt and black pepper
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- avocado oil, for frying
Salad:
- bacon
- hard boiled eggs
- romaine or other greens
- cherry tomatoes
- scallions
- avocado
- goat cheese crumbles, or dairy free cheese crumbles (optional, not Whole30)
How to Make this Crispy Chicken Cobb Salad
Make the dressing first. Whisk together all ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy.
Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Set aside or cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the chicken, place the egg in a shallow bowl and whisk. In another larger shallow bowl, add the almond flour, tapioca or arrowroot, salt, pepper and onion and garlic powder, mix well.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat and add the avocado oil.
Once the oil is hot, dip a chicken piece into the egg, shake off excess, then dredge the chicken in the dry mixture, again shaking off excess.
Place in the sizzling hot skillet and repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
Once the first side is golden brown, use tongs to carefully turn each one over. After the second side is golden brown, remove to a paper towel lined plate.
In a serving bowl or salad platter, arrange the greens, crumbled bacon, sliced hardboiled eggs, tomatoes, scallions, then peel and slice the avocado and arrange around the salad.
Slice the chicken into bite size pieces and arrange on top, then add the goat cheese or dairy free cheese if desired.
Serve the salad drizzled with the ranch dressing or with the dressing on the side for dipping.
How to Make this Crispy Chicken Salad Whole30 Friendly
To make this salad Whole30 friendly, simply omit the cheese or dairy free cheese!
The salad really has enough going on that you won’t miss the cheese.
The dressing is tangy and flavorful and the chicken and dressing are both Whole30 compatible as is!
For Whole30 compatible bacon, simply make sure yours is sugar free – there are many more varieties now that don’t have any added sugar.
How I Make My Hardboiled Eggs
Add the eggs to a large saucepan that has a matching lid and fill with cold water until the water covers the eggs.
Bring the water to a boil on the stovetop, uncovered, and turn off the heat as soon as the water boils and cover with the fitted lid, then allow to sit for 16-18 minutes.
Drain and transfer the eggs to cold water to cool, then peel.
How I Oven-Bake Bacon
Arrange the bacon in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake in a 400° F oven for 16-20 minutes or until crispy. The thickness and type of bacon will determine how long it needs – start watching it after 15 minutes.
Drain on paper towels before crumbling.
I hope you’re ready for the MOST delicious paleo cobb salad you’ll ever have!
Grab your ingredients because it’s time to start prepping – let’s go!
Crispy Chicken Cobb Salad with Garlic Ranch Dressing {Paleo, Whole30 Option}
Crispy Chicken Cobb Salad with Garlic Ranch {Paleo, Whole30 Option}
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup paleo mayo homemade or store bought (or 1/4 cup mayo +1/4 cup dairy free sour cream)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried chives or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- Sea Salt & black pepper to taste
Chicken:
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts about 2 breasts, thin sliced or pounded to 1/2” thickness
- 1 large egg whisked
- 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour or arrowroot
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup avocado oil for frying
Instructions
Dressing:
-
Whisk together all ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Set aside or cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Chicken:
-
Place the egg in a shallow bowl and whisk. In another larger shallow bowl, add the almond flour, tapioca or arrowroot, salt, pepper and onion and garlic powder, mix well.
-
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat and add the avocado oil. Once the oil is hot, dip a chicken piece into the egg, shake off excess, then dredge the chicken in the dry mixture, again shaking off excess. Place in the sizzling hot skillet and repeat with remaining chicken pieces.
-
Once the first side is golden brown, use tongs to carefully turn each one over. After the second side is golden brown, remove to a paper towel lined plate.
Arrange the salad:
-
In a serving bowl or salad platter, arrange the greens, crumbled bacon, sliced hardboiled eggs, tomatoes, scallions, then peel and slice the avocado and arrange around the salad. Slice the chicken into bite size pieces and arrange on top, then add the goat cheese or dairy free cheese if desired.
-
Serve the salad drizzled with the ranch dressing or with the dressing on the side for dipping. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*Prep Time does not include time needed to cook the eggs and bacon
** To oven-bake bacon, arrange bacon in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in a 400° F oven for 16-20 minutes or until crispy. Drain on paper towels before crumbling.
***Hardboiled eggs: add the eggs to a large saucepan that has a matching lid and fill with cold water until the water covers the eggs. Bring the water to a boil on the stovetop, uncovered, and turn off the heat as soon as the water boils and cover with the fitted lid, then allow to sit for 16-18 minutes. Drain and transfer the eggs to cold water to cool, then peel.
****This recipe makes 6-8 servings. Nutrition is calculated based on 6 servings, including all the dressing.
Nutrition
Want More Epic Paleo Salads? Try One of These!
Steak Cobb Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing
Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad with Honey Dijon
Kale Salad with Chicken, Caramelized Onions and Hot Bacon Dressing
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Looks delicious! Can I swap almond flour for another type of flour ? I can’t tolerate nuts :/
Made this recipe tonight and it was the bomb. So happy to have found you and this recipe. My husband said it was the best salad I’ve ever made. The chicken was so good, as was the dressing.
About how many mins to cook per side?
The cobb salad is a primary-dish American lawn salad commonly made with chopped salad greens (iceberg lettuce, watercress, endives, and romaine lettuce), tomato, crisp viscount st. Albans, fried fowl breast, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, chives, blue cheese, and crimson-wine french dressing.
I loved the salad. The mixture of different ingredients is delightful.
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Yum! That dressing is delicious!
The dressing and the chicken were so delicious!
Damn! this is the recipe I was really looking for. Could you tell me the expected time taken to cook this entire dish? Thanks a lot for the recipe.
Delicious
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This salad was delicious! The breading on the chicken was amazing. I think I’m gonna use it on pork chops next. All the flavors came together so well. I’ll definitely make this again! Thank you for the recipe
This was so filling and flavorful. We used leftover rotisserie chicken when we made it. I really liked the dill in the dressing . It’s a great meal for food prepping
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My family loved this salad tonight. The ranch is delicious. What a great dressing that tastes like ranch without coconut milk, as other recipes call for. Love it and will definitely be making it again!
Oh my word! The breading for the chicken is so tender and savory!! After making this salad and loving it, I used the breading recipe for pan fried chicken strips. My family loves it! Thanks for another fabulous Paleo recipe, Michelle!