Salmon Cobb Salad Recipe (VIDEO)
Salmon Cobb Salad is a modern spin on the classic American Cobb salad. We swapped chicken for salmon which pairs so well with the cilantro lime dressing. This cobb salad recipe is fresh, healthy, and gets RAVE REVIEWS!
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Salmon Cobb Salad Recipe:
Everything about this Salmon Cobb Salad is good, particularly that my children love it. This was the first lettuce salad that my 3-year old agreed to eat and she asked for more! It is definitely a feel-good, protein packed salad loaded with crisp lettuce, sweet corn, avocados, ripe cherry tomatoes and perfectly cooked eggs. It has a similar flavor profile to our popular chicken avocado salad. It is also gluten free and paleo diet friendly.
What is a Cobb Salad?
The classic Cobb salad is classic American salad. It is typically made with chicken, tomato, bacon, boiled eggs, avocado, chives and roquefort cheese, all layered in strips over a bed of mixed greens and served with red wine vinaigrette.
There are several stories circulating about the origin of the Cobb salad but the the most popular is that it was invented by Robert Howard Cobb (a restaurant owner during the Hollywood era). As the story goes, he hadn’t eaten until nearly midnight when he threw together leftovers from the kitchen with French dressing and this iconic salad was born.
I just love it when recipes are created following cravings on a hungry stomach. One of my all-time favorite salads was dreamed up that way driving home from a long night-shift when I was working as a telemetry nurse.
Ingredients for Cobb Salad:
- Use pan wild-caught salmon whenever you can get your hands on it. Read more about the differences between wild caught and farm raised salmon here.
- Fresh corn on the cob generally has the sweetest and best flavor, but when it is not in season, feel free to substitute with frozen (cooked according to package instructions) or well-drained canned corn.
- Any size, shape or color of tomatoes will work in this recipe.
Watch Natasha Make Salmon Cobb Salad:
We found that pan seared salmon it is the quickest and easiest way to prepare salmon for a salad. It is the method you will see in the video, but grilled salmon, or even baked salmon would work just as well. If you have leftover salmon from lunch, make this salad for dinner and you will be your own “Robert Howard Cobb!” (see story above).
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Salmon Cobb Salad Recipe:
Ingredients
Ingredients for Pan Seared Salmon:
- 1 lb salmon, boneless, skinless (preferably wild-caught)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Ingredients for Cobb Salad:
- 1 large head of romaine lettuce, chopped, rinsed and spun dry
- 2 ears of corn, cooked, shucked and cut off the cob
- 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
- 1 large avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
Ingredients for Cilantro Lime Dressing:
- 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice, from 1 to 2 limes
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
- 2 Tbsp dill, chopped
- 1 large garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Season salmon generously with salt and pepper. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot add salmon, top-side down and cook until golden and crisp on the first side (4 minutes) then flip salmon and continue cooking another 4 minutes or until cooked through, depending on thickness of salmon. Transfer to a plate and cool to room temperature then flake salmon with forks into bite-sized pieces.
- Arrange romaine lettuce on a large platter or large shallow bowl.
- Arrange remaining salad ingredients in rows over the romaine lettuce; cooked corn kernels, sliced onion, quartered eggs, sliced avocado, and halved cherry tomatoes.
- Combine dressing ingredients in a measuring cup and stir to combine. Drizzle evenly over the salad just before serving.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Do you have any food stories of your own? Have you ever invented a recipe or made it better than the original by following your cravings? Let me know in a comment below :).
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
This delicious salad was a home run! We made it exactly as written and enjoyed every bite. It made enough salad for a couple meals for two people. Thank you, Natasha, for all the hard work you put into your recipes and your blog. We will make this again!!
Hi Aimee! I’m so glad it was enjoyed. Thank you for the wonderful review.
My husband and I love this salad so much! It so fresh and full of flavor. And that dressing is amazing. For lunch, sometimes, I like to throw together a little salad of lettuce, tomato, eggs, avocado…whatever I have and a Pouch of tuna with your Cilantro-Lime dressing! AMAZING!!
Sounds amazing! So glad you love the salad. 🙂
What can i substitute the cilantro with? We dont like raw cilantro
You are more than welcome to substitute with Roquefort dressing. We used the Cilantro Lime dressing to compliment the Salmon.
A spectacular salad, thank you! Our guests loved it, too. The only change I made, was to use the corn kernels raw. Off the cob, they’re sweet and crunchy. I doubled the delicious dressing and used about 2/3 of it.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Susan!
When your husband asks you every time you cook, is that from Natasha? It’s because you often cook Natasha’s excellent recipes. Hihihihhi! 😉 This salad was once again a favorite. Thank you! We love you Nathasha. 🙂
Aww, that’s so awesome, Christine! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Made this salad today for our first Iftar in our new home. It was definitely a hit!
