A summertime recipe for cobb salad that includes grilled chicken AND corn plus caprese salad ingredients with juicy tomatoes, mozzarella, and a super easy basil pesto salad dressing that is out of this world delish. This is also a great meal prep kale salad!
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Oh hello, here's a salad we can SINK OUR TEETH INTO. Finally.
I'm all about a main dish salad. I order them often in restaurants because I want to, not because I'm punishing myself for something or feel like I should. BUT, the salad's gotta be a good one. House made dressings, fun protein choices, crunchy things, etc.
If salads on a menu don't look good, I'm heading straight for ordering a dinner entree during brunch because the smothered chicken is just always so legit, right?
(I got off track.)
Kale Cobb Salad Recipe Notes
- This salad in particular is SO good as a main dish. It's got the base of my favorite kale salad that we make at least once per week.
- Meal prep this one! I wash and tear the kale on Sundays then use it for at least one lunch and one dinner, then throw any leftovers into pasta or curry at the end of the week.
- Grilling the chicken and corn adds tons of summery flavor AND keeps the kitchen clean.
- The caprese flavors in this are perfect for summer - pesto salad dressing, fresh mozzarella, and tomatoes. If you make this in the winter it still works well, just use cherry tomatoes or Campari tomatoes for lots of flavor year round.
- This is mostly a low carb main dish, although I like the addition of corn for some carb balance. You can also add croutons or bread on the side of this cobb, both are great to round out the meal.
Pesto Salad Dressing
The dressing for this salad is the most simple pesto vinaigrette: any pesto you have on hand mixed with some fresh lemon juice to thin it out, and maybe a pinch of salt if you need it.
I like to make the dressing in advance and use it on all sorts of things. But, for the sake of timing this recipe, you can also make it after you prep the kale - it needs to sit a bit to soften while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Timing Pro Tip: I wrote the pesto salad dressing in that order in the recipe card below, but truly the steps to getting this salad ready can be re-ordered based on what works for you, how much you want to prep vs doing it all at once, etc.
Ingredients and Ingredient Swaps
Here's what we're working with!
- Flat/dino/lacinato kale. You can use any kale you like, but I prefer flat kale to curly for its nice chewy texture.
- Lemon. One lemon that gets a lot of action in the recipe. The zest goes on the grilled chicken, and the fresh lemon juice is split in half - half goes on the kale, half goes in the pesto salad dressing.
- The pesto salad dressing, which is just lemon juice, pesto, and salt. Use any basil pesto that you like for the classic caprese flavor.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs for grilling. This is the BEST boneless chicken for grilling and I won't discuss other options. (use whatever chicken you like, obviously)
- Corn on the cob. Two ears that we'll grill then cut the kernels off to spread over the salad. SO GOOD.
- Cherry tomatoes or any other tomatoes that you like.
- Fresh mozzarella to round out the caprese vibe we're going for!
- Salt and black pepper to flavor every single layer of this yummy salad.
- Optional: balsamic glaze for drizzling right at the end. I skipped it because I don't love it. But, yes, traditionally caprese salad consists of fresh basil (hence, the pesto), tomatoes, mozzarella, and balsamic. Choose your own adventure!
Step by Step Instructions
Start by adding just a bit of olive oil to the kale, then squish fistfuls of the kale to break it up slightly and spread the oil over all the leaves. This will soften the kale leaves just slightly and make them wonderfully chewy without being hard to eat.
Prep the corn and chicken at the same time. I drizzle both with olive oil and add lots of salt and pepper, then grill them and let them cool while I make the rest of the salad.
Toss the lemon zest all over the chicken, too.
Preheat your grill to high and grill the corn on a few sides just until nice char marks form - don't worry about actually cooking the corn.
Grill the chicken for about 7 minutes on each side until it's totally cooked through - more or less depending on your grill.
When the dressing is done and the corn and chicken are grilled, all that's left is assembling the salad. Here are the final steps:
- Use a serrated knife (even a steak knife works for this) to cut the corn off the cob.
- Toss the kale with the rest of the lemon juice and a good sprinkle of salt. Taste the kale and keep salting it until the lemon juice isn't too strong and the kale is really flavorful.
- Slice the chicken, dice the tomatoes and mozzarella if they aren't prepped yet.
- Arrange the ingredients on top of the kale in pretty rows (cobs on a Cobb, get it?), then drizzle just a bit of the dressing over the top.
- Toss everything together or keep everything separate on a platter, then transfer to bowls to serve.
Serving and What Goes with Kale Cobb Salad
For serving, pass extra dressing for anyone that needs it.
I love this with a loaf of no-knead bread and brownies for dessert. Simple, delicious, and so so summery.
Make Ahead and Leftover Storage
- I think this is so yummy served fresh because the hot chicken + cool other ingredients are so, so good together. That said, besides grilling, every single ingredient can be prepped in advance, so truly all you have to do is grill, cut the corn off the cob, and arrange the salad.
- Leftovers are great in the fridge for 2-3 days, kale holds up so well even with dressing on it.
It's delicious, nutritious, whole food-y without being overly light or boring. The chicken and cheese have enough protein that you aren't going to be scrounging for a snack ten minutes later, always a pitfall of super light recipes for me.
Pesto to me just screams summer, and the corn with tomatoes drive the point home in a borderline-not-quite-obnoxious way, the best line to straddle when it comes to summer produce.
Enjoy this one! It's EXCELLENT.
Recipe
Summery Kale Cobb Salad with Pesto Salad Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Lacinato or flat, or dino kale
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 4 tablespoons prepared basil pesto
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 ears corn husks removed
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cubed
Instructions
Kale Prep
- Remove the stems from the kale leaves with your fingers or a small knife. Tear the kale into bite-sized pieces and place in a large salad bowl.
- Drizzle the kale with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and squish it into the kale using your hands, like you are trying to squeeze water out of the kale. When the kale is coated in the oil, let it sit while you prepare the rest of the salad. This will soften the leaves slightly.
Pesto Salad Dressing
- Make the dressing by combining the pesto, the juice of half the lemon, and ¼ teaspoon salt with a fork. This is a great use of time while the kale rests, but it also can be done several days in advance and kept in the fridge.
The Rest of the Kale Cobb
- Grill Prep: Preheat a grill for high heat grilling. Toss the chicken thighs with the lemon zest, ½ teaspoon EACH salt and pepper, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Drizzle the corn with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Grill: Grill the corn until dark marks form, then remove from the grill and allow to cool. Grill the chicken until cooked through, about 7 minutes on each side.
- When done grilling, slice the chicken and use a serrated knife to scrape the corn kernels from the cobs. Toss the kale with the juice from the other half of the lemon and ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Assemble the salad. Make a bed with the seasoned kale and arrange segments of the corn, chicken, tomatoes, and mozzarella. Drizzle with the pesto dressing. Enjoy!
Notes
This recipe was originally written in August 2019. I've updated it slightly with better instructions and notes on time management. I hope you love it as much as we have for so many years!
(yes I absolutely serve bread with my low carb meals)
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