This delicious BBQ Chicken Salad recipe is a summer favorite at our house! Made with some of our favorite ingredients, like tender chicken with tangy homemade bbq sauce, crisp romaine lettuce, avocado, grilled sweet corn kernels, black beans, tortilla strips, and ranch dressing. Everyone is going to love this hearty salad!
The Best BBQ Chicken Salad
We have always loved Panera’s barbecue chicken salad and knew that we needed to make a copycat version of this favorite salad recipe to have at home. It is a classic summer salad recipe that always hits the spot! Offering a variety of toppings is a great way for everyone to make their salad any way they want. The combination of sweet, tangy BBQ sauce with cool ranch dressing is a match made in heaven! Definitely a weeknight dinner option that we will be enjoying all summer long!
Looking for Another Flavorful Salad?
If you love them as much as we do, you definitely need to try our Big Mac Salad!
What You Will Need
- boneless skinless chicken breasts – we like to make grilled chicken breasts, but you can also make slow cooker bbq chicken or Instant Pot bbq chicken.
- kosher salt & ground black pepper – simple seasoning that are always a must when cooking any type of meat.
- bbq sauce – option to make your own homemade bbq sauce or pick up your favorite variety of store-bought bbq sauce at the local grocery store.
- crunchy romaine lettuce – a crisp base to this delicious salad recipe, any fresh greens will do!
- avocado, red onion, cherry tomatoes, & black beans – some of our favorite salad toppings.
- sweet corn – you can also boil corn on the cob or heat frozen corn kernels in the microwave.
- bacon – you can easily cook bacon right in the oven without a greasy mess!
- monterey jack cheese – we love using this classic shredded cheese, but you can also use pepper jack cheese or cheddar cheese.
- fresh cilantro – a fresh herb that brings a wonderfully light and refreshing flavor.
- crisp tortilla strips – perfect for some added crispness!
- ranch dressing – try our dairy-free homemade ranch dressing – so easy and good!
How To Make A BBQ Chicken Salad
For starters, you will want to season all sides of the raw chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
Place the seasoned chicken breasts on the clean, preheated grill grates and cook over direct heat for 4-5 minutes per side. Then move to indirect heat, brush with bbq sauce, and continue cooking for 3-5 minutes or until their internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F (use an instant read meat thermometer).
Carefully remove the cooked chicken from the grill and let them rest on a plate or cutting board for about 5 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking you can prep all of the other ingredients and cook the cook right alongside the chicken on the grill.
Best Toppings for BBQ Chicken Salad
In the recipe card below we have included a variety of delicious salad toppings, but feel free to only use the toppings that you want or adjust the amounts of each. Some other toppings that would make a great addition to this salad are blender salsa, corn salsa, chopped green onions, bell peppers, or sliced jalapeño for a little bit of a kick.
Now that all the ingredients are ready, you can assemble the salad. Place the chopped romaine lettuce on the bottom of a large bowl, add the bite-sized pieces of chicken, and the rest to the top of the salad. Drizzle some ranch dressing or a little extra bbq sauce on top!
Best Ways To Serve BBQ Chicken Salad
This easy bbq chicken salad can be enjoyed all on its own, but if you are looking to serve something alongside it we have a few suggestions. We love to add a slice of grilled bread, some homemade guacamole and crunchy tortilla chips, or a skinny margarita!
Made this recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
Don’t forget to check out my Instagram and TikTok account for some behind-the-scenes action and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more delicious recipe tutorials! Or give me a follow on Facebook or see what I am pinning on Pinterest!
Other Chicken Salad Recipes You Might Like
BBQ Chicken Salad
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 2 salads 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: American
Description
A delicious, flavorful ultimate BBQ Chicken Salad recipe that is the perfect summer salad to serve up for dinner tonight!
Ingredients
BBQ Chicken:
- 2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup bbq sauce (more for serving)
Salad:
- 4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1/2 cup corn kernels, cooked & cut off the cob
- 4 bacon slices, cooked and chopped
- 1/3 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded (or pepper jack cheese)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1/4 cup red onion, sliced
- 1/2 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped (more or less, as desired)
- 1/4 cup tortilla strips
- 1/4 cup ranch dressing
- (optional) jalapeño, sliced
Instructions
- Prepare Chicken + Grill: Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Ensure grill grates are clean and heat grill to medium-high heat (approx. 450 degrees F.).
- Grill Chicken: Place chicken breasts on direct heat (direct flame) and cook for 4-5 minutes per side. Move chicken away from the direct heat (direct flame) so that it is cooking on indirect heat (maintaining the same grill temp) and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes (you don’t need to flip at this point because the chicken will cook as if it is in an oven) or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken reads 160 degrees F. on your meat thermometer.
- Sauce + Rest: Brush BBQ sauce on to the chicken and close the grill lid. Remove from grill when the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F. and let rest at least 5 minutes, so the juices can redistribute (the chicken will continue to cook during this time and the internal temp will continue to rise 5 additional degrees). Cut chicken into bite-sized cubes.
- Assemble Salad: Divide lettuce between two bowls. Top with chicken, avocado, corn, bacon, cheese, tomatoes, onion, black beans, cilantro and tortilla strips.
- Top Salad: Top salad with additional BBQ sauce, ranch dressing and jalapeño slices.
Notes
- Chicken: you can use chicken thighs, if you prefer – we have a tutorial on how to grill chicken thighs too.
- Corn: for best results use grilled sweet corn, but feel free to use frozen too, whatever you prefer/works best.
- Dairy-Free: feel free to use a dairy-free ranch dressing.
- Storage: any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just make sure you keep the chicken, dressing, and fresh ingredients in separate containers. This is also perfect for meal prep!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6oz
- Calories: 251
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 574 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.7 g
- Protein: 9.2 g
- Cholesterol: 26.4 mg
Stefanie T says
Best salad! This delicious, and filling salad will be on repeat this summer! I smoked chicken tenders, and corn on my Traeger. Tossed with a homemade Dr Pepper bbq sauce. Thank you Erin for another great recipe.
Erin says
So happy to hear that, Stefanie!!