Skip takeout. This Panera Green Goddess Salad is fresher, healthier, and honestly better. Loaded with crisp romaine, juicy chicken, bacon, avocado, and a bright, herby dressing made with real ingredients. Naturally low-carb and perfect for meal prep. Stick around; once you try this version, you won’t miss Panera’s.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Jocelyn raved, “I spend so much at Panera Bread eating this salad that I figured I needed to learn how to make it at home. I thought I had pesto but I didn’t, so I just added all of the basil, and it still turned out GREAT! Definitely a dupe recipe. Tastes just like it. I served it ‘salad bar’ style so my family could pick and choose. I will be making this on repeat!”
Tips for Panera Bread Salads
- If you’re a regular at Panera Bread, you already know their salads can be hit or miss depending on the location and how busy they are. A few things I’ve picked up after years of ordering, and now recreating, Panera Bread salads at home.
- Order the dressing on the side. Panera tends to drench their salads, and a soggy salad is a sad salad. Ask for extra protein if you need more staying power; a couple extra pieces of chicken make a real difference. If you’re ordering ahead for pickup, toss in an extra dressing packet or a squeeze of lemon juice; a salad sitting in a bag for 20 minutes loses some of its crunch fast.
- The best part about making your own version at home? You control all of it. Full dressing, extra bacon, as much chicken as you want. No compromises, no upcharges.
Confession: I’m Kind of Obsessed With This Salad
I’m obsessed with Panera’s Green Goddess Salad with Chicken. It’s my go-to order, no contest. Crunchy romaine, juicy chicken, that creamy herby Green Goddess dressing. Fresh, satisfying, the whole thing just works.
I’ve always loved Panera’s salads. The Fuji Apple Salad and Greek Salad have been staples in our house for years. Then this one showed up and stole the spot.
Panera’s version has a few preservatives I’d rather skip, things like dextrose. So I set out to make it with real food ingredients instead.
And honestly, the Panera Café closest to me closed a while back. Still not over it. So I did what any food blogger does when the craving hits and running across the street isn’t the option: I figured it out at home. Now I make this whenever I want, no menu, no drive, and you can too.
Why you’ll love it:
- Naturally keto and low-carb with a quick swap. Fan of that combo? You’ll probably love this California roll salad too.
- Tastes just like Panera, maybe better. The homemade dressing is the real star: fresh herbs, garlic, and a hint of lemon.
- Comes together easily and preps ahead like a dream for lunches all week.
Green Goddess Chicken Salad Detailed Ingredients
- Chicken: A couple of chicken breasts feeds four salads. Leftover or rotisserie chicken works too.
- Hard-boiled eggs: Peeled and cut into wedges, essential to a Cobb salad. See how to make perfect hard-boiled eggs! Go for cage-free.
- Bacon: Uncured Applewood smoked bacon fried up crispy, or use bacon bits to save time.
- Seasoning: Season the chicken with sea salt, ground black pepper, and an Italian seasoning blend.
- Greens: I like to blend spring salad mix and romaine lettuce like the Panera version. Try arugula, red leaf lettuce, kale, watercress, spinach, green cabbage…you get the idea. Use your favorite lettuce blend.
- Veggies: Add cherry tomatoes (or red grape tomatoes) and freshly sliced fresh avocado. Try cucumbers, green onions, and grape tomatoes
- Pickled red onions: Make your cobb salad just like the Panera version by including pickled red onions, either from the store or try my homemade Panera pickled red onions. Thinly sliced red onions work too, see tip below.
- Blue cheese: Sharp and tangy blue cheese crumbles perfectly contrast the creamy and savory ingredients. But try other cheeses too, like feta cheese, goat cheese or leave the cheese off altogether.
- Green Goddess Dressing Ingredients: This green goddess dressing base comes together in one blender; no cooking required.
- Mayonnaise, whole milk plain Greek yogurt, fresh basil leaves, small shallot, pesto, white wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar works too, just as bright, a little softer), honey, and Dijon mustard. You can add parsley, dill, tarragon, chives or your favorite fresh herbs.
- Many recipes add a splash of lemon juice to the dressing, between the vinegar and the pesto, I don’t feel like it’s needed, but feel free to add!
Get the full recipe in the recipe card below.
Recommended Tools
- Consider the Ninja Foodi XL for a versatile appliance that can grill indoors (virtually smoke-free), air fry, and more.
- Instant Pot – Making hard-boiled eggs a breeze!
- Meat Thermometer – I love this rechargeable one!
