I have a confession to make. I used to never, ever order a salad when we went out to eat. Never. They looked so gross – iceberg lettuce, tomatoes way past their prime, and ranch dressing – yowsa. Thankfully, fast food salads have come a long way in the last 5-10 years as the food scientists responsible for such addictive things as McDonald’s fries (someone rescue me from myself!) have put energy into creating delicious salads that you can purchase in the drive-thru.
Enter my favorite fast food salad: The Chick fil A Cobb Salad. Omm nomm nomm.
I’ve eaten this salad at many different Chick fil As, and the presentation is nearly always on point (read: the ingredients are all there, and it doesn’t look like a toddler packaged it). You feel like you’re sitting down to eat something that someone took care in putting together for you, and that feels good! Here’s what you’ll find on your Cobb Salad:
What You'll Find on Your Cobb Salad
- Mixed greens (no chopped iceberg – yay!)
- Shredded cheddar & monterey jack cheeses
- Roasted corn kernels
- Bacon
- Sliced hardboiled egg
- Grape tomatoes
- Chicken: choice of grilled nuggets or breaded nuggets (I usually get grilled)
- Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing
- (Optional) Charred tomato and crispy red peppers
Ok, I’m going to cut to the chase here and just tell you that the nuggets and the dressing are totally the stars of this show! Not to say that the rest of the salad isn’t important or delicious (it’s both!), but the flavor packed into the chicken and the salad dressing is what makes this salad quite extraordinary for something you can pick up for under $10 in under ten minutes.
If you’ve been to Chick fil A or have seen their signs featuring cows trying to convince you to eat more chicken, then you know that chicken is kind of their thing. And in their Cobb Salad, the chicken really does shine. I normally opt for the grilled nuggets, and they honestly taste like they’ve just been grilled. They’re juicy and easy to bite into, with just the right amount of salt and spice.
The Avocado Lime Ranch dressing tastes like the offspring of ranch and a very mild, non-spicy, slightly limey, Mexican dressing. It’s sweet and minorly tangy with just the ittiest bittiest hint of heat. [Side note: request an extra packet of this salad dressing when you’re ordering; it’s free, and then you’ll have delicious dressing for a homemade salad or two.]
The roasted corn, shredded cheeses, and bacon all add small pops of flavor to every bite, while the hardboiled egg reminds you that this is indeed a cobb salad. I’m going to make yet another confession here and tell you that I don’t really love tomatoes, so I usually don’t eat them on this salad, but for research purposes I gave them a good firmness test and took a bite (you’re welcome), and I can confirm that they seemed to be decent, non-squishy tomatoes.
As for the “charred tomato and crispy red bell peppers”, the unrecognizable crispy things that come in a bag on the side: these feel like the outlier in this whole ingredients show. While I’ll nearly always advocate for salads to have something crunchy on them, these crispies are a somewhat bizarre addition to what was already a delightful salad. They give off a fried, slightly spicy, crunchy flavor. For me, I preferred the salad without them (although I did eat some of them on the side!).
All of this goodness lies on a bed of fresh mixed greens that really do taste fresh! Whatever lettuce mix they’re using has a satisfying combination of structure (it’s strong enough to support many nuggets and other toppings sitting on top of it) and softness (you don’t feel like you have to dislocate your jaw to chew through a mouthful of it). Well done, Chick fil A, well done.
Allergens*
Gluten free: Order with grilled nuggets and without Charred Tomato and Crispy Red Peppers
Dairy free: Order without cheese and choose another dressing (such as the Light Italian Dressing or the Light Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing)
*As always, please check with the restaurant before ordering, as ingredients and food preparation methods can change without notice.
Recommendations
This is really a full-meal salad.
In fact, if I’m getting it for lunch, I often eat half of it and save the rest for the next day’s lunch (sometimes adding in some extra greens the next day).
I often order this without the bacon, not because I’m completely crazy (even though that’s what my 14 year old thinks when he hears me ask “Oh, and could you please hold the bacon?”), but because I don’t think it adds that much to the overall flavor, and there’s no way around the fact that bacon is not great for you. You could probably leave off the hardboiled egg and not miss it too much either.
Ok, now go try this salad! It really is so good, especially for a fast food salad. It is on the pricier side for fast food, ringing in at $9.49 here in southern California, but if you’re able to save part of it for another meal, then that makes it more reasonable. Yum yum!
