Cobb Salad: Will It Soup?

Stephen Young
Gippity Kitchen
Published in
5 min readJul 10, 2024

Gippity Kitchen is a unique food blog where I experiment with recipes from a customized ChatGPT. “Gippity” is the AI that creates the recipes, and I cook and review them.

Welcome to “Will It Soup?” where Gippity takes decidedly non-soup dishes and turns them into soup! This is the third installment, and I’m hyped to see what Gippity cooks up this time.

The Prompt

Just like the Pepperoni Pizza Soup, I came to Gippity with a concept in mind, but unlike the pizza soup, this one is gonna be a bit more weird.

What’s up, Gippity? Please give me a recipe for Cobb Salad Soup. Thanks!

Gippity Kitchen

Gippity Kitchen Says:

Sure thing, Stephen! How about this:

We take a traditional Cobb Salad, put all the ingredients in a bowl, and then pour hot chicken broth over it? Imagine the crisp lettuce, bacon, blue cheese, eggs, tomatoes, and avocado floating around in hot broth. What do you think?

Okay, since when did you evolve a sense of humor? You know that’s not what I meant, lol.

Haha, just keeping things lively! Okay, let’s get serious.

We want the essence of a Cobb Salad but in a comforting, cohesive soup form. Let’s start with a rich chicken broth base and build flavors from there. We could add elements like potatoes and spinach to give it more body.

Thoughts?

That’s… actually sounding pretty good. The potatoes would give the soup enough body to hold rows of toppings like the traditional salad. Also, spinach is a good substitute for lettuce.

Exactly!

We can sauté onions and garlic first for a flavorful base. Then, we add diced potatoes and chicken broth and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Spinach goes in towards the end to keep it vibrant and fresh.

What about proteins and toppings? Should we stick with shredded chicken, bacon, and hard-boiled eggs?

Yeah, do it in rows over the top. Probably some blue cheese crumbles, too.

Perfect!

We can top the soup with shredded chicken, crumbled bacon, hard-boiled eggs, and blue cheese in neat rows.

We can add some cherry tomatoes and diced avocado for a fresh touch.

We could also whip up a creamy avocado swirl to dollop on top.

What do you think?

Gippity Kitchen’s generated image of the finished dish.

Gippity’s generated image didn’t put the toppings in rows as I was visualizing, but it’s close enough. Let’s get cooking.

Cobb Salad Soup

Craving the flavors of a classic Cobb Salad but in the mood for something warm and comforting? This Cobb Salad Soup combines a rich chicken broth base with hearty potatoes, vibrant spinach, and sweet corn, all topped with your favorite Cobb Salad ingredients like shredded chicken, crumbled bacon, blue cheese, hard-boiled eggs, cherry tomatoes, and a creamy avocado swirl. Perfect for a unique and satisfying twist on a beloved salad!

by Gippity Kitchen

Prep: 20 min | Cook: 25 min | Total: 45 min | 4 Servings

Ingredients

For the Soup:

  • 6 cups of rich chicken broth
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 cup diced potatoes
  • 1/2 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
  • 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered (plus more for topping)
  • 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the Creamy Avocado Swirl:

  • 1 ripe avocado (half for the swirl, half diced for topping)
  • 1/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the Toppings:

  • Hard-boiled eggs, chopped
  • Crumbled blue cheese
  • 1/2 cup cooked and crumbled bacon
  • Chopped chives or green onions
  • Additional quartered cherry tomatoes
  • Diced avocado (from the remaining half)

Instructions

  1. Sauté the Base: Heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add the onion and garlic, sautéing until translucent and fragrant, about 2–3 minutes.
  2. Cook the Potatoes: Add the diced potatoes and chicken broth to the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender about 10–15 minutes.
  3. Add Corn and Tomatoes: Stir in the corn kernels and quartered cherry tomatoes. Simmer for another 5 minutes, allowing the tomatoes to soften slightly and the flavors to combine.
  4. Prepare the Avocado Swirl: While the soup simmers, blend half of the ripe avocado with sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and lime juice until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside for topping.
  5. Incorporate Chicken and Spinach: Add the shredded chicken and baby spinach to the pot. Stir well and cook until the spinach has wilted and the chicken is warmed, about 2–3 minutes. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Assemble the Soup: Ladle the hot soup into bowls. Spoon a dollop of the avocado swirl into each bowl.
  7. Arrange the Toppings: Carefully arrange the chopped hard-boiled eggs, crumbled blue cheese, additional crumbled bacon, chopped chives or green onions, extra quartered cherry tomatoes, and diced avocado in straight lines over each bowl of soup.
  8. Final Touch: Serve the soup immediately, encouraging guests to mix the toppings into their soup, blending the creamy, tangy, and savory flavors.

Tips for Excellence:

  • Uniform Dicing: Dice the potatoes and avocado in uniform sizes for even cooking and presentation.
  • Timing is Key: Add the spinach and chicken towards the end to preserve their texture and color, ensuring a vibrant bowl.
  • Customizable Toppings: Offer additional toppings on the side, allowing guests to personalize their soup to their tastes.

This Cobb Salad Soup, complete with spinach, egg, and avocado, artfully brings the beloved salad’s components into a soup form. The systematic addition of each ingredient ensures a delightful fusion of flavors and textures, making this soup a comforting and creative homage to the original dish. Enjoy the warmth and richness of this innovative culinary creation.

So, Will It Soup?

Okay, what? This soup is fantastic!

I can’t believe how well it captures the essence of a Cobb Salad while being a warm, comforting bowl of soup. The flavors are all there, and the toppings are super fun.

I’m impressed, Gippity. You’ve done it again!

Where did the idea for adding potatoes come from? That was a stroke of genius.

If you had asked me if Gippity would be so successful at turning non-soup dishes into soup, I would have figured about a 50% success rate.

But, here we are, three for three. I can’t wait to see what Gippity comes up with next.

Originally published at https://gippity.kitchen on July 10, 2024.

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