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Barbecue Chicken Salad is a fresh, hearty meal with smoky chicken, crisp greens, and bold toppings. Easy, flavorful, and perfect for lunch or dinner.
Loaded with ingredients like corn, tomatoes, cheese, and crunchy toppings, this salad feels anything but boring. It works just as well for a quick lunch as it does for a light dinner, and it’s easy to customize with whatever you have on hand.
Table of Contents
This BBQ chicken salad is packed full of sweet-tangy barbecue goodness, crunchy veggies, avocado, cheese, and more flavor-loaded ingredients. There’s plenty of color and texture in there, and everything gets tossed with a smoky barbecue ranch dressing. Craveable salads are officially a thing!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
For the Chicken
- Chicken
- Seasoning – This can be your favorite dry rub, chicken seasoning, or simply salt and pepper.
- Olive Oil
- Barbecue Sauce – You can use homemade barbecue sauce or your preferred store-bought brand.
For the Salad
- Lettuce – I love romaine lettuce, but you can use any type of lettuce or a mix of leafy greens.
- Tomatoes .
- Avocado
- Corn Kernels – These can be frozen, canned, or shaved fresh from corn on the cob. If you’re using canned corn, be sure to drain and rinse the kernels first. Frozen corn should be thawed completely beforehand.
- Red Onion
- Cheese – I use diced or shredded Colby Jack cheese, but you can use cheddar, Pepper Jack, Monterey Jack, or pretty much any kind. Crumbly cheeses like feta or goat cheese are another option.
- Fried Onions
- Dressing – I make a simple dressing for this BBQ chicken salad by combining prepared ranch dressing (from either a store-bought or homemade mix) with a couple of spoonfuls of barbecue sauce. It can be the same sauce that you used for the chicken.
BBQ Chicken Salad
This BBQ chicken salad recipe has juicy bites of sweet and smoky chicken tossed with grape tomatoes, avocado, sweet corn, crispy fried onions, and creamy barbecue ranch dressing.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 large chicken breast
- 2 teaspoons dry rub, chicken seasoning, or just salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons barbecue sauce
Salad
- 8 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 cup corn kernels
- ¼ cup red onion, chopped
- 1 cup Colby Jack cheese
- Fried Onions, for serving
Dressing
- ½ cup prepared ranch dressing
- 2-3 Tablespoons barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Season chicken with dry rub or seasoning. Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken and gently rub the seasoning into the chicken.1 large chicken breast, 2 teaspoons dry rub, 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Cook the chicken until it is cooked through. You can bake, follow Air Fryer Chicken Breast, Grill, or use the stovetop. Once cooked brush with the barbecue sauce. Chop into small pieces.2 Tablespoons barbecue sauce
- Prepare the dressing by mixing together ranch and barbecue sauce. Taste and adjust how much barbecue sauce you want the use.½ cup prepared ranch dressing, 2-3 Tablespoons barbecue sauce
- To assemble the salad in a large serving bowl add lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, corn, red onion, cheese, and the chopped chicken. Toss together and drizzle about ½ of the dressing over the salad.8 cups romaine lettuce, 1 cup grape tomatoes, 1 avocado, 1 cup corn kernels, ¼ cup red onion, 1 cup Colby Jack cheese
- Serve with the fried onions on top and additional dressing if desired.Fried Onions
Nutrition
Calories: 375kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 759mg | Potassium: 561mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 8930IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 290mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How to Make a BBQ Chicken Salad
- Season the chicken. Begin by rubbing the chicken with your choice of seasoning and olive oil. Make sure it’s well coated.
- Cook the chicken. Afterward, cook the chicken by baking or grilling, or follow the directions to make air fryer chicken breast. Once the chicken is cooked, brush it all over with barbecue sauce and chop it up into smaller pieces.
- Prepare the dressing. Meanwhile, make the dressing by whisking together ranch dressing and additional barbecue sauce.
- Assemble the salad. Now, add your leaves, toppings, cheese, and chicken to a large bowl. Toss everything together and drizzle about ½ of the dressing over the salad. Sprinkle on the crispy fried onions and enjoy! Save the rest of the dressing in case someone wants extra when serving.
Recipe Tips
- Check that the chicken is cooked. Cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 165ºF. Use an instant-read thermometer to check that it’s done.
- Rest the chicken. After cooking and before chopping the chicken, be sure to rest it first! Resting chicken after cooking allows the juices to redistribute, for extra tender and juicy slices.
- Use shredded chicken. Sometimes, I’ll replace the diced chicken breast in this recipe with leftover Instant Pot BBQ chicken. It’s saucy and shredded. Delicious! See below for more easy salad variations.
- Assemble right before serving. You can prepare the chicken, salad ingredients, and salad dressing in advance, but I recommend storing everything separately until you’re ready to assemble and serve. This keeps the salad from becoming soggy. Refrigerate everything in individual containers in the meantime (see the section below for detailed storage tips).
What Else Can I Add to This Salad?
- Different leaves. Instead of or in addition to romaine lettuce, try iceberg, butter lettuce, arugula, baby spinach, radicchio, frisée lettuce, or a combination of greens. Leafy herbs like basil, parsley, mint, and cilantro are also great for adding flavor.
- Veggies. Add fresh sliced bell peppers, cucumbers, green onions, etc.
- Fruit. Add chopped pineapple, mango, apple slices, or dried cranberries for a sweet-meets-savory contrast.
- More add-ons. Change up this salad with more add-ins like capers, olives, beans (remember to drain them if you’re using canned), roasted chickpeas, cooked crumbled bacon, and more. Anything goes!
- Different salad dressing. Feel free to dress this salad with any dressing you prefer. Good alternatives are