This Mexican Cobb Salad with cilantro lime dressing borrows from a classic cobb salad, swapping some of the ingredients for common Mexican ingredients like black beans, avocados, aged cotija, and toasted pepitas. You’ll still find the crispy bacon, eggs (although I like them soft boiled!), tomatoes, and fresh greens. This cobb salad recipe is a hearty, summer meal your family is sure to love!

The Mexican Cobb Salad with cilantro lime dressing and salad utensils.

👩🏻‍🍳 Tamara Talks – Recipe Inspiration

It’s so hot in McAllen, Texas! I’m looking for minimal use of appliances, and I don’t want to heat up my house. In fact, as I write this post, ERCOT (our electrical utility) is asking us to refrain from using our appliances. UGH.

Mark and I love to grill chicken for meal prep, and we usually do it on Sundays because they’re our most “chill” days. This is a perfect way to use grilled tajín chicken. It’s also a great way to use rotisserie chicken. However you prefer to cook your chicken, it will be elevated by this Mexican-style main dish salad.

I’ve based this cobb salad recipe on a traditional cobb salad recipe, and you’ll see the familiar chicken, bacon, cheese, greens, avocados, and eggs. I’ve taken some liberty with the salad dressing (the cilantro-lime dressing), and added a few Mexican staples like black beans and toasted pepitas. Feel free to make it your own with your favorite ingredients!

📋 Ingredients for Mexican Chicken Cobb Salad

Mexican Cobb Salad

cooked chicken – We frequently do grilled chicken for meal prep on Sunday afternoon, and most often, it is this grilled tajín chicken. Chicken is included in a traditional cobb salad.
greens – Crispy romaine is my preference, but feel free to use your favorite! Romaine is the traditional choice for a cobb salad.
eggs – As shown in the photos, we like our boiled eggs on the soft side. Feel free to do hard-boiled eggs if you prefer. It is not a traditional cobb salad without eggs!
bacon – Bacon is optional, but delicious! A traditional cobb salad always includes bacon.
cotija – I use an aged cotija, and it works really well with the flavors of the salad. Feta or queso fresco are good substitutes. Bleu cheese is a defining feature in a traditional cobb salad, but a Mexican cobb salad needs a Mexican cheese IMHO!
tomatoes – I have never had a cobb salad that did not include tomatoes. My “go to” choice is grape tomatoes, but use your preferred tomatoes (or omit if you hate them).
all the extras – These ingredients are not typical of a traditional cobb salad, but they reinforce the Mexican spin on this cobb salad: Toasted pepitas, black beans, pickled jalapeños (we love this bit of heat and acidity!), thin-sliced red onion, corn, etc. Make it your own!

Cilantro-Lime Dressing

cilantro
fresh lime juice
extra virgin olive oil
sherry vinegar – White or red wine vinegar are good substitutes.
dijon mustard
agave nectar – Honey is a good substitute.

🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions

Grilled tajín chicken on the hot grill cooking.

Prepare the chicken – Whether using grilled chicken, rotisserie chicken, or meal prep chicken that is ready to go, get your chicken sliced and set aside.

Ingredients for the cilantro-lime dressing in the blender after blending.

Make the cilantro-lime dressing – Add all of the dressing ingredients to the bowl of a small blender. Pulse until the cilantro is emulsified with the other ingredients. Set aside.

Boil the eggs – I do a 4 minute boiled egg with firm white and partially set yolk. See How to Boil an Egg for more information.
Fry the bacon – I cut the bacon into 1″ pieces, and cook on medium-high heat until crispy. Drain it on paper towels to remove the excess grease.
Prep all remaining ingredients – Depending on what ingredients you’ve chosen, you will have a few ingredients to prep. I typically do avocados last.
Assemble the cobb salad – You can either do the deconstructed salad shown in the very first photo, or you can make individual bowls of salad as shown below. The choice is yours. I do a large serving platter with the individual ingredients aesthetically arranged, and drizzle the cilantro-lime dressing over the greens and chicken. I then use tongs to make individual shallow salad bowls, and pass the dressing for each person to use as desired. Serve with extra dressing, sea salt, and a pepper grinder.

A single white ceramic bowl of Mexican cobb salad with cilantro-lime dressing, with yellow striped napkin and wine stem. — A single serving of Mexican cobb salad with cilantro-lime dressing ready to enjoy!

❓ FAQ

Do I need to use a blender to make the dressing ?

You really do. The cilantro needs to be emulsified with the other ingredients. I use a personal blender for the task.

Can I make the dressing ahead of time?

Yes! The cilantro-lime dressing keeps well in the refrigerator for a week.

My dressing looks like it’s separated. What can I do?

You don’t need to get the blender out. Simply shake it vigorously.

Do I have to use extra virgin olive oil?

I highly recommend you do. The dressing will be thicker and tastier with the olive oil. It will still be a flavorful salad dressing if you use a different oil.

🥬 Variations

swap out the grilled chicken for grilled shrimp
swap out the romaine lettuce for baby spinach or other tender greens
add olives or fresh jalapeños to the cobb salad
swap out the thin-sliced red onion for scallions
try this cilantro ranch dressing instead of the cilantro lime dressing
feel free to make this hearty salad your own!

💭 Tips

My preference is to use grilled chicken, but this is also a great way to use rotisserie chicken!

If you make the dressing, and grill the chicken, you can make this main dish salad in the time that it takes to boil the eggs. My eggs have firm whites with a slightly set yolk, and take about 4 minutes of boiling. See How to Boil an Egg for more information.

If meal prep is your jam, this is a great way to use your meal prep chicken. As I mentioned above, we love it with grilled tajín chicken!

As I’m finishing this post, it’s 104°! We had a request from our electric utility to cut back on our electricity usage today. 🥵 I’m always grateful to plan a main dish salad, and pour a cold one on days like this!

Mexican Cobb Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing

Tamara Andersen

A Mexican twist on a traditional cobb salad with chicken that features a lovely cilantro-lime dressing, toasted pepitas, pickled jalapeños, and more… Delicioso!

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Course Main Dishes

Cuisine Mexican

Servings servings

Calories 544 kcal

Equipment

personal blender