BBQ Chicken Salad
This easy and delicious BBQ Chicken Salad is a full meal in itself. It's made with fresh ingredients and moist BBQ chicken breasts, and drizzled with more BBQ sauce and avocado ranch dressing.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 1009kcal
Ingredients
- 4 small skinless chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Olive oil for pan
- ¾ cup sweet BBQ sauce, divided or store-bought
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweet corn, drained
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onions
- ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 2 avocados, sliced
- ½ cup tortilla strips
Avocado Ranch Dressing
- 1 cup ranch sauce
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste
- ¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- Water as needed to thin out the dressing
Instructions
Make the BBQ Chicken:
- Pound chicken to ½ inch thick throughout (this will prevent overcooking and will result in moist chicken). Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides - about ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper should be enough for all 4 chicken breasts.
- If pan-searing, heat some olive oil on a large skillet. If grilling, heat up your grill and brush the grates with some oil. Cook chicken for 6 minutes per side. Brush both sides with some BBQ sauce (I used about ⅓ cup of BBQ sauce to brush all 4 chicken breasts). Cook 1-2 more minutes per side so that the BBQ sauce caramelizes, and until cooked through.
- Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes. Then, slice or chop the chicken, and brush with some more BBQ sauce, to taste. Set aside.
Make the avocado ranch dressing:
- In a food processor, combine all the avocado ranch dressing ingredients. Process until evenly combined. Thin it out with water if needed.
Assemble the salad:
- Arrange the lettuce, tomatoes, corn, tortilla strips, onions, avocado, prepared BBQ chicken, and cheese. Drizzle with the remaining BBQ sauce and the avocado ranch dressing. Enjoy!
Notes
- Special equipment: Food processor, grill or skillet, meat mallet.
- Chicken: Pound the chicken to 1/2 inch thick evenly with a meat mallet. This will ensure that you don't need to overcook the chicken, 6-8 minutes per side will be enough.
- Make-ahead: All ingredients can be prepped ahead and assembled the next days. The one exception is the sliced avocado - the avocado has the be sliced right before serving.
Disclaimer: Nutritional values (per serving) are approximates only.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 1009kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 59g | Fat: 62g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 21g | Monounsaturated Fat: 23g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 177mg | Sodium: 2034mg | Potassium: 2034mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 9088IU | Vitamin C: 40mg | Calcium: 212mg | Iron: 4mg