Southwestern Cobb Salad

May 23, 2022

This Southwestern Cobb Salad is a cross between a crunchy slaw and traditional cobb salad, dressed in a cilantro yogurt dressing. Elevate your basic cobb salad with a base of red cabbage, sprinkled with fresh summer corn and hearty black beans.

Gluten Free, Grain Free, Nut Free, Soy Free

Friends, meet the salad of summer… the Southwestern Cobb Salad! When I tell you I’m obsessed with salad, I mean I’m OBSESSED, can’t stop making this combo, and can drink the dressing with a straw!

I am SO excited for you to try it!

We just had our first warm and humid weekend this Spring and I can already tell summer is going to be a hot one. And so the foods I crave start to change… Before we know it I’ll only want to fire up the BBQ and rely on cold, crunchy, refreshing salads. And that’s another reason why this salad is perfect to add to your summer salad repertoire!

This Southwestern Cobb Salad is…

FREAKIN’ DELICIOUS
So packed with flavor
Easy to make
Customizable based on taste preferences and availability
Full of texture
Filling beyond belief
Affordable (and we could all use that with grocery prices skyrocketing!)

This salad simply started with a head of cabbage. I love me a good slaw, but I knew I wanted to do something different. And that’s when I got the idea to make shredded cabbage the base of this cobb salad.

Cobb salads are one of my favorite classic salad combinations because they have so much going on. I remember when I tried my first Cobb salad (I used to be a strictly Caesar salad with grilled chicken kinda gal) and I loved all of the flavors and textures. In case you’re not familiar, a traditional Cobb salad has a bed of lettuce topped with hard boiled egg, bacon, blue cheese, and some veggies, like cucumbers and tomatoes. We didn’t grow up eating bacon and I absolutely loved it. There’s something about the salty bacon bits that is so satisfying!

The other week we were in Florida and I had a Cobb salad again and it was just as satisfying as I remembered. So when I got home, I went to recreate it, but had no lettuce in the fridge and decided to use the cabbage as my base. And that’s when I thought of my Southwestern spin.

What makes this cobb salad a Southwestern Cobb Salad?

This Southwestern Cobb Salad contains two must-haves in a cobb salad – bacon and hard boiled eggs – plus some veggies, like peppers and cukes. But for the southwestern spin I added black beans and corn with a Cilantro Yogurt Dressing.

When you mix it all together it’s just *chef’s kiss* so good!

Here are the ingredients you need to make this Southwestern Cobb Salad

The ingredient list is definitely longer than usual, but that’s what makes salads interesting. I’ll have plenty of substitutions for you, if you’d like (see below).

For the salad itself you’ll need:

Red cabbage
Cucumbers
Red peppers
Cilantro
Corn
Bacon
Hard boiled eggs
Black beans

For the cilantro yogurt dressing you’ll need:

Greek yogurt
Cilantro
Oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional honey, if you prefer sweeter dressings

Ingredient Swaps for this Southwestern Cobb Salad

The best part about salads is that you can easily swap ingredients based on availability, sales at the grocery store, and your preferences. You don’t like cilantro? SKIP IT! Hard boiled eggs aren’t your thing? OMIT THEM!

Here are some swaps you may want to make…

Instead of cabbage try any other green base.

Something crunchy works really well in this recipe, so I would recommend one of the following:

Romaine lettuce
Iceberg lettuce
Green leaf lettuce

Instead of black beans try any other bean.

Black beans in this salad act as a form of protein and carbs. Swap them with another bean for a similar nutritional profile.

If you don’t like beans, I would suggest adding another protein source to this salad for it to actually keep you full. Try chicken, shrimp, or add more eggs.

Instead of Cilantro Yogurt Dressing try ranch dressing.

I get it… cilantro isn’t for everyone. But I LOVE it. And if you’re a fan of cilantro you’re going to love this dressing. If you’re not, then try ranch for that southwestern twist.

Southwestern Cobb Salad with Cilantro Yogurt Dressing

How to Make a Southwestern Cobb Salad

Salads are so fun to make because they’re EASY to make. You can easily prepare the ingredients in advance and then throw it together when you’re ready to serve. The most time consuming part of making salads is all the chopping!

First, if you need to hard boil your eggs or cook your bacon, do that now. They are the most time-consuming part, so they can cook while you chop the veggies and prepare the dressing.

Next, prepare your dressing. In a food processor or blender combine all of the ingredients. Slowly add water, 1 tablespoon at a time to thin it out.

You’ll likely have extra dressing, so save it for sandwiches, other salads, and even as a dip for veggies throughout the week.

Now prepare all of your veggies. As I mentioned, chopping is the most time consuming part!

Last, put it all together! Like I mentioned, if you have all of the ingredients ready to go, this part will be super quick!

How to Meal Prep this Southwestern Cobb Salad

Meal prepping can just be preparing some ingredients in advance in order to save some time during the week. Personally, I find it SO helpful for that dinnertime rush. Even just shredding a head of cabbage can be a lifesaver.

Here are some aspects of this salad that are great to meal prep:

Hard boil eggs in advance (they last a full week in the fridge, so you can do this well in advance). Make some extra for snacks and quick breakfasts throughout the week too!
Cook bacon in advance – use leftovers from the weekend!
Chop your veggies in advance. This will save so much time!
Prepare the dressing. It will stay fresh in the fridge for at least a week.

Kitchen Tools You’ll Need to Make This Salad

A few simple kitchen tools will make preparing this salad so much easier!

You’ll need…