Summertime is almost here and I’m so excited!! While getting to summer is a long and cold road here in Chicago, there is truly nothing better than the city in the summer! Beaches, parks, street festivals, it’s amazing! However, I don’t know about the rest of you, but after a long winter of pastas and mac and cheese, I’m not exactly beach body ready. It’s definitely time to start working more salads into the rotation and this Vegan Cobb Salad is the perfect choice!
This recipe is adapted from a recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Love and Lemons but as the dressing here I made a creamy and delicious, vegan avocado ranch! Prior to going vegetarians, Cobb Salad’s were one of my favorite salads! However, they’re not the healthiest salad in the world at all. The traditional Cobb is loaded with bacon and chicken and cheese which are all great tasting but not good for you at all. This version is loaded with veggies and the dressing is creamy and has lots of healthy fats from the avocados!
The other stellar part of this recipe is the coconut bacon! If you haven’t tried using coconut flakes as bacon bits, let this recipe be your guide! Coconut bacon is so easy and it’s crunchy and smoky flavor is perfect on top of a salad.
My final note on this salad is that it is super convenient as a pre-made salad in a mason jar. These mason jar versions of the salad will keep in the fridge for a week and they are perfect to grab and take to work for lunch. Just pull the ingredients out of the bowl and toss with the dressing! You can either put the dressing on the bottom or carry it in a separate container. I hope you all try and love this recipe! If you like it please comment and let me know and subscribe to my blog of course for even more recipes!!
Until Next Time,
Jackie
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Vegan Cobb Salad with Homemade Avocado Ranch
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Vegetarian, Vegan
Description
A light and healthy version of the classic salad topped with veggies, coconut bacon and a creamy avocado ranch dressing. Adapted from Love and Lemons.
Ingredients
Scale
- Coconut Bacon
- 1 tbs maple syrup
- 2 cups coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- pinch of salt and pepper
- Avocado Ranch
- 1 small avocado
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup fresh dill
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
- pinch of salt and pepper
- Spiced Baked Tofu
- 1 8oz block tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 tbs paprika
- 1 tbs chili powder
- 2 tsps garlic powder
- 2 tsps onion powder
- pinch salt and pepper
- Salad Toppings
- 3 cups romaine lettuce, cleaned and chopped
- 3 cups butter lettuce, cleaned and chopped
- 1 head radicchio or red cabbage
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 large cucumber, any style you want, I spiralize mine but you can also slice it
- 1 red onion, diced
- 3 scallions, sliced
Instructions
- Start by cooking the tofu because it takes the longest amount of time. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes and toss them in all the spices. Grease a baking sheets and place the tofu cubes onto the sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, flip the pieces halfway through.
- Next prepare the coconut “bacon”. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and pour the coconut flakes onto it. In a small bowl, whisk together all of the marinade ingredients. Pour the mixture onto the coconut and mix thoroughly. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. Check them after 8 to make sure they are not burning. If they don’t seem crispy enough yet don’t worry about it too much, they get crunchier as they cool down.
- While the tofu and coconut bacon are cooking, make your dressing. Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and mix it on high until it’s completely smooth. You may need to add some water to thin it out if it’s still thick. It holds in the fridge for about a week but you will likely have to add water after a few days because it thickens in the fridge.
- Finally, assemble the salad! You can assemble it for a group by tossing both lettuces together and placing them in a large bowl. Top the greens with the tofu, onions, tomatoes, raddichio, cucumbers and scallions all in straight lines. Serve with the avocado ranch on the side.
- To assemble as a pre-made mason jar salad Put the ingredients in the jar coconut bacon, then tofu, then tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, scallions and radicchio. Top with two handfuls of the greens and seal. You can either put the dressing on the bottom of the jar or put it on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
*For the Avocado Ranch you can also use Greek yogurt for a non-vegan healthy option.
