Panera Bread’s Green Goddess Cobb Salad has captured hearts across the country with its perfect balance of fresh ingredients and vibrant flavors. This beloved salad combines savory grilled chicken, tangy pickled onions, buttery avocados, and crispy bacon, all brought together with a refreshing herb-packed Green Goddess dressing. Unlike typical diet food, this nutrient-dense salad delivers incredible satisfaction while being naturally low-carb and keto-friendly when you skip the pickled onions.
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The Green Goddess Cobb Salad at Panera
This salad succeeds because it delivers restaurant-quality freshness without artificial ingredients. Panera’s commitment to clean eating shows in every component, from the carefully selected greens to the herb-forward dressing that tastes like garden-fresh herbs were just picked. The combination of protein-rich chicken and hard-boiled eggs creates a hearty meal that satisfies hunger while the pickled onions add bright acidity that cuts through rich elements like avocado and feta cheese.
Why you should make this recipe
When you want to bring your favorite Panera salad to life, this recipe is the best! All the ingredients used are identical to the salad on Panera Bread’s menu, making it feel like you took a trip to Panera.
The Green Goddess dressing tastes incredibly refreshing, and the pickled red onions complete the dish. Not to mention, despite it having many ingredients, it’s so easy to make at home! This copycat recipe helps you to make your version in just 20 minutes, so what are you waiting for?
Salad ingredients
Here is a list of what you need to make the salad and dressing. The exact measurements are in the printable recipe card below.
For the Quick Pickled Onions:
- Red onion – Provides sharp, tangy flavor that mellows during the pickling process
- White vinegar – Creates acidic base for pickling and adds bright tartness
- Granulated sugar – Balances acidity and helps onions absorb pickling liquid
- Salt – Enhances flavors and aids in pickling preservation process
For the Salad Components:
- Mixed salad greens – Foundation blend of arugula, romaine, red leaf lettuce, baby kale, and radicchio
- Grilled chicken breast – Lean protein that adds substance and savory satisfaction
- Crispy bacon – Contributes smoky richness and satisfying textural contrast
- Ripe avocado – Provides creamy texture and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats
- Fresh tomatoes – Add juicy sweetness and vibrant color to the mix
- Hard-boiled eggs – Supply additional protein and classic Cobb salad authenticity
- Feta cheese crumbles – Contribute tangy, salty flavor that complements herb dressing
For the Green Goddess Dressing:
- Mayonnaise – Creates rich, creamy base that carries herb flavors throughout
- Fresh tarragon – Adds distinctive anise-like flavor that defines Green Goddess character
- Fresh chives – Contribute mild onion flavor without overwhelming sharpness
- Flat-leaf parsley – Provides fresh, clean taste and vibrant green color
- Watercress – Adds peppery bite and sophisticated flavor complexity
- Fresh lemon juice – Brightens all flavors with essential acidity
- Champagne vinegar – Contributes subtle tartness with refined flavor profile
- Salt and pepper – Essential seasonings that enhance and balance all components
Now that you’ve seen what is in Panera’s Green Goddess Dressing, you probably noticed all of the herbs. Fresh tarragon, chives, and parsley are essential in the salad dressing because combining multiple herbs gives a unique, vibrant flavor. Make sure to pick the best quality herbs, too!
Ingredient substitutions for the Green Goddess Cobb Salad (Panera)
You can swap the grilled chicken breast for a different type of protein if you wish! For example, steak, shrimp, or even salmon taste wonderful on this Panera Green Goddess Salad.
To make this salad low-carb, remove the pickled onions, which entirely omits the five carbs in the recipe!
Meanwhile, if you can’t find a pre-made salad blend, you can make it by purchasing the different greens, chopping them, and tossing them together.
How to make the recipe
Here are the steps for making the salad and dressing:
Pickled Onions
- Use a mandolin to thinly slice the onions, then transfer them to a glass far.
- Mix the white vinegar, sugar, salt, and warm water until everything is dissolved.
- Allow the onions to rest in the mixture for 30 minutes minimum.
Panera Green Goddess Dressing Recipe
- Use a blender or food processor to combine all the dressing ingredients.
- Blend the dressing for at least 30 seconds or until it is nice and creamy.
Assembling The Salad
- Start by putting the lettuce in a large salad bowl or a plate.
- Place thinly sliced chicken breast on top of the greens.
- Add the other components, such as bacon, avocado, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and feta cheese. Put the pickled onions on last.
- Drizzle the dressing over the entire salad before serving.
Recipe variations
- Lime Green Goddess Salad Dressing Panera uses lemon, but you can try swapping the lemon juice for lime juice! It still gives the dressing a pleasantly citrusy hint. It’s just slightly different!
- White Beans. To give it more substance, add chickpeas or canned white beans, which perfectly pair with the other ingredients and give the dish more protein.
- Cabbage. For added texture and color, include shredded red cabbage in the salad. This is an easy variation since you can purchase it pre-shredded!
How to serve the dish
Some prefer carefully assembling the salad, highlighting each ingredient by piling the toppings in sections rather than sprinkling the components. This is entirely up to you, though!
Moreover, you can evenly distribute the dressing by mixing all components to make a tossed salad. With this method, the lettuce wilts much faster, so you need to enjoy it immediately!
Another option is to make this recipe as meal prep if you want to eat it on the go. Build the salad in a container and keep the dressing separate until you eat it!
What goes well with the Panera Cobb Salad
Panera Bread has the “You Pick Two” deal, where you can pair this salad with another item. You can easily recreate this at home by serving this dish alongside a panini or cold sandwich!
Also, it’s delicious with warm soup if you’re enjoying this on a chilly day, whether you want to recreate the Panera Baked Potato Soup or the Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup to accompany it.
