BBQ Chicken Salad

I love a big entree salad and our BBQ Chicken Salad recipe is a sure favorite! Packed with so many fresh ingredients, this salad always hits the spot. This is probably one of my favorite summer salads (that I totally eat year round)! Our bbq chicken salad is one of our favorite prep ahead salads. When you’re ready to dig in, it takes just a few minutes to throw everything together and enjoy! How to... Read More The post BBQ Chicken Salad appeared first on Spoon Fork Bacon.

Jan 19, 2025 - 20:10
BBQ Chicken Salad
Loaded BBQ chicken recipe in a bowl ready to be served.

I love a big entree salad and our BBQ Chicken Salad recipe is a sure favorite! Packed with so many fresh ingredients, this salad always hits the spot. This is probably one of my favorite summer salads (that I totally eat year round)!

Our bbq chicken salad is one of our favorite prep ahead salads. When you’re ready to dig in, it takes just a few minutes to throw everything together and enjoy!

How to Make a BBQ Chicken Salad

BBQ Chicken Ingredients

Ingredients for BBQ chicken.

Chicken Process

  1. In a hot skillet cook seasoned boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
  2. Chop cooked chicken thighs.
Seared chicken thighs in a skillet with salt and pepper.
Diced chicken thighs on a cutting board.
  1. Add cooked and chopped chicken thighs and bbq sauce to a bowl.
  2. Toss chicken and bbq sauce together. Set aside until you’re ready to assemble the salad.
Chopped chicken and BBQ sauce in a bowl.
BBQ chicken in a bowl.

BBQ Yogurt Ranch Dressing Ingredients

Ingredients for BBQ yogurt ranch dressing.

Yogurt Ranch Dressing Process

  1. Add all dressing ingredients into a small bowl.
  2. Whisk together until fully combined.
Ingredients for BBQ Yogurt Ranch Dressing in a bowl.
Combined ingredients in a bowl to make BBQ Yogurt Ranch Dressing.

Salad Assembly Ingredients

Salad ingredients for a BBQ Chicken Salad

Salad Assembly Process

  1. Toss together shredded cabbage and chopped romaine lettuce and spread onto a large platter. Arrange black beans, tomatoes, corn, red onions, and jicama over greens. Top salad with bbq chicken and sliced green onions. Serve with dressing on side or drizzle dressing over salad.
Close up on a bbq chicken salad in a big bowl.

What is Jicama?

Jicama (also called, yam bean, Mexican turnip or Mexican Potato) is a root vegetable native to Mexico. It’s most commonly eaten peeled and raw with a flavor that’s a cross between a potato, carrot and apple. It’s light, crunchy and very mildly sweet and perfectly adds texture to dishes like our loaded bbq chicken salad.

Make Ahead Instructions for our BBQ Chicken Salad Recipe

Dressing

The dressing can be made up to 5 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, until ready to use.

Chicken

The chicken can be cooked, chopped and tossed in bbq sauce up to 2 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, until ready to use.

Salad Assembly

The salad can be built on a platter or in a large bowl 1 day ahead of time, tightly covered in plastic wrap, and stored in the refrigerator. When building the salad ahead of time, add the bbq chicken and dressing right before serving to avoid the greens getting soggy.

Loaded BBQ chicken recipe in a bowl ready to be served.

Variations and Substitutions

There are indefinite ways to make this entree salad, but a few variations we like from this version is:

  • Adding chopped apples in place of the jicama.
  • Finely dicing cauliflower and tossing it in a little oil and salt for a healthier option to replace the corn.
  • Adding some crumbled queso fresco for a salty bite.
  • Adding diced avocados in place of or in addition to the black beans for a fresh and creamy texture.
  • Replacing the chicken for some flaked salmon
  • Replacing the chicken thighs with boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • Some seared and diced tofu or roasted chickpeas also works great to replace the chicken for a vegetarian option
  • Use a store-bought rotisserie chicken to save on time.
  • Replace the green onion for fresh cilantro leaves or sliced chives.
A close up of our BBQ Chicken Salad recipe in a bowl

Looking for more salad recipes? Check out our post for all of Best Salad Recipes!

More Salad Recipes You Will Love

Loaded BBQ chicken salad recipe in a bowl.
Print

BBQ Chicken Salad

Large, fresh and totally an entree type dish, our delicious BBQ Chicken Salad is full of flavor and texture! We paired our salad with a bbq ranch dressing that's made a little healthier by using yogurt instead of mayo and/or sour cream! It can feed a bunch of people and takes only 30 minutes to throw together!
Course lunch, Main Course, Salad
Cuisine Amercian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 371kcal

Ingredients

bbq chicken

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 cup prepared bbq sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste

bbq ranch yogurt dressing

  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 2 tbsp thinly sliced chives
  • 2 tbsp minced parsley
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 cup prepared bbq sauce

salad

  • 1 romaine heart, shredded
  • 1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
  • 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 roma tomatoes, diced
  • 2 fresh corn on cobb, charred under broiler and kernels removed (cobbs discarded)
  • 1/4 red onion, diced
  • 1/2 jicama, peeled and diced
  • 2 green onions, sliced on bias

Instructions

bbq chicken

  • Place large skillet over medium-high heat. Once skillet is hot add oil.
  • Generously season chicken thighs on both sides with salt and pepper.
  • Sear thighs for 3 to 4 minutes. Lower heat to medium and flip thighs. Continue to cook for an additional 5 to 6 minutes or until thighs have just cooked through.
  • Transfer thighs to a cutting board and allow them to rest for about 5 minutes. Chop chicken into bite sized pieces and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add bbq sauce andtoss together until well coated. Set aside.

dressing

  • Place all dressing ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk together until smooth.

assemble salad

  • Combine romaine and cabbage together in a large bowl and toss together. Transfer mixture to a platter.  
  • Top greens with black beans, tomatoes, corn, red onion, jicama, and bbq chicken.
  • Sprinkle salad with sliced green onion. Serve with dressing.

Video

Notes

Make Ahead Instructions for our BBQ Chicken Salad Recipe
Dressing
The dressing can be made up to 5 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, until ready to use.
Chicken
The chicken can be cooked, chopped and tossed in bbq sauce up to 2 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, until ready to use.
Salad Assembly
The salad itself can be built on a platter or in a large bowl 1 day ahead of time, tightly covered in plastic wrap, and stored in the refrigerator. When building the salad ahead of time the bbq chicken and dressing should be added right before serving to avoid the greens getting soggy.

Nutrition

Calories: 371kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 1369mg | Potassium: 872mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 2333IU | Vitamin C: 47mg | Calcium: 159mg | Iron: 3mg

The post BBQ Chicken Salad appeared first on Spoon Fork Bacon.