Salmon Cobb Salad for Two

The salmon is the ingredient that elevates this beyond a classic Cobb, its richness against the cool, creamy avocado and the tangy goat cheese creates a combination that chicken never quite manages in the same bowl. The boiled eggs add substance, the corn adds sweetness, the tomatoes and cucumber keep everything bright. Butter lettuce is the right base here: soft enough to carry the dressing without fighting it, and delicate enough that the toppings stay the focus rather than disappearing into a tangle of sturdy greens.

The creamy honey mustard dressing is what ties all the separate components together. Drizzled over the arranged bowl at the table, it coats everything it touches and makes each forkful taste like a considered combination rather than a collection of ingredients that happened to land in the same place. This salad works as well for a weekend lunch as it does for a weeknight dinner.

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Key Ingredients in This Recipe

You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.

FOR THE SALAD

• Salmon
• Butter lettuce – Romain or iceberg lettuce are great alternatives.
• Corn – fresh if in season, otherwise canned.
• Cucumber
• Tomatoes
• Avocado
• Goat Cheese – feta cheese, blue cheese or a Gouda or cheddar cheese.
• Hard boiled egg

FOR THE CREAMY HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING

• Yogurt
• Dijon mustard
• Apple cider vinegar
• Lemon juice
• Honey
• Garlic powder
• Olive oil

How to Make Salmon Cobb Salad

Step 2 – Cut all the ingredients for the salad in your preferred size; lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, avocado, corn, and hard boiled egg. Crumble the goat cheese and break the cooled salmon in large chunks.

Step 5 – Drizzle the dressing over the salad (or serve it separately) and divide the crumbled goat cheese over the salad.

Alternatives & Substitutes

There are various stories recounting the origin of a Cobb salad and which one is correct may be a matter of debate. Whether is was made from kitchen left-overs residing in the fridge that were tossed together haphazardly or whether is was a deliberate choice, I hope we can all agree that not one Cobb salad is alike another and that the number of varieties are endless. Here are a few alternatives and substitutes:

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• Instead of salmon, use another protein, chicken (oven-baked or poached), turkey, steak or ground beef.
• Instead of oven-baked or pan-seared salmon, use smoked salmon, or think about smoked mackerel or tuna fish.
• The type of lettuce may depend on the other ingredients in the salad. I used delicate butter lettuce because it goes well with the salmon, but you can also use iceberg lettuce or Romain lettuce.
• Add bacon as a crunchy addition, or replace bacon with crispy prosciutto.
• Add some type of onion for some sharpness; scallion, or red onions or if you want to temper that a little, pickle red onions, read about it here or use sweet onion.
• Replace goat cheese with feta cheese or the more ‘traditional’ blue cheese.
• Make scrambled eggs if you don’t like hard boiled eggs.
• Vary your dressing; a red wine dressing, thousand islands, or a Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette.
• Sprinkle the salad with parsley, chives, or cilantro.
• Last but not least you can change the way you dress the salad platter. Serve each ingredient in a row or do it circular or any other way that looks fancy and organized to you.

Storage Note

Since this salad in based on the concept to use what is left in your fridge, discussing how to store left-overs does not make much sense. But if you want to make this salad ahead of time, keep everything refrigerated and remember a few things:

• You can prepare the salmon ahead of time.
• You can cut the tomatoes, cucumber and corn ahead of time.
• Avocado turn brown quickly, so cut that at the last moment.
• You can make the dressing ahead of time as well, but keep it separately until it is time to serve the salad.

Other Salmon Dinner Salads to Try