Autumn Harvest Cobb salad recipe with roasted beets and watermelon radish tossed in a tangy red wine vinegar dressing with smoked paprika, shallots and mustard. Top with crumbled feta, or keep it dairy-free!

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Here in Southern California, main course salads are a way of life.

I may be biased, but everything here is a little sunnier, fresher, and brighter and that’s 100% true of our food too.

Salads are king!

Many famous salads were created right around here: The Caesar salad in Tijuana and the Chopped Salad, Chinese Chicken Salad, and Cobb Salad were all created in LA restaurants.

The original Cobb Salad recipe is from the Brown Derby restaurant and was named after the restaurant’s owner Robert H. Cobb.

If you’ve never seen a picture of the original Brown Derby restaurant, you should totally check it out. It was literally in the shape of a Brown Derby Hat.

cobb salad ingredients

A classic Cobb Salad is a bed of crunchy lettuce topped with avocado, blue cheese, chicken, bacon, tomatoes, and hard-boiled egg.

This Cobb Salad recipe replaces the summery ingredients like tomatoes with autumn flavors of roasted beets and crisp slices of watermelon radish.

Here’s what else you’ll need:

• Romaine lettuce. Lots of crunch! Make sure you wash it, tear it into bite-sized pieces and dry it well.
• Chicken breast. Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts and marinate them in a chipotle-lime marinade then grill or sauté (like I did for my Mexican Chopped Salad) or use store-bought rotisserie chicken.
• Crispy bacon. Pan-fry it, microwave it, or bake it in the oven.
• Hard-boiled eggs. I like them juuuust done. Place 3-4 eggs in a small pan covered with salted cold water. Bring water to a boil over medium high heat. Turn off heat and cover. Let sit for 12 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water.
• Avocado. Ripe and luscious. Pitted, peeled, and sliced or chopped.
• Chopped chives. I like to leave them in long-ish pieces.
• Crumbled feta. The classic salad had blue cheese, but I opt for tangy feta. (Leave it off if you’re dairy-free)

now for the dressing recipe

Traditionally the Cobb Salad dressing was a simple vinaigrette made with red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper.

This dressing stays pretty true to the original but with a little smoky twist that I just find irresistible: Smoked Paprika.

how to make a cobb salad

Most of the work in a salad like this is prepping all the ingredients and the salad dressing. Once that is all done, you just toss them together in a large bowl and serve!

Many of the ingredients can be made 1, 2, even 3 days in advance, which makes this an ideal meal-prep salad.

Here’s the play-by-play:

1. Make the dressing. This can be done a day or two in advance and kept in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
2. Roast the beets. Roast whole, cleaned beets in the oven then peel and quarter. Can be done 3 days in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator.
3. Clean the lettuce. If you bought pre-washed hearts of Romaine then all you have to do is tear them into bite-sized pieces. If they are not pre-washed, clean them with cold water and make sure you dry the leaves well—even wiping with paper towels—to make sure they are dry.
4. Cook the chicken. If you are using store-bought rotisserie chicken, just slice it.
5. Cook the bacon. Then crumble into small pieces
6. Cook the hard-boiled eggs. Once cool enough to handle, peel and cut in half.
7. Cut the avocado and radish.

Place a nice bed of lettuce down on a large platter or bowl and arrange the chicken and all the other ingredients on top.

Drizzle with dressing, season with salt, and serve!

more recipes to try:

• Rainbow Jicama Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
• Mango Cucumber Salad with Cayenne Dressing
• Fresh Peach Slab Pie with Buttery Nutmeg Crust
• Jugo Verde {Mexican Green Juice}
• California Harvest Fall Sangria
• Mexican Summer Cobb Salad
• Apple Hot Pepper Jelly
• Pomegranate Tequila Sidecar Cocktail
• Fruit Salad with Honey Lemon Dressing

are you living your best cobb salad life?

Or what? Tell me how it went, I really want to know! Share a photo of your beautiful Autumn Harvest Cobb Salad Recipe and tag me on Instagram @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno.

Autumn Harvest Cobb Salad Recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Autumn Harvest Cobb salad recipe with roasted beets and watermelon radish tossed in a tangy red wine vinegar dressing with smoked paprika.

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Ingredients

For the dressing:

• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil

For the salad: 

• 3 large beets, greens removed and scrubbed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 large head Romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and chopped
• 1 pound cooked chicken, sliced
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and cubed or sliced
• 2 large watermelon radishes, greens removed, scrubbed, and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta

Instructions

Make the dressing: Combine shallot, brown sugar, dijon, paprika, salt, pepper, vinegar, and olive oil in a mason jar. Seal tightly, and shake until evenly combined. This can be done up to 3 days in advance. Keep refrigerated. 

Roast the beets: Heat oven to 425°F. Place beets in a small baking dish. Rub with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and roast until a knife easily goes through, about 40-50 minutes. Let cool then peel with a pairing knife and quarter. 

Boil the eggs: Place eggs in a small saucepan. Cover with cold water and add a handful of salt. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and let sit 12 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool enough to handle. Peel and cut in half. 

Arrange the salad: Arrange the lettuce in a large bowl or platter then top with  quartered beets, halved eggs, sliced chicken, crumbled bacon, chopped avocado, chives, sliced radishes, and feta. Drizzle dressing over the top, season with salt and serve! 

Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 0Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g

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