Thank you for sharing! It’s a new family favorite!!!
You’re welcome, Monica. So good to hear that it was a huge hit!
My husband and I tried this recipe and it turned out amazing! All of the ingredients marry well together. The creamy avocado tastes great with the salmon, and the cilantro lime dressing is zingy, fresh, and delicious. We will definitely make this salad again. Thank you, Natasha.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I was taught that a recipe is only a blue print and the final product is subject to the cook’s discretion.
So when I saw this appetizing salad, I just had to give it a try but tweak it to my tastes.
I cut the recipe in half and made the following changes for an awesome salad for lunch. (It was a bit much for one but not enough for two unless you are serving it as a side.)
1. substituted Steelhead trout for the salmon
2. seasoned the fish with
Old Bay Garlic and Herb Seasoning
Dried Basil
Dried Oregano
Dried Parsley
Garlic Powder (yes more garlic!)
3. baked the trout at 350° for 30 minutes instead of pan searing it
4. substituted quartered Campari tomatoes for cherry tomatoes
5. omitted red onion (only because I was out)
6. omitted corn (only because I was out)
5. added bleu cheese crumbles
6. additional salt and pepper to taste as needed
6. used Newman’s Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette for the dressing
It really was good…and I can’t wait to make it again with the corn and red onion!
I probably won’t ever try the Cilantro Lime Dressing unless I’m out of the Newman’s Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette. Thanks to my sister who got me hooked on it! And just to clarify, there is always at least one bottle in the pantry and one in the fridge.
That all sounds really good and thanks for the tip about Newman’s Balsamic. We love that brand, but haven’t tried that one.
I am in love with this salad!! I made it last week for our family and replaced the raw onions with caramelized onions, and oh, my – it was absolutely scrumptious! I’ve since been craving it, and have made myself “mini versions” of it for lunch everyday! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that, Olivia! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Natasha, do you think using canned salmon would taste just as good?
Hi Jennifer, that should work! One of our readers wrote they enjoyed this recipe with canned salmon but did prefer the fresh cooked salmon over that.
Natasha, what is the brand of the pan you use for this recipe?
Hi Noel. You can see the kitchen tools that I use here on my Amazon affiliate shop.
Hi Natasha, my name is Pam Warnick and my mother in law had a delicious recipe for Thanksgiving dinner with sweet and sour sauerkraut it has been a crowd pleaser every year and I would love to have you make it on your videos
Hello Pam, here are my only sauerkraut recipes.
Love your cooking,your recipes and your energy! Have a good ,relaxing time.Thank you!
Thank you for your compliments, Bella. We appreciate it!
Hello Natasha,
I love your enthusiasm for cooking and fabulous sense of humour whilst cooking. You are an inspiration to us all. Any new recipes please?
You’re so nice! Thank you for that wonderful compliment Florence! We post two new recipes a week! See the latest when you go to our blog page: natashaskitchen.com
Amazingly delicious 😋 made it tonight 👏❣️
Thanks for your excellent feedback!
Amazing! Very easy, satisfying, tasty and healthy. I love all your recipes and youR videos are such a pleasure to watch.
You’re so nice! Thank you for that wonderful review.
I love your recipes and videos. Keep them coming!
Thanks for the compliment and great review!
Natasha, can this be made a day prior?
Hi Katie, that would work fine to prep some of the salad ingredients ahead (romaine, eggs, corn and the dressing), then add the dressing just before serving. I have always felt freshly cooked salmon had the best flavor and texture. If possible, I would recommend making the salmon the day of as well as slicing the tomatoes and avocados since avocados can discolor without their dressing and tomatoes can get mealy in the refrigerator. So the answer is you can make parts of it ahead.
Its was a nice recipi ! Im in process to lose weight! So i will try your recipi to make my daily meal a low calories! Thnk you for this recipi i really love it
You’re welcome! I’m so glad this will help you along!
Great salad, but I have a request – do you have a mustard type vinaigrette that I could use for the dressing? I can’t find one but I’m sure you have one out there.
Hi Patricia, the dressing on this chicken Autumn salad is very popular.
This has been my go-to salad ever since I first tried it a few months ago. I haven’t stopped coming back to your blog ever since! Thanks for sharing these delicious recipes, especially your salads! The chicken avocado salad is another favorite
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles!
I absolutely LOVE this salad. And so does my 11 year old son. I have made it a few times. I do add cucumbers to it also. I am watching calories, and see that this says 432 calories per serving. Is this a misprint? It seems like a lot of calories for such a healthy salad. Or is the 432 calories for the entire dish.
Hi Beth, the nutrition label should be correct -that would be for 4 servings as a main course salad. This is a hearty and satisfying and healthy salad and we enjoy it like a meal. If you wanted to cut carbs and make it a low carb salad, I suggest omitting corn and replacing it with cucumber.
