Southwest Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad with Honey Mustard Ranch Dressing
Yield: 6servings
Prep Time: 45 minutesmins
Cook Time: 15 minutesmins
Total Time: 1 hourhr
Ingredients
Grilled Chicken:
1 ½teaspoonssmoked paprika
¾teaspooncoarse, kosher salt
1 ½teaspoonsground cumin
¾teaspoongarlic powder
½teaspoondried basil or Italian seasoning
¼teaspoonblack pepper
¼teaspooncayenne pepper, more or less to taste
2tablespoonsolive oil
4-6thin cut chicken breasts (see note)
Honey Mustard Ranch:
½cupmayonnaise, light or regular
1cupsour cream, light or regular (can sub plain Greek yogurt)
½cupbuttermilk
2tablespoonsDijon mustard
2tablespoonshoney
1teaspoongarlic powder
¾teaspoondried oregano
½teaspoononion powder
½teaspoonpaprika, or smoked paprika
Pinchof cayenne pepper
Pinchof salt and pepper, plus more to taste
Salad:
1-2cupsfresh or frozen corn, thawed and patted dry, if frozen
2-3heads romaine lettuce, chopped
1-2cupscherry tomatoes, halved
1-2avocados, chopped or sliced
6-10slicesbacon, cooked and crumbled
4-6hard-boiled eggs, chopped (see note)
Instructions
For the chicken, preheat an outdoor grill to medium or medium-high. (Alternately, you could cook the chicken in a skillet on the stove or broil in the oven.)
Combine the smoked paprika, salt, cumin, garlic powder, basil (or Italian seasoning), black pepper, cayenne pepper, and olive oil to form a paste.
Rub the mixture evenly over the chicken and grill for 4-6 minutes per side until cooked through (alternately, you can let the chicken marinade for up to 8 hours). Tent with foil and set aside to rest for 10 minutes or so. Cut into slices or bite-size pieces.
For the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a blender or bowl and process/whisk until well-combined, adding more buttermilk to thin the consistency, if desired. Add additional salt and pepper, to taste, if needed. Refrigerate until ready to use (the dressing can be made several days in advance).
To toast the corn (optional - you can skip this step), heat 1 tablespoon oil in a nonstick 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the corn and sauté until golden and toasty. Remove to a plate to cool slightly.
For the salad, place the lettuce on a platter or in a large bowl. Arrange the corn, tomatoes, avocados, bacon, eggs, and cooked chicken on top of the lettuce in sections.
Drizzle the dressing across the salad and toss everything together to serve OR toss the salad and serve the dressing alongside (do this if you anticipate leftovers so the salad doesn't get soggy with the dressing).
Notes
Eggs: I use this method for hard-boiled eggs.Chicken: I prefer using thin cut chicken breasts for this recipe (and most other grilling recipes). I either buy thin cut chicken breasts or use regular chicken breasts and cut them in half lengthwise (like a hamburger bun) to make two thinner cutlets. Grill: the chicken can be grilled right away - or for more flavor, after rubbing the chicken with the spice mixture, refrigerate for a couple hours. Make-Ahead: the dressing can be made in advance and refrigerated for several days.