A high-fat, low-carb Keto Salad is a great way to enjoy your vegetables on a keto diet! This salad is easy-to-make, full of flavor, and only has 6 grams of net carbs per serving.
Why you should make this recipe
Serving delicious salads is a great way to include more veggies into a keto diet. And this keto Cobb salad does not disappoint.
Even for those not following a keto diet, this salad is a great way to enjoy your greens, healthy fats, and nearly 40 grams of protein. This recipe is packed with flavor and will keep you full for hours!
The great thing about Cobb salad is that the traditional recipe is already naturally low in carbs. There’s no need for keto-friendly substitutes.
Ingredients
With 6 essential ingredients, you’ll be on your way to an easy and healthy lunch. Keep most of the ingredients low-carb to keep the Cobb salad keto.
- mixed greens: this can be any combination of lettuces like baby greens, romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, etc.
- chicken: shredded or cubed chicken breast is excellent; leftover roast chicken will also work
- egg: one hardboiled egg is sufficient for healthy fats and added protein
- feta cheese: or blue cheese for traditional Cobb salad flavor
- bacon: cooked and crumbled bacon; you’ll need about four slices of bacon or ¼ cup of crumbled bacon
- avocado
- cherry tomatoes
Step-by-step instructions
This simple salad is a great recipe for something quick and delicious!
Step 1: Place the mixed greens into a large salad bowl or plate.
Step 2: Slice the hardboiled egg, and dice the cherry tomatoes and avocado. Transfer to the bed of mixed greens.
Step 3: Finally, add the shredded chicken breast, feta cheese, and crumbled bacon.
That’s it! You can drizzle one tablespoon of Ranch dressing for 73 calories and about 8 grams of fat (this is not included in the nutrition facts below). Or use a dressing of your choice. Then enjoy the whole serving for an easy and healthy meal.
Expert tips
A great benefit of salad is the versatility and flexibility to make it your own based on taste preferences and dietary needs. Check out these helpful tips to make this simple meal suitable for anyone.
- For true keto: keep the tomatoes low. Using only four cherry tomatoes keeps the carb count low while enjoying the juicy flavor and texture.
- However, if you are not on a ketogenic diet, you’re welcome to use a standard amount of tomato, as seen in the pictures.
- Flexibility in cheese: Traditional Cobbs use blue cheese or Roquefort cheese, but this keto salad recipe calls for feta cheese instead. It has a milder flavor and is just as good in Cobb salad.
- For meal prep: prep the Cobb salad ingredients and keep them separate in an airtight container until ready to serve. Have cooked chicken breast, hard-boiled eggs, and tomatoes and lettuce prepped, then pull it out and enjoy a healthy lunch in minutes.
Variations
If you don’t follow a keto diet but still want to enjoy this delicious Cobb, a few simple tweaks will make it a perfect salad for anyone!
This recipe, as written, contains about 24 grams of fat. To reduce the fat, you can omit the bacon and avocado and be extra conservative with your dressing.
Additionally, to increase the amount of protein, you can double the chicken breast from 2 ounces to 4 ounces, giving you almost 56 grams of protein in the salad.
Lastly, feel free to include whatever veggies you desire if you don’t need to watch the carb count! While small cherry tomatoes are great for keto, big Roma tomatoes are lovely in a Cobb salad, and shredded carrots add great flavor and texture.
Serving suggestions
Blue cheese dressing has traditionally been the classic Cobb salad dressing. It’s a creamy blend of yogurt, blue cheese crumbles, garlic, lime juice, and salt and pepper. However, it has a very peculiar taste that not everyone is keen on and is typically high in calories.
I prefer using Keto Ranch Dressing. Or keep this easy salad simple with a simple vinaigrette made with red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Both options contain only 1 gram of net carbs per tablespoon. So there is no reason not to dress your salad to keep it keto friendly.
Storage
If you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
However, this keto salad is best enjoyed in one sitting. Chopped avocado will begin to brown due to oxidation. Even though it’s still perfectly safe to eat, the appearance will not be appetizing. Furthermore, dressing added to the lettuce will make the salad soggy.
If you want to prep a bit in advance, chop the cooked bacon, shred the chicken, and hard boil an egg and store it in an airtight container. Also, have a bottle of homemade Ranch dressing ready to go. That way, once you’re in the mood for chicken Cobb salad, your ingredients will be prepped, and you can enjoy a healthy lunch in minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Salads are a great addition to anyone on a ketogenic diet. Ensure that the ingredients are low-carb and keto. Some excellent low-carb vegetables are various lettuces like romaine, red leaf, spinach, and kale. Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber, green bell peppers, and tomatoes are also great additions to a low-carb salad. And don’t forget the healthy fats like avocado and olives.
