Mexican cobb salad made with guacamole, pickled onions, bacon, and jalapeno havarti cheese. A fresh twist on classic cobb salad that works great for meal prep and lunch on the go!
While traditional cobb salad is delicious, it's fun to get creative and mix things up, too! This Mexican cobb salad is such a fun and delicious remix.
This Mexican-inspired cobb salad is so full of flavor and texture: tangy pickled onions, creamy guacamole, salty bacon, and spicy havarti jalapeno wedges!
Best of all, these hearty salad ingredients hold up really well for meal prep. This is a really loose recipe, which means it's perfect for using up extra ingredients you have in the fridge.
reasons you'll love this recipe
- it's protein-packed and will keep you going all afternoon long
- it's flexible and can be adapted to what you have in the fridge
- you can meal prep and store for up to 4 days!
recipe video
Watch the video below to see exactly how we prepped this Mexican cobb salad. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel, or on Facebook.
Ingredinet Notes
- havarti jalapeno wedges - traditional Cobb salad has blue cheese but this jalapeno havarti cheese is a delicious twist
- romaine lettuce - washed and spun dry
- hard boiled eggs - cook hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot, or on the stovetop
- bacon - bacon in the oven or make ultra crispy air fryer bacon (which only takes 12 minutes to cook up!)
- pickled onions - these take 5 minutes in the microwave and add SO MUCH flavor to the salad. See our recipe for quick pickled red onions here.
- guacamole - we are trading in avocado slices for guacamole! This adds more flavor and acts in place of a salad dressing to bring a creaminess to the salad.
- corn - one 11.5 oz can, drained
- cherry tomatoes - sliced
step by step directions
prep bacon
Cook your bacon in a frying pan, in the air fryer, or in the oven. Cool completely.
prep eggs
Prepare hard-boiled eggs using your favorite method. We like to cook them in the Instant Pot with 1 cup of water on high pressure for 6 minutes with a quick pressure release before transferring to an ice bath.
Quick pickled red onions
In a mason jar, combine all ingredients. Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring each time, until onions are soft and bright pink. Allow to cool before serving.
Note - the pickled onions in this salad add quite a bit of tanginess to it. I found that vinaigrettes added too much 'tang' to the recipe. If you would like to add a dressing, make sure it is quite mild!
prep guacamole
In a bowl, mash together the avocados, garlic, lime juice and salt.
Combine Salad
Chop up the bacon, eggs, and jalapeno havarti. Divide the romaine lettuce, corn, cherry tomatoes, eggs, bacon, havarti, guacamole, and pickled red onions between four bowls. Enjoy!
variations
Wondering what other ingredients you could add to this salad? Here are a few ideas:
- roasted sweet potatoes
- pickled or fresh jalapenos
- crispy air fryer chickpeas
- tortilla strips or chips
- salsa or pico de gallo
- sour cream or greek yogurt
- black beans
- bell peppers
- cilantro
FAQ
Traditionally, chicken is an ingredient in cobb salad! You could certainly add in some cooked, cooled & shredded chicken if you'd like. See our southwestern chopped chicken salad for another delicious meal prep salad recipe.
Sure! For a vegetarian option, omit the bacon. For a vegan, Mexican cobb salad you will need to omit the bacon, cheese, and eggs. We would suggest adding in some plant-based protein in the form of roasted chickpeas or black beans. At this point, I think it would be a stretch to call it a 'cobb salad' anymore though.
You can read the whole story here!
storage + meal prep
This Mexican cobb salad works amazingly well for meal prep with a few little tricks!
- keep salad components separate - using one of these 3 compartment meal prep containers to keep your bacon and eggs separate from the cheese and the veggies until you are ready to serve
- leave off guac- you could try using individual guacamole portions that you can purchase from the grocery store, or just slice avocado on fresh. Alternatively, you could swap it for a bottled avocado dressing (but again, make sure it's a mild dressing, not a tangy one)
- keep the pickled onions and cheese apart - we used a parchment muffin liner and it did the trick!
This salad will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days if you store it properly!
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Mexican Cobb Salad
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon
- 4 eggs
- 200 grams jalapeno havarti wedges cut into cubes
- 4 cups romaine lettuce shredded, washed & spun dry
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 11.5 oz can of corn kernels drained
Quick Pickled Onions
- ½ red onion sliced thinly
- 1 clove garlic minced
- pinch salt
- pinch oregano
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
Guacamole
- 2 avocados scooped out
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ lime juiced
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Prepare bacon - Cook your bacon in a frying pan or in the oven using this tutorial. Cool completely.
- Prepare eggs - Prepare hard boiled eggs using your favorite method or in the Instant Pot with 1 cup of water on high pressure for 6 minutes with a quick pressure release before transferring to an ice bath.
- Pickled red onions - In a mason jar, combine all ingredients. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring each time, until onions are soft and bright pink. Allow to cool before serving. *See note 1
- Guacamole - In a bowl, mash together the avocados, garlic, lime juice and salt.
- Combine salad - Chop up the bacon, eggs, and jalapeno havarti. Divide the romaine lettuce, corn, cherry tomatoes, eggs, bacon, havarti, guacamole, and pickled red onions between four bowls. Enjoy!
Tips:
- The pickled onions in this salad add quite a bit of tanginess to it. I found that vinaigrettes added too much 'tang' to the recipe. If you would like to add a dressing, make sure it is quite mild!
Video
Nutrition Information
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