I have always been a fan of serving up a big hearty salad for dinner. It's such a nice way to switch up our regular routine and there are plenty of interesting combinations to try. However, my husband can be a tough sell in this department. He's not so keen on the salad thing. But, this vegetarian cobb salad managed to convince him to come over to the dark side. Both filling and packed with flavor, he even requested that it be added to our dinner rotation. I'll count that as a win!
Traditionally, cobb salads are made with crisp greens, tomatoes, avocado, hard-boiled eggs and both pork bacon and chicken. In this version, we've swapped out the regular bacon for chickpea bacon and replaced the chicken with crunchy walnuts. The salad is also filled with crumbled feta cheese, fresh herbs and a simple honey mustard vinaigrette.
One of my favorite parts about making salads is that you can switch them up based on your own preferences. While this version uses a combination of crisp romaine and baby spinach, you could certainly use all romaine or a mix of romaine and iceberg. Or, don't like feta? Switch it out for another cheese. You can customize as you please.
The same goes for the bacon. While I loved using chickpeas since they get nice and charred and crispy, you can use our tutorial to make almost anything into bacon. Tofu, tempeh, eggplant, coconut flakes! So many options!
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
For the chickpeas:
- 1 ½ teaspoons liquid smoke
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
For the dressing:
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon vegetarian worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Pinch of pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
For the salad:
- 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 medium avocado, pitted and cubed
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ½ cup raw walnuts, chopped
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives, or green onion
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Instructions
For the chickpeas:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the liquid smoke, maple syrup, vinegar, soy sauce and olive oil until well combined. Add in the chickpeas and toss to coat. Let the chickpeas marinate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Drain off the marinade and spread the chickpeas evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until charred and slightly crispy. Remove from the oven and let cool directly on the baking sheet (they’ll crisp up more during this time).
For the dressing:
- Add all the ingredients for the dressing to a small bowl. Whisk vigorously until combined.
For the salad:
- Add some of the romaine and spinach to a serving plate. Top with some of the chickpeas, eggs, tomatoes, avocado, feta, walnuts, chives and parsley (in rows if desired). Drizzle with the desired amount of dressing and serve immediately.
Rachel Cooks says
This looks amazing! Loving the chickpeas 🙂
Ashley Jennings says
Thanks Rachel!
Els says
This was amazing! Such a filling and tasty salad :). I do not have liquid smoke here in the Netherlands but swapped it with smoked paprika-powder, worked perfectly!
Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Ashley Jennings says
Oh I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting us know! 🙂
marcie says
I could make a meal out of those chickpeas, but of course I would take the salad part too! 🙂 This looks amazing, Ashley!
Ashley Jennings says
Thanks Marcie! The chickpeas even by themselves are soo good!!
Heather says
One of my favourite salads ever! So delish. I even forgot the walnuts and it was still fantastic. I also swapped a bit of worcestershire and paprika for the liquid smoke and it turned out great. And you're right, my husband loved it too! Will definitely be a new staple at our place. Thank you!!
Ashley Jennings says
I'm so happy to hear it! Especially that your husband loved it too! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!
Valeri says
What an excellent recipe! The chickpea marinade and the dressing were delicious. I added sun dried tomatoes, olives and roasted peppers to the salad. Thank you!
Ashley Jennings says
I love those additions! So happy you enjoyed it!
Akamatra says
This looks amazing! I can't to try it. One question though. I live in Greece and the chick peas I've got are not in can. Do I have to boil them first? Are the ones in the can you use cooked? Thanks!
Katie Trant says
Hi Akamatra, yes, you'll need to soak and boil your chickpeas before you use them in this recipe. Canned chickpeas are pre-cooked.
Katherine Ehrlinger says
Has anyone figured out the nutritional information/calories?