How to Make Copycat Panera Green Goddess Salad
Step 1 – Mix the Panera Green Goddess Salad Dressing
Place the mayonnaise, yogurt, basil, shallot, pesto, vinegar, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper in a blender. Pulse until smooth, then refrigerate until ready to use. Check out my detailed post on how to make this Green Goddess dressing blend.
Step 2 – Grill the Chicken
Next, brush the chicken with olive oil and season it with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Then, heat the grill or a grill pan to medium-high heat. If you’re using a grill, you want it at 400° F (204°C).
Place the chicken breasts on the grill, close the lid, and cook for 5-6 minutes. Then, flip the chicken and cook for another 5-6 minutes, remove breasts to a cutting board, resting for 10 minutes before slicing. The internal temperature should be 165°F (74°C).
Step 3 – Assemble the Panera Cobb Salad
While the grilled chicken is resting, it’s the perfect time to assemble the salads quickly. Arrange each bowl or plate with lettuce, bacon, tomato, eggs, pickled red onion, avocado, and cheese. Or make into a family salad and assemble in a large bowl.
Slice the chicken and add it to the salad. Finally, drizzle the Panera green goddess salad with dressing and serve right away – ENJOY!
Panera Cobb Salad Tips
- No blender? Use a food processor or finely dice or grate the shallots and finely chop the basil. Then, whisk everything together in a bowl. Or add it all to a mason jar and shake vigorously.
- Cook the whole package of bacon in the oven and refrigerate or freeze the extra for another time, like for breakfast the following morning, sandwiches for lunch, or other salads throughout the week.
- Wait to add the dressing just before serving, or the ingredients may become soggy and less crisp.
- Prep ingredients beforehand by chopping the veggies and herbs.
- Use freshly grilled chicken breast for the best flavor. Rotisserie works in a pinch, but warm, juicy chicken straight off the pan is at the next level. Try my Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Breasts (leave off the BBQ sauce) or Sous Vide Chicken Breast as great meal prep options.
- Make the dressing ahead of time! Letting it chill for a few hours makes the flavors even better.
- Don’t skimp on the toppings – That mix of Panera pickled onions, crispy bacon, and creamy avocado is what makes this salad so good!
- Soak sliced onions in ice water for 10 minutes to remove some of the bite most people don’t like. I place mine in a sieve in a bowl of ice water, making it easy to remove and drain them when ready to use.
Hard-Boiled Egg Tips (Boil & Instant Pot)
- Let eggs sit at room temperature 15-30 minutes before cooking, and use eggs that are 1-2 weeks old, they peel easier than farm-fresh ones. A splash of vinegar in the boiling water helps seal any cracks.
- For the quickest method, I use my Instant Pot: 1 cup water, eggs on a trivet, 5 minutes on high pressure (add 1-3 minutes above 3,200 feet), then a 5-minute natural release and an ice bath.
- On the stovetop, cover room-temp eggs with about an inch of cold water, bring to a boil, cover, remove from heat, and let sit 15 minutes before transferring to an ice bath.
If you’re a fan of classic Cobb salads, try my Hearty Cobb Salad recipe with olives, artichoke hearts, creamy dressing, and all the essential Cobb salad ingredients.
I think you will also love my Steakhouse Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing or this Italian Chopped Salad with Zesty Italian Dressing. Or, for something extra unique, check out this Blackberry Grilled Chicken Salad with irresistibly crisp fried goat cheese.
Tips, Variations, and Substitutions
- Use a Different Cheese: Try Feta, Roquefort, goat cheese, or gorgonzola. If those are still too strong for your taste, just use your favorite! Cheddar, Colby, Monterey Jack, Parmesan or any cheese you prefer – or no cheese at all.
- Change the Meat: Substitute the chicken breast with a different cut of meat, like rotisserie chicken or chicken thighs. You can use warm, just-grilled chicken or cold leftover cooked chicken. Shrimp, steak, or salmon also taste great in a Cobb salad.
- Low Carb or Keto Green Goddess Salad: To make this salad keto-friendly and lower in carbs, replace the pickled red onions with fresh sliced red onions. It’s an easy switch. Also try adding in some cucumbers for crunch. With only 8g carbs and 20g of protein it’s a smart choice! For additional nutritional information always run through your own calculator.
- Gluten-Free Cobb Salad: This green goddess salad recipe is naturally gluten-free if you check the ingredients. It’s also easy to make nut-free when you use a nut-free pesto recipe.
