Cobb Salad…A Classic Made Skinny

The fabulous and decadent Cobb Salad first appeared in the 1930‘s at the legendary Brown Derby restaurant in Los Angeles.  It was created on a whim by Robert Cobb, owner of the restaurant, late one night from leftovers.  It was such a hit, movie stars began requesting “Cobb’s salad” and thus became the Derby’s signature salad.  A traditional Cobb is incredibly high in fat and calories.  It’s loaded with crumbled bacon, blue cheese, avocado, and tossed in an extremely fattening blue cheese dressing.  Great news though-My skinny Cobb taste very decadent with a fraction of the fat and calories. I’m tossing it in a delicious Skinny Blue Cheese Vinaigrette I’ve made from scratch.  The skinny for 1 salad is 343 calories and 15 grams of fat.  A Cobb Salad at California Pizza Kitchen has 585 calories and 40 grams of fat.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 8 minutes

Ingredients

1 recipe for Skinny Blue Cheese Vinaigrette, see recipe below or a store bought dressing, see shopping tip

16 slices Oscar Mayer Center Cut Bacon or turkey bacon

8 egg whites, cooked and chopped (2 cups cooked)

8 cups romaine lettuce, chopped (about 2-9oz bags)

2 cups carrots, shredded

2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, diced

1½ cups chicken breast, cooked (boneless, skinless)

1⅓ cups snap peas, chopped

⅓ cup crumbled blue cheese

Instructions

1. Prepare the Skinny Blue Cheese Vinaigrette Dressing (see recipe below).  Refrigerate until ready to use.

2. To cook the bacon-place on a microwave-safe plate lined with two sheets of paper towels.  Place 8 slices of bacon in a single layer. Cover bacon with a sheet of paper towels.  Cook in microwave until crisp, about 4-5 minutes.  Repeat with the remaining 8 slices of bacon.  Crumble the cooked bacon.

3. In a large bowl, add the lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, chicken, snap peas, bacon and cheese.  Pour in ¾ cup of Skinny Blue Cheese Vinaigrette.  Toss well.  Add more dressing if desired.

Serves 4 main course salads

Skinny Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

This contemporary version of a classic blue cheese dressing is divine.  It’s a bit lighter but still very creamy.  It’s much skinnier than most vinaigrette because I’m using my skinny ranch dressing as the base instead of oil. I’m only adding a tablespoon of oil.  Wait until you get a taste.  It’s wonderful!

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

¾ cup Skinny Ranch Dressing

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic, from a jar or 2 garlic cloves minced

¼ cup crumbled blue cheese (1 ounce)

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the Skinny Ranch Dressing, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic.  Stir in the crumbled blue cheese.

2. Refrigerate until ready to use.

3. Skinny Blue Cheese Dressing will keep refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Makes 1⅛ cups

Healthy Benefit
Cooking bacon in the microwave on paper towels cuts much of the fat and calories.  In addition, most of the fat remains in the towel not bacon.

Shopping Tips
If you are looking to use regular bacon, I love Oscar Mayer Center Cut Bacon.  It’s much lower in fat and calories than most bacon.  Turkey bacon also works great for this recipe.

You’ll find packaged cooked chicken at Trader Joe’s.  It delicious and so convenient to use whenever a recipe calls for cooked chicken.

You can use a store bought dressing, if desired. Try Ken’s Steak House Lite Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing.

Prep Tip
To save time, you can cook the egg whites in the microwave instead of boiling them.  Pour the whites into a microwave-safe cereal bowl.  Cover with a plate and cook in the microwave for about 2 minutes until completely cooked.  Cool and chop.

Substitution and Calorie Cutting Tip
Not a fan of blue cheese dressing?  Toss this salad in Nancy’s Skinny Ranch Dressing.  In addition, use reduced-fat mozzarella cheese instead of crumbled blue cheese.

You can cut the calories and fat down if you leave out the chicken. It will be a bit lighter and still taste delish!

Weight Watchers (old points) 7
Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 10

SKINNY FACTS: for 1 serving including dressing 343 calories, 15g fat, 40g protein, 22g carbs, 5g fiber, 690mg sodium, 12g sugar

FAT FACTS: for 1 California Pizza Kitchen’s Cobb Salad 585 calories, 40g fat, 41g protein, 15g carbs, 5g fiber, 2025mg sodium, 8g sugar