BLT Cobb Salad with Creamy Pesto Dressing (Whole30)

I don’t know what happened in the last year, but I became a serious bacon lover. I now crave a BLT Cobb salad every few weeks! The salty and smoky bacon with the fresh veggies, chicken, hard-boiled eggs and a creamy pesto dressing is a dream combination. Also, can we just appreciate the colors of the salad? It’s so stunning and photo-worthy! It really tastes as good (and even better than it looks!).

If you’re doing Whole30, this salad is one of those meals that you would eat and be obsessed with without even realizing it’s “compliant.” I absolutely love it when that happens because it reminds me that cutting out all the required things from Whole30 doesn’t have to be a dramatic, flavorless experience. I think you’ll love it so much you’ll eat it either way!

Speaking of Whole30, how’s everyone’s experience going so far if you’re doing it? I am so excited to be doing the challenge with friends and family this year again.

BLT Cobb Salad (Whole30)

 

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Author: Gabriela Rodiles

Ingredients

• 1 package bacon
• 1 package chicken breast tenders (or 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded)
• 1 package lettuce of your choice
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved
• 1 bunch of radishes, rinsed and sliced thin
• 4 eggs
• Olive oil
• Creamy Pesto Dressing
• 1 medium shallot, peeled
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds or any nut (almond, walnut, pine nut, cashew)
• 1 bunch of basil, rinsed and dried
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• Salt
• Pepper
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Make bacon: Line a sheet pan with foil and add a wire rack on top. Lay out strips of bacon and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until bacon is crispy.
3. Make chicken: On the stove, heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Season one side of the chicken with salt and place into the pan once hot. Season chicken on the other side with salt. Cook for about 5 minutes until lightly browned. Flip once browned and cook for another 3 minutes. Add enough water in the pan to reach about halfway up the chicken. Turn down heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes or until water is absorbed. Chicken should be tender and shred easily. Once cooled, shred the chicken or slice thinly.
4. Make hard-boiled eggs: Add eggs to a medium-size pot and cover with cold water more than an inch above the eggs. Turn to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn off the heat, cover with a lid and let sit for 10 minutes for a perfectly jammy, but cooked yolk. Once 10 minutes has passed, drain eggs carefully and place into a bowl with ice cold water to prevent the eggs from cooking any longer.
5. Make dressing: Add shallot, garlic and nuts into a mini food processor. Pulse until chopped. Add a generous pinch of salt, a pinch of fresh ground black pepper, vinegar and the large bunch of basil leaves and pulse. Slowly stream in olive oil until the dressing is well blended and creamy.
6. Peel hard-boiled eggs. Assemble salad with lettuce, tomato, radish, a hard-boiled egg, chicken, crumbled bacon and dressing. Enjoy!

#version#

The salad definitely has many components, but it’s so worth it to assemble ahead of time. Also, if you’re meal prepping along with this you can use the bacon for breakfast, have a hard-boiled egg on the go, eat chicken with veggies for another meal, use the dressing for another bowl. Mix and match with whatever else you happen to have in your fridge and pantry! I think you’re going to love it so much you’ll be eating it for lunch everyday this week.

Love food. Love self. Love life.
Gabriela