Check out this recipe for parmesan chicken wings for a tasty appetizer to enjoy before the salad.
Storage & Make-Ahead Instructions
- Assembly: Dress salad just before serving to prevent greens from wilting and maintain crisp textures
- Dressing Storage: Store Green Goddess dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week for optimal freshness
- Pickled Onions: Keep in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, flavor improves over time
- Salad Components: Store prepped ingredients separately to maintain freshness and prevent wilting
Can’t get enough of Panera Bread? Here are more great Panera Bread copycat recipes for you to try!
- Mediterranean Grain Bowl
- Panera Bread Panini
- Copycat Tomato Basil Soup
- Fall Squash Soup
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup Panera Bread Recipe
- Panera Bread Macaroni and Cheese
- Panera Bread Muffins
- Panera Bread Spreads – Honey Walnut Cream Cheese
More dinner salad recipes
Check out my copycat Panera recipes and the best homemade salads.
Panera Green Goddess Cobb Salad – Easy Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
Pickled Onions
- 1 cup sliced red onion
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup warm water
Salad Assembly
- 6` ounces salad blend use arugula, romaine, kale, and raicchio blend
- 6 ounces grilled chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons crisply cooked bacon
- 3 tablespoons chopped avocado
- 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 hard boiled egg cut in half
- 2 tablespoons feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons pickled onions
Green Goddess Salad Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons tarragon leaves
- 3 tablespoons minced chives
- 1 cup flat leaf parsley
- 1 cup packed watercress cleaned and tough stems removed
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Pickled Onions
- Slice onions as thin as possible, I like to use the 1/8 inch setting on my mandolin. Place the onions in a glass far. In a small bowl combine white vinegar, sugar, salt, and warm water. Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. These should rest about 30 minutes for using.
Green Goddess Salad Dressing
- Place all of the dressing ingredients in the bowl of a blender or food processor and blend for about 30-45 seconds, or until the salad dressing is mostly smooth and creamy.
Salad Assembly
- Place the salad in the bottom of a large salad bowl. Thinly slice the chicken breast, and place onto the lettuce. Add bacon, chopped avocado, chopped tomatoes, feta cheese, hard-boiled egg halves, and pickled onions. Drizzle over as much salad dressing as desired. Remaining salad dressing can be stored in an air-tight container for 1 week.
Really delicious recipe
I have ordered this salad twice from Panera and it did not have bacon or feta. Maybe if those two were left out it would more lower calories
It leaving ingredients out would lower calories!
Always in mine. Maybe it’s chef’s choice.
So the full size Green Goddess salad at Panera is 600 calories. Is this just double the portion size or what?
I don’t know how many ounces of chicken you get with the salad in the store, the calories are for the recipe and the serving size as listed.
I see that the green goddess dressing calls for tarragon leaves, flat leaf parsley and water cress. I’m assuming all of these are fresh? I couldn’t find these at Walmart. I live in a rural area. Do you think they would carry them at Publix? If so, would they be on the lettuce aisle? Thanks in advance!
Please use fresh herbs. You should find them near the lettuce. Most stores carry the flat-leaf parsley, the watercress and tarragon can be harder to find, Publix should have them.
Am I reading this correctly? 3000 mg of sodium? And so many calories ! Yikes. I knew it tasted too good to be true
https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/articles/green-goddess-dressing-recipe.html
Is that calorie count per serving?
How many servings in the recipe?
The recipe makes 2 servings, the calories are 1175 per serving.
I read all the nutrition information. I have had a heart attack and am diabetic. I never use sugar – only stevia. 1500 mg of sodium a day. I take prescription potassium, heart meds, blood pressure pills, metformin. I am 73 years old.
Curious for nutrition on dressing only for green goddess.
Looks so healthy and yummy!
We made this twice in the last week. Love this.
Good effort, good result, good job!
One suggestion, When your computer nerds format recipes for print, It should be done with the idea of printing on one page only. In other words, the print version doesn’t need to have Course, cuisine, keywords or Nutrition facts information. If I was going to create a handwritten version of your recipe I certainly would not include any of that nonsense, now would I?
Thank you, I will be sure to work with the developer on this. You bring up a great point. We are working on this, most recipes print on one page, but there is variability in the length of each recipe. I appreciate your feedback.
Thanks,
Stephanie
Mr Fish, You may find it all nonsense, but not everyone does. I actually include the nutritional values when I write down a recipe and am sure others do if they have family members with health conditions. If you have family with different conditions and different needs that you cook for, then you would likely not find it ‘nonsense”. For example one member of my family has had a heart attack so has salt and cholesterol restrictions, one has carb issues because they are trying to lose weight and another, has severe kidney disease and the whole lot is important to try and prevent the degeneration of her kidneys any further. Not everyone sees the world the way you do as some of us actually have health issues where this ‘nonsense’ is actually important. As I collect recipes to try for various family members, having this info is vital. It would be easier if everyone could eat the same things, but life isn’t like that. For Stephanie: So Stephanie, when you speak with your team to sort this, please don’t remove the nutritional facts from the recipe print out. It is important to many of us and with an aging population and a young population interested in staying healthy, this information is only ever going to remain important, even if some don’t find it so right now. Thank you for your recipes!
I don’t plan on removing nutritional information. It was a herculean effort to get calculate nutrition for 1900 recipes!
I don’t consider 25 grams net carbs as low carb.
Anything under 100g of carbs in considered low carb.
Made this for my lunch, it was so good!
Sorry didn’t see the part about it being low carb and keto ?
My recipe calculator calculates all of the sugar in the onions as an ingredient. If you leave that off, the recipe has very few carbs.
awesome recipes love this