BBQ Chicken Salad

5 from 7 votes

BBQ Chicken Salad brings together smoky chicken, black beans, sweet corn, creamy avocado, and a zesty cilantro-lime dressing!

Prep Time30

Total Time30

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bbq chicken salad

Servings: servings

Author: Chelsea Lords

Cost: $11.05

Equipment

Bowl

Ingredients

1 batch BBQ chicken
5 heaping cups romaine lettuce cut to bite-size pieces
1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
3/4 cup corn see note 1
3/4 cup black beans drained and rinsed
1 large ripe avocado diced
1/2 medium red onion thinly sliced, see note 2
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro optional
Cotija cheese optional
Tortilla strips optional
Cilantro dressing store-bought or homemade, see note 3

US - Metric

Instructions

Prepare dressing if making from scratch (see note 3).
Prepare BBQ chicken by grilling chicken and brushing with BBQ sauce, or use 2 cups shredded rotisserie or pre-cooked chicken. Gently toss chicken with 1/2 cup BBQ sauce, until coated, adding more if needed. If using cold chicken, warm briefly in a pan.
Chop lettuce into bite-sized pieces, wash, and dry thoroughly. (I love using a salad spinner here!)
For immediate serving, combine lettuce with other salad ingredients, dress to taste, season, and serve. For meal prep, store components separately and assemble before serving.

Notes

Note 1: Fire-roasted corn is my favorite in this salad. If using frozen, sauté until thawed through, then cool it down before mixing in.

Note 2: If you’re sensitive to the flavor of raw red onion, soak the onions in ice-cold water (with a pinch of salt) for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly and dry before adding to the salad.

Note 3: If you don’t want to make your own dressing, I like this store-bought cilantro-lime ranch.

For my fave homemade dressing: In a small blender, combine 3/4 cup cilantro, zest and juice of a lime to get 1/2 tsp zest and 2 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp dry ranch mix, 1 tbsp diced jalapeño, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup buttermilk, plus salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust ingredients to personal preference. Store in the fridge to chill and allow flavors to deepen while preparing the rest of the salad.

Nutrition