BBQ Chicken Salad
Crisp, fresh, and colorful, BBQ Chicken Salad is one of the best salads for flavor, texture, and protein too! If you love sweet and tangy BBQ sauce, crisp vegetables, and crunchy tortilla strips, you'll love this recipe.
Servings: 4
Cost: $12.00
Equipment
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Cooking Oil (I prefer grapeseed or avocado oil for most things)
- 1 pound Chicken breast, boneless and skinless, thinly sliced or cubed
- 3/4 cup BBQ Sauce, plus more for topping (use your favorite)
- 2 hearts Romaine Lettuce, chopped
- 1 cup Corn kernels, fresh or frozen (defrost first if using frozen)
- 1 cup Black Beans, drained and rinsed (from a can of black beans)
- 1 Avocado, chopped
- 1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
- 1 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar, Colby Jack, or Monterey Jack Cheese
- 3/4 cup Ranch Dressing (see note)
- 2 cups Crushed Tortilla Chips (or seasoned tortilla strips - look for these in the salad dressing aisle near croutons)
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add oil and then chicken. Saute until chicken is just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Add some salt and pepper as the chicken cooks. Add BBQ sauce and simmer the chicken in the sauce the chicken is evenly coated in sauce, 1 to 3 minutes more.
- Transfer the chicken to a bowl and let it cool slightly.
- Assemble the salad by filling a large bowl or individual serving bowls with lettuce, corn, beans, avocado, bell peppers, and cheese. Gently toss the ingredients together to combine them.
- Pour about 1/2 cup of Ranch dressing evenly over the top of the salad.
- Add the chicken on top of the salad.
- Finish the salad with an extra drizzle of about 1/4 cup more of Ranch dressing and an additional light drizzle of BBQ sauce if you'd like the salads extra saucy.
- Finish the salads with crushed tortilla chips and serve immediately.
Notes
Optional additions - This salad is also great with shredded baby spinach (in place of some of the romaine), chopped tomatoes, black beans, or chopped cucumbers.
BBQ Chicken - If you want to make a larger batch of BBQ chicken, try Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken or Instant Pot BBQ Chicken.
Ranch Dressing - Use your favorite store-bought Ranch Dressing or just mix together the following ingredients to make my favorite lighter Greek Yogurt Dressing:
- 1 cup plain Greek Yogurt
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley and / or chives
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh or dried dill
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Nutrition
Calories: 439kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 635mg | Potassium: 858mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 1325IU | Vitamin C: 42mg | Calcium: 177mg | Iron: 2mg