Upgrade your basic cobb salad recipe with blackened shrimp! This authentic cobb includes all the classic components like avocado, crumbled gorgonzola, and an easy mason jar dressing, plus smoky shrimp full of Southern flavor.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my easy blackened chicken tenders, too!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Simple to Make - You only need a few minutes and simple whole food ingredients to throw this salad together. No expert-level techniques are required, but I do have a few pro tips below to help you get it right on your very first try!
Restaurant-Quality Results - From the smoky blackened shrimp to the zesty dressing, tangy blue cheese, and rich bacon, you'll feel like you're doing lunch at a chic lil' gourmet bistro.
👉🏾 My family absolutely refuses to eat boring salads. So I love jazzing up different versions--check out my grilled peach and sweet corn summer salad, southwest salad with chicken, dense bean black-eyed pea salad, and Mediterranean chopped cucumber salad next!
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What You'll Need for this Recipe
Romaine Lettuce is the classic leaf for making cobb salad because it has a firm, crisp texture that stands up to all the toppings we'll add and provides a nice crunch to each bite.
Shrimp is the star protein here. I recommend large or jumbo shrimp, but an equivalent weight of smaller shrimp will also work.
Fresh Produce like avocados, tomatoes, and red onion add color and flavor.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Cobb Salad Dressing Options - Make the traditional dressing for cobb salad included with this recipe, or use your favorite store-bought version. Want ranch dressing instead? I won't tell anybody. 😉
Bacon - Pork bacon adds satisfying smoky taste to the original cobb salad recipe, but feel free to swap in beef bacon, turkey bacon, or whatever you might prefer.
Pre-Chopped Produce - Save yourself some time by purchasing prepped produce from the grocery store. Then, all you have to do is cook the shrimp, make the dressing, and assemble!
Salad Bar - This recipe makes enough salad for four servings, but you can easily double it for a crowd! Want to scale it down for one or two? That's simple, too.
How to Make Cobb Salad with Blackened Shrimp
- Step One: Bake the bacon on a cookie sheet until crispy. (Photo 1)
- Step Two: Drain and crumble the bacon in several sheets of paper towels. (Photo 2)
- Step Three: Add the dressing ingredients to an airtight container, seal, and shake vigorously until emulsified. (Photos 3 and 4)
Pro Tip #1
You can cook the bacon and make the dressing up to three days in advance. Just give the dressing another good shake before serving, as some separation may occur.
Pro Tip #2
Here's a trick my mom taught me for quickly crumbling up a lot of bacon: let the bacon fully cool on the paper towels, then ball the paper towels up--with the bacon still inside--and and squeeze it until the bacon is broken up into whatever size pieces you desire. All the mess stays in the paper towels!
- Step Four: Chop up the lettuce, eggs, avocado, onion, tomato, and chives. (Photos 5 and 6)
- Step Five: Peel and devein the shrimp, then season and cook on both sides. (Photos 7 and 8)
- Step Six: Assemble your salads and serve! (Photo 9)
Frequently Asked Questions
If possible, refrigerate any leftover salad ingredients undressed and in separate airtight containers. Keeps for up to five days. Store the salad dressing at room temperature in an airtight container for up to two weeks.
How to Serve
Temperature: This salad tastes best when the shrimp is fresh out of the pan and still warm, but is totally fine to enjoy at room temperature or cold. Just be sure to consume within two hours, and refrigerate it if you can't.
Pairings: Serve this salad with a side of crispy oven fries or a piece of homemade honey cornbread. Want a soup and salad for dinner? I recommend this creamy sweet potato soup!
More Favorite Shrimp Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy this blackened shrimp cobb salad dinner recipe soon and very soon. And sharing is caring, so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Blackened Shrimp Cobb Salad
Equipment
- 1 knife
- 1 large cast iron skillet or other large skillet
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 pound romaine lettuce
- 12 ounces bacon
- 8 ounces tomatoes Roma, cherry, grape, or pear
- 6 ounces crumbled gorgonzola cheese
- 4 hard-boiled eggs
- 1-2 avocados one large or two small
- ½ red onion
- 3 tablespoons chives onion or garlic based on availability
For the Cobb Salad Dijon Dressing
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar plus one tablespoon
- ¼ cup olive oil plus one tablespoon
- 2 tablespoons shallot diced
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1-2 teaspoons honey or sweetener of your choice
- fine sea salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
For the Blackened Shrimp
- 1-2 tablespoons avocado oil or other oil with a high smoke point
- 1 pound shrimp
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Cook the Bacon: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange bacon in one layer on sheet pan and place in oven to bake for about 20-25 minutes or until crispy and cooked through.12 ounces bacon
- Carefully transfer the cooked bacon onto several stacked sheets of paper towel to drain excess grease and cool.
- Make the Dressing: While the bacon cooks, add the dressing ingredients to a small airtight container (like a small mason jar). Seal and shake vigorously until the dressing is emulsified (about one full minute). Set aside.¼ cup apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons shallot, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, 1-2 teaspoons honey, fine sea salt, black pepper
- Chop the Salad Ingredients: Cut off and discard the bottom two inches of each lettuce head, then cut the leaves into two to three-inch pieces. Dice the red onion, tomato, eggs, avocados, and chives. Crumble the bacon.*1 pound romaine lettuce, 8 ounces tomatoes, 4 hard-boiled eggs, 1-2 avocados, ½ red onion, 3 tablespoons chives
- Blacken the Shrimp: Add avocado oil to skillet over medium-high heat on the stovetop. Peel and devein shrimp, if needed, then mix together the blackening spices and toss with the shrimp until evenly coated.1-2 tablespoons avocado oil, 1 pound shrimp, ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon dried basil, ¼ teaspoon dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- Carefully tilt and swirl the skillet to coat the cooking surface in the heated oil. Add shrimp to the skillet in one layer, leaving at least one inch of space between each piece, and cook for about two minutes on each side. The shrimp should develop an opaque coral color and a charred or "blackened" appearance.
- Assemble and Serve: Divide the ingredients between four plates or bowls, starting each one with a bed of the chopped lettuce, followed by dressing, then all the toppings, and finishing with a sprinkle of chives.6 ounces crumbled gorgonzola cheese
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