Make it vegan:
- Swap the chicken for pan-seared or air-fried tofu, seasoned the same way with olive oil, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Roasted chickpeas work in a pinch too, and they’re faster.
- Skip the bacon or use store-bought vegan bacon; coconut bacon is another great option if you want that smoky crunch.
- Leave off the hard-boiled eggs. Add extra avocado or a few more roasted chickpeas, cashews, walnuts, or pistachios to make up for the texture.
- Use a vegan feta or blue cheese crumble, or just skip the cheese altogether; the dressing brings plenty of richness on its own.
- For the dressing, swap the mayo for vegan mayo, the Greek yogurt for plain unsweetened plant-based yogurt, and the honey for maple syrup (same amount). Everything else stays exactly the same. Just double-check your pesto is dairy-free, or grab a vegan version.
Storing Green Goddess Chicken Salad
Make Ahead Green Goddess Cobb Salad – To make the Green Goddess Cobb salad ahead of time, prep all your ingredients except the avocado. Either keep the prepped ingredients in separate containers or plate individual salads, cover them tightly with plastic wrap, and add the avocado and creamy green dressing just before serving.
Refrigerate Leftovers – Keep the ingredients separate if you expect leftovers. Prepped this way, the dressing stays fresh in the fridge for up to 7 days, and the assembled salad components (undressed, without avocado) keep for 3-4 days. If everything’s already tossed together, plan to eat it within 1-2 days for the best texture, and always add the avocado and dressing fresh just before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Panera’s Green Goddess Cobb Salad is a hearty, protein-packed salad built on a bed of greens and topped with grilled chicken, crispy bacon, hard-boiled egg, tomatoes, avocado, and pickled red onions, all finished with their signature creamy green goddess dressing made from herbs, yogurt, and a hint of tang. This copycat version uses the same components with real, simple ingredients you can pronounce.
Nope, different recipe. The one that went viral on TikTok is a finely chopped cabbage salad with a vegan, cashew-based dressing, usually scooped up with tortilla chips. This one’s a Panera-style cobb salad, romaine, grilled chicken, bacon, and a creamy yogurt-based dressing. Both are great; they’re just two totally different dishes that happen to share a name.
For easy and hassle-free bacon cooking, I prefer using the oven. Preheat to 400°F (200°C), line a baking sheet with foil, and lay bacon on it. Bake for 10-20 minutes until crispy. Microwave heating is faster but oven-baked bacon has a superior texture and flavor.
What to serve with this Green Goddess Panera Salad
Chicken Cobb salad with green goddess dressing can be a complete meal. But you can also make a Panera You-Pick-Two deal by pairing the salad with a sandwich, soup, or another side dish. Try my Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Creamy Chicken Poblano, 10 Vegetable Soup or Autumn Squash Soup. Browse all my soups! And don’t forget the bread; try my basic sourdough bread.
More Panera-Inspired Recipes
- Panera Orange Glazed Scone – Read the reviews!! So good!
- Autumn Squash Soup Copycat Recipe – Silky smooth, easy to make!
- Cinnamon Chip Scones – A favorite in our house!
- This spot-on Panera Pumpkin Muffin is tops!
- Summer Corn Chowder
- Thai Chicken Soup
- Not Panera, but oh so good! Green Goddess Chicken Salad.
Like this recipe?
Don’t forget to give it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating and leave a comment below the recipe!
Equipment
Ingredients
Green Goddess Dressing
- ¼ cup mayonnaise I like using a heart healthy brand, like Chosen Foods Avocado Mayo
- ½ cup Greek Yogurt plain, I used whole fat
- ¾ cup basil leaves packed, rinsed and patted dry
- 1 tablespoon shallot minced
- 1 tablespoon pesto homemade or storebought
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Pinch of kosher sat and black pepper
Chicken Cobb Salad
- 2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts may use rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 4 large hard-boiled eggs sliced into 4 wedges each
- 8 slices bacon cooked, drained and chopped into pieces
- 6 cups Spring mix lettuce I used a blend of Romaine and Spring Mix, rough chopped, use your favorite
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes diced, or use grape tomatoes
- 1 avocado sliced or diced
- ½ cup pickled red onions or just sliced red onions*
- ½ cup blue cheese crumbles this is optional, use your favorite cheese
Instructions
Make Green Goddess Dressing
- Place mayonnaise, yogurt, basil, shallot, pesto, vinegar, honey, mustard, salt, and pepper in a blender. Blend until smooth. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.¼ cup mayonnaise, ½ cup Greek Yogurt, ¾ cup basil leaves, 1 tablespoon shallot, 1 tablespoon pesto, 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, ½ tablespoon honey, ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard, Pinch of kosher sat and black pepper
Grill Chicken & Cook Hard Boiled Eggs
- Brush the chicken with oil and season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Heat the grill or a grill pan to medium-high. If using a grill, you want it at 400° F (204°C).Place the chicken breasts on the grill, close the lid, and cook for 5-6 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook for 6 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165°F (74°C). Remove chicken to a cutting board, allowing it to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 2 teaspoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- See notes for easy ways to hard-boil eggs if not using store bought.4 large hard-boiled eggs
Assemble Green Goddess Salads
- While the chicken is resting, assemble the salads. Arrange each bowl or plate with lettuce, bacon, tomato, eggs, onion, avocado, and cheese.Slice the chicken and add that to the salad. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of dressing and enjoy immediately.8 slices bacon, 6 cups Spring mix lettuce, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1 avocado, ½ cup pickled red onions, ½ cup blue cheese crumbles
Notes
- You can make the dressing without a blender. Finely dice or grate the shallots, and finely chop the basil. Then whisk everything together in a bowl. Or add it all to a mason jar and shake vigorously.
- You can find pickled red onions in the grocery store deli area or make your own.
- Use Feta, Roquefort, goat, or gorgonzola, Cheddar, Colby, or Monterey Jack, any cheese you love will work with this recipe.
- Substitute rotisserie chicken for a shortcut or a different cut of meat. Chicken thighs are a very tender option. You can use warm, just grilled chicken or cold-cooked chicken.
- To make ahead of time, prep all your ingredients, except the avocado, but keep them in separate containers. Assemble just before serving and add the avocado. Avocado will discolor quickly when it comes in contact with air, so it should be added just before serving.
- I cook a whole package of bacon in the oven and reserve the extra for another use, such as breakfast, sandwiches, or additional salads. Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil, then place the bacon side-by-side on the tray. Bake 10-20 minutes until desired crispness.
- I love my Instant Pot for making hard-boiled eggs. Place 1 cup of COLD water in a 6-quart instant pot. Add eggs in a single layer to egg rack or trivet. Place lid on the pressure cooker and set it for 5 minutes on high pressure for cook time. Perform natural pressure release for 5 minutes. Then do a quick release and carefully remove eggs with a spoon from Instant Pot and place in an ice water bath. Let eggs sit in iced water for 5 minutes. Remove eggs from the water bath. Store in the fridge for up to 7 days unpeeled or peel, and use within 3 days.
- For best results on a stovetop, put cold eggs in cold water, bring to a boil, then cover and turn the burner off. Let stand for 15 minutes. Drain the eggs, and put them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking immediately.
Nutrition
Jocelyn
Hi again, why so much sodium in this recipe? Does that include the bacon? I omitted the bacon from my own salad so hopefully not as much sodium!
Hi Jocelyn — I just reviewed the recipe and made a few changes, but it’s still showing on the higher side. As with any recipe, some of these nutritional calculators aren’t perfect, as it appears is the case with this one, so I would always recommend you run things through your own nutritional calculator. Hope that helps!
Jocelyn
I spend so much at Panera Bread eating this salad that I figured I needed to learn how to make it at home. I thought I had pesto but I didn’t do I just added all of the basil and it still turned out GREAT! Definitely a dupe recipe. Tastes just like it. Only downside was the prep time to prep each individual item. I made the dressing the morning of so it would have time to chill and hard boiled the eggs the day before so they could chill. Cooked the chicken and bacon just before and also chopped all the veggies….I served it “salad bar” style so my family could pick and choose. I can’t wait for leftovers today. I will be making this on repeat!
Yes, it does take a little planning, but once you have everything ready, it comes together quickly Thank you so much for your kind comment; so glad you loved it!
Carrie Robinson
This is one of my favorite salads to order from Panera! 🙂 I can’t wait to try this recipe at home.
Thank you so much, Carrie!
Cynthia | What A Girl Eats
Delicious salad dressing and perfect for meal prep for the week! Chicken is great for extra protein!
Thank you so much!
nancy
wow this green goddess salad with chicken just hits the spot. So flavourful and healthy at the same time
So glad you loved it!
Hayley Dhanecha
We really enjoyed this green godedess salad, I think it’s much better than panera! So fresh and delicious.
I agree, Hayley!