Cobb salads are the kind of salad that is colorful and delicious. There’s no denying that feeling you get when you take your first forkful of it — the explosion of flavor that takes over your tastebuds is unlike any other. Although many people love to munch on this eccentric salad, not many know how to properly assemble one. Thinking that there are too many ingredients or that it might be too hard to do (we can assure you that it’s not).

The history of the cobb salad is a highly disputed story within the food world and pop culture (Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm tackled it in Episode 3 of Season 2 of the show). One story states that it originated in in 1937 at the Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant, but it remains unclear if the inventor of the cobb salad was owner Robert Howard Cobb or the head chef Paul J. Posti.

The Cobb/Posti version states that late one night, Robert was itching for something to eat and threw together whatever was available in the kitchen. The second story that has been circulating about the cobb salad claims that chef Robert Kreis, created this vibrant salad in 1929 (the same year the Brown Derby in Hollywood opened) and named it after Robert Cobb.

The OG version of this recipe features: chopped salad greens, tomato, crisp bacon, chicken breast, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, chives, Roquefort cheese and a red-wine vinaigrette. The below recipe, shared by the great folks at The Cheesecake Factory, is a clear departure of that and is completely vegan!

©The Cheesecake Factory

Vegan Cobb Salad by The Cheesecake Factory

Servings 2

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. Baby Lettuce Mix
• 4 oz. Butter Lettuce, 1” pieces
• 3 oz. Balsamic Vinaigrette*
• ½ tsp. Whole-Grain Mustard*
• 3 oz. Quinoa, cooked
• 1 Tbl. Marcona Almonds, chopped 1/4”
• 1 Tbl. Sunflower Seeds
• 2 tsps. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Pinch Kosher salt
• Pinch Ground Black Pepper
• 1 ea. Avocado, ½” pieces
• 4 oz. Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half
• 3 oz. Garbanzo Beans, cooked
• 3 oz. Cucumbers, ½“ pieces
• 3 oz. Red Beets, cooked, ½” pieces
• 2 oz. Green Beans, blanched, ½” pieces
• 2 oz. Asparagus, blanched, ½” pieces
• 2 oz. Balsamic Vinaigrette*

Preparations:

1. Place the baby and butter lettuces into a mixing bowl. Combine the balsamic vinaigrette and whole grain mustard. Pour the dressing into the bowl and gently toss the ingredients together. Place equal amounts of the lettuce mixture into two chilled salad bowls.
2. Place the quinoa, Marcona almonds and sunflower seeds into a clean a mixing bowl. Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil into the bowl and season with salt and pepper. Gently toss ingredients together.
3. Place equal amounts of the quinoa mixture and all other remaining ingredients side-by-side (in rows) over each salad.
4. Pour a little more balsamic vinaigrette evenly over each salad.