Thank you. I take your reply as 432 per serving as indicated in the recipe. Yes… indo it this a main course.
I don’t care for cheese with salmon….I did however add bacon & I must say…this is a winner! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it Mary!
can you explain how to pick the perfect avoacado yours look the same every time, mine are either soft or hard?
Hi Terrie. I lightly squeeze the avocados. Even if it appears ripe, I should still feel it. A ripe avocado should feel to firm but shouldn’t feel overly soft or mush. Some also use the trick of pulling the stem check to see how easily that peels away. I hope that helps!
thank you, your reply was very helpful.
You’re so welcome!
Yum! Made this for lunch with my girlfriends. We loved it. The salad is light but satisfying. Salad dressing is a separate story – 👍🏼👍🏼
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Thanks for this great salad recipe, Natashia! ‘Just wondering if you’ve tried it using home-canned salmon as a short cut. What do you think?
Hi Lois, that should work! One of our readers wrote they enjoyed this recipe with canned salmon but did prefer the fresh cooked salmon over that.
This salad looks soo delicious! But, I do not like cilantro. Is there something else that I can substitute for it with the lime?
Hi Susan, You are more than welcome to substitute with Roquefort dressing. We used the Cilantro Lime dressing to compliment the Salmon.
wish you could come up with some KETO friendly receipes that everyone is doing now thanks love your channel
Thank you for your feedback, Jacqueline!
Hi,Natasha
Thanks for this good recipe. My hubby,I & kids really liked it. Thanks for sharing your recipes w/us. God bless u.☺🌹💖
I’m so happy your entire family enjoyed this, Olga!! Thank you for the wonderful review!
The only recipe thus far I have to disagree with. A Cobb without Roquefort dressing just isn’t a Cobb..
You are more then welcome to substitute with Roquefort dressing. We used the Cilantro Lime dressing to compliment the Salmon.
Hi Natasha! Im a student so I just made this salad with what I had in the fridge: spinach, canned corn, canned salmon, avocado, cherry tomatoes, hard-boiled egg. For dressing, I used some sunflower oil and lime juice, salt and pepper. SUCHa delicious combo – WOW! I have never thought of it myself! And so cheap if you use canned ingredients (though I think it would taste better with fresh ingredients). I will be making this on Thanksgiving for the family – thanks for your wonderful site and recipes. I was introduced to your blog by a friend and I love making all your food recipes because they are simple, have available ingredients and are healthy and tasty. Take care.
Thank you so much for sharing your modifications! That is so smart and I have a feeling I’ll be making this salad even more often! 🙂
So I made this tonight!!! Wow, it was main course, and my husband didn’t even miss not having other side dishes. Seriously, the flavors are pure magic. Yumm.
I’m so happy you all loved it and thanks for sharing your photo on Instagram Stories and tagging us. That was so awesome of you! I shared it on our own Instagram story. Thanks for the awesome review!
Natasha, I know you use special technology effects to make it look like you, say, snapped your fingers and at once the eggs were cracked, vegetables were chopped, etc. (all by themselves), but the kid in me always thinks you use magic when you cook. 🙂
Ha ha!! It definitely takes practice to get it right! 😉 We sure enjoy doing the tricks and keeping our videos entertaining.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Cobb Salads of all types. Will have to try this.
I look forward to hearing how you like it, Patricia! Thank you for watching!
Such a so hearty plate! I’m imagining I can finish all by myself xo
– Natalie
It is so good! Definitely hard to put the fork down with this recipe!
Natasha, the story you have about the origin of the Cobb Salad is absolutely true. Bob Cobb was the owner of the famous Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, which closed in the mid-80’s. The salad was presented in it’s layers to the customer at the table, where the server asked if they would like it tossed–you know, like the classic Caesar was tossed at the table. I consider myself a ‘cobb-snob’ in that–I often order (and critique!) the Cobb in restaurants, and wish more restaurants would make it the classic way. While I guess it’s okay for chefs to make it their own way, to get the true classic, I like to make it at home. The biggest annoyance at restaurants: the salad greens are also supposed to be finely chopped like all the top ingredients. Make one up like this and give it a try–chop the greens, and chop all ingredients–not wedge, not sliced, but chopped. You will love it this way!
Side note: The crumbled roquefort (or blue cheese) makes it so yummy, I don’t use dressing, I like mine with just lemon, and of course, tossed! :~)
Definitely so true! Thank you for sharing this with all of us Jeanie!! There are so many variations and different recipes out there finding a true classic can be hard. I hope you like out take on it. Enjoy!
This one proves how wise is to be subscribed Natasha ! Thank you very much !
You are so nice! Thank you for that sweet compliment and I hope you absolutely love the recipe! 🙂