This fresh and crisp bbq chicken salad is packed with veggies, tender grilled chicken, and topped with bbq sauce and a green chile ranch dressing!
Lighten up your dinners with this all-star entree salad. Salads like this bbq chicken salad can be expensive at a restaurant, so save some money and use great ingredients to make it at home instead!
Now that the weather is warming up, it’s time to break out some of my favorite kinds of meals… like entree salads!! Usually, I’m NOT a salad kind of girl. I’m more of a big, juicy, messy burger and fries kind of girl.
Ask my husband… on our first date I ordered a 1/2 lb burger and ate every last bite. #sorrynotsorry
But… when it’s hot and humid outside, an entree salad just hits the spot. It has the delicious meat on a bed of cool and crisp lettuce and other veggies. Plus, the dressing!!
Since the BBQ sauce is a big part of this recipe, I wanted to use a brand I know and trust to use real ingredients… like Stubb’s Original BBQ Sauce. The flavor is really amazing, and they have so many sauces to choose from!
I wanted to tone down the heat with this salad, and this Original BBQ sauce does not disappoint. If you’d like a spicier salad, Stubb’s Spicy BBQ Sauce would be an excellent one to use!
The chicken in this bbq chicken salad gets it’s flavor from both a homemade quick rub and a basting of the delicious BBQ sauce.
It’s been raining here most of the week, so I “grilled” my chicken by sauteing it in a skillet… but trust me, grilling it will impart SO much more flavor, so definitely fire up the grill if you’re able.
Since we’re making a salad, we’re going to need a killer dressing. I mean, after all, the dressing is just about the best part of a salad right? Introducing, the green chile ranch dressing!
You can whip up this dressing in about 1 minute, and let me tell you, it is downright ahhh-mazing! I combined our favorite bottled ranch dressing with some Stubb’s Anytime Green Chile Sauce and viola… dressing perfection.
Last but not least, now it comes down to what to put IN the salad (other than chicken and lettuce). This is totally up to you!
I went with some classic ingredients… fresh corn, black beans, red onion, shredded cheese, sliced tomatoes, and shelled edamame. I love adding the edamame to these salads… they add a little protein kick to compliment the protein rich black beans and chopped chicken.
I hope you’re ready for the warmer temps… they’re coming! Now you’ll be ready with this easy to make, bbq chicken salad that’s perfect for a busy weeknight!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- FOR THE GREEN CHILE RANCH DRESSING:
- 8 oz your favorite bottled ranch dressing 1 cup
- 1/4 cup Stubb's green chile sauce can substitute with 1 small can of diced green chiles
- FOR THE CHICKEN:
- 2 chicken breasts trimmed of excess fat
- 1/2 cup Stubb's Original BBQ sauce or your favorite
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- FOR THE SALAD:
- 3 cups romaine lettuce hearts cleaned and chopped (about 6 )
- 2 roma tomatoes chopped
- 1/2 cup corn kernels (cut off the cob canned or defrosted frozen corn)
- 1/2 cup black beans drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup red onion diced
- 1/4 cup shelled edamame
- 3/4 cup colby cheese shredded
- handful of tortilla strips
- 1/4 cup Stubb's Original BBQ sauce
- 1/4 cup green chile ranch dressing
Instructions
- GREEN CHILE RANCH DRESSING:
- Add ranch dressing and green chile sauce to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and combined.
- Place in airtight container and place in refrigerator until ready to use.
- BBQ CHICKEN:
- Rub chicken breasts with paprika, onion powder and salt and pepper.
- Grill over MED heat for about 5 minutes on each side, until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.
- The last minute of grilling, baste liberally with bbq sauce.
- Let chicken rest for 5 minutes, then dice into bite-sized pieces.
- SALAD:
- Assemble salad by placing romaine lettuce in a large serving bowl. Top lettuce with grilled chicken, roma tomatoes, corn kernels, black beans, red onion, shelled edamame, shredded cheese, and tortilla strips.
- Drizzle salad with both bbq sauce and prepared green chile ranch dressing and toss to combine.
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Kelli H says
This was so good! We all loved it. Super easy, too!
Varun sharma says
This looks like the perfect chicken salad.