There’s nothing as refreshing as a Cobb salad, but if you’re craving a new Hollywood twist on the classic recipe, the cast of the ’90s sitcom “Friends” will be there for you. During the show’s decade-long run, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and Lisa Kudrow famously ate lunch together every day on set. Their go-to meal? A customized Cobb salad. “It was a Cobb salad that Jennifer doctored up with turkey bacon and garbanzo beans and I don’t know what,” Cox told the LA Times in 2010.
Aniston’s two simple additions elevate both the flavor and texture of a traditional Cobb salad. Creamy garbanzo beans, also known as chickpeas, lend a subtle Mediterranean flair and offer a nourishing boost of fiber, plant protein, and essential nutrients. Meanwhile, crispy turkey bacon adds a smoky crunch that brings depth and texture to every bite. The result? A salad that’s not only nutritious and full of flavor, but also easy to throw together. Aniston’s inventiveness feels right at home with the salad’s improvised origins – after all, the Cobb itself was famously thrown together from leftovers.
Don’t get confused with the viral Jennifer Aniston salad
When you think of Jennifer Aniston and salads, there’s particular viral recipe that may come to mind. The version filling your TikTok feed featuring bulgur, cucumbers, mint, feta, red onion, pistachios, parsley, and garbanzo beans has been mistakenly called the “Friends” trio’s go-to meal. But don’t get confused. “It looks like a delicious salad,” Aniston told ELLE.com, “but that’s not the one I had on ‘Friends’.” So, where did TikTok’s version of the salad come from? Likely a mashup of internet speculation based on Aniston’s past interviews.
In an interview with Allure on TikTok, Aniston revealed her salad was actually more of a “butchered” Cobb salad made with iceberg lettuce, diced tomatoes, garbanzo beans, salami, crunchy turkey bacon, grilled chicken, and pecorino Romano. What makes Aniston’s original Cobb-style creation so appealing, besides its simplicity, is that the salad is endlessly adaptable. Start with a Cobb-style base, then make it your own: roast the chickpeas with spices for added crunch, swap salami for avocado or olives. You can also top it off with an easy herby lemon vinaigrette to give it a fresh, zesty summer vibe – unlike Ross and Rachel, you’ll never want to take a break from it.