Any sugar-free salad dressing is an excellent option for people on the keto diet. Avoid dressings made with sweeteners like honey and maple syrup, or use a sugar-free alternative. Furthermore, a basic salad vinaigrette blend with vinegar and extra virgin olive oil is keto and delicious on most salads.
The amount of carbs in a keto salad entirely depends on the salad’s ingredients. As long as most of the ingredients are low-carb and keto, the salad will be low in carbs overall. As written in the recipe card, this keto salad recipe is for one serving, which contains 12 grams of carbs and 6 grams of fiber. As a result, there are only 6 grams of net carbs per serving.
Other healthy keto recipes
If you’re looking for a few more tasty meals to enjoy on a keto diet, check out my ketogenic meal plan or take a peek at these recipes:
For even more high-fat, low-carb inspiration, I put together a round up of my favorite delicious keto fat bomb recipes!
When you’ve tried this recipe, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked it and rate the recipe in the comments below!
Keto Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups mixed green salad or any combination of red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach, etc..
- 1 hard boiled egg
- 4 cherry tomatoes approximately 2-4 ounces
- ½ avocado
- ⅓ cup cooked chicken breast approximately 2 ounces
- ¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled approximately 1 ounce
- ¼ cup cooked bacon, crumbled
Instructions
- Place the mixed greens into a large salad bowl or plate.2 cups mixed green salad
- Slice the hardboiled egg, and dice the cherry tomatoes and avocado. Transfer to the bed of mixed greens.1 hard boiled egg, 4 cherry tomatoes, ½ avocado
- Add the shredded chicken breast, feta cheese, and crumbled bacon.⅓ cup cooked chicken breast, ¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled, ¼ cup cooked bacon, crumbled
Great healthy salad, thanks for sharing.
Uh… I mean it’s a great looking salad, it’s probably still plenty keto friendly, but those are not cherry tomatoes. If you calculated the nutrients based on cherry tomatoes, you massively under-calculated the tomato carbs. Cherry tomatoes are those little bite-sized things about the size of your thumb. These are just small tomatoes. You ended up with about as much tomato as would be in a regular cobb. Possibly MORE tomato.
You’re right! That does not look like cherry tomatoes. The macros, however, are calculated based on 4 cherry tomatoes. Will take note of that
I’ve been making Cobb Salads for years (I absolutely LOVE them) using the following “formula”: EAT COBB [i.e., Eggs, Avocado, Tomatoes, Chicken (which I sometimes switch out with Tuna), Onions, Bacon and Blue Cheese)] which I top with a homemade Ranch Dressing, so I added 1/4 chopped onion and 2 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon to your already wonderful recipe. My Dressing (which I used to make with Buttermilk but which I now make with Heavy Cream), for whoever may be interested, includes the following ingredients (most of which are pretty much staples in a Keto Kitchen), makes enough for 3-4 servings, and may be stored in the refrigerator for at least 1 week:
0.5 cup Mayonnaise
0.25 cup Sour cream
1 tsp Lemon (or Lime) juice
1 tsp Dried parsley (or Basil or Cilantro)
0.5 tsp Dried dill
0.5 tsp Dried chives
0.5 tsp fresh minced Garlic (0.25 tsp Garlic powder may be substituted)
0.25 tsp Onion powder
0.25 tsp Cayenne Pepper flakes (optional)
0.25 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground Black pepper
1 oz. Heavy Cream
Do you have a suggested brand for ranch dressing? The only ones I see have soy or corn oil in them and are loaded up with sugar and gum and starch paste.
That sounds awful! I have a few favourites.
First is calorie/carb free but therefore also has a fair amount of artificial ingredients called Walden Farms Ranch Salad Dressing. Given it is calorie/carb free you can expect it to not exactly taste as a full fat Rach, but I like it.
Second is a low calorie/carb dressing is super yummy called Bolthouse Farms Cucumber Ranch Dressing.
So, hope that’s a good starting point..
I made my homemade salad dressing using these ingredients:
One packsge of Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Flavor, Unsweetened Greek Yogurt, Almond Milk a little Hymiliam Salt and Black pepper to taste.
Directions:(I was only was using 1/2 of the package which makes @ 2/3 cups for my marinade over some chicked last night)
Mix 1 & 1/2 Tablespoons of Unsweetened Greek Yogurt, 1 Tablespoon of Almond milk, 1 Tablespoon of the Ranch Dressing package..you can add a little more to get the taste you want to though, then add salt & pepper to taste. Stir all ingredients together and chill until cold & a little firm. A out 15 minutes then pour over whatever. You can use a jar to store it in or a storage container. The yogurt replaces the sour cream & the milk thins it out to a creamy state. According to your taste you may want to add or substitute ingredients. This is a very cheap dip to make because we usually have these ingredients anyway on hand & the package cost @ $1.50! N it’s @ 1 carb & the other little splashes of ingredients that equal it to be @ 4 carbs or so.