The Real Jennifer Aniston Salad
Jennifer Aniston ate this salad all the time when she was filming FRIENDS and after trying it, I can say she is a genius. This salad is incredible, packed with protein and absolutely delicious.
What is the Jennifer Aniston salad?
The viral salad going around is apparently not the actual salad Jennifer Aniston ate almost daily on the set of her hit show. In an interview with Allure, Ms Aniston rectifies the rumors that she ate a salad c0nsisting of bulgur wheat/quinoa, chickpeas, feta cheese, pistachios etc. The real salad she ate was a variation of a cobb salad containing chicken, salami, crispy bacon, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and chickpeas.
Ingredients
- Iceberg lettuce. Use any lettuce of your choice but the iceberg adds great texture.
- Tomatoes.
- Chicken. I used leftover roast chicken but you can use poached or grilled chicken too. Rotisserie chicken is a great choice.
- Salami.
- Bacon.
- Parmesan cheese.
- Chickpeas.
- Dressing: I made my own homemade Italian salad dressing consisting of extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, minced garlic, dried Italian herbs, salt and black pepper.
How to make Jennifer Aniston’s Cobb salad
Make the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients. Pour half into a large bowl and add the drained and rinsed chickpeas. Marinating the chickpeas while you prepare the rest of the salad adds incredible flavor. Cook the bacon until crisp (the air fryer is great for this) then chop into bite-size pieces. Dice the chicken and salami and add to the bowl with the bacon. Chop the lettuce and tomatoes and add to the salad then shave or grate in parmesan cheese. Pour over the remaining dressing and toss well. Serve immediately.
Can I make this ahead?
The salad can be made up to two days in advance and kept in an airtight container in the fridge. Keep the dressing separate to prevent the lettuce and tomatoes from going soggy. Meal prep this salad by marinating the chickpeas and adding to the bottom of a large jar of container and layering the meats on top. Lastly add the tomatoes and lettuce then store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Easy salad recipes
Jennifer Aniston Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 tsp dried Italian herbs
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
For the salad
- 400 g (14oz) chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 250 g (½lb) streaky bacon
- 4 cups cooked chicken (approximately 4 medium chicken breasts)
- 100 g (3oz) salami chopped
- 8 cups iceberg lettuce chopped
- 4 tomatoes chopped
- 100 g (3oz) Parmesan cheese shaved
Instructions
- Whisk all the salad dressing ingredients together. Pour half of the dressing into a large bowl.
- Add the drained and rinsed chickpeas to the bowl then stir to coat in the dressing.
- Cook the bacon until crispy (I most often do this in the air fryer) then allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Cube the cooked chicken, salami and crispy bacon then add to the chickpeas.
- Dice the tomatoes and lettuce and add to the salad then shave in the Parmesan cheese.
- Pour over the remaining dressing then toss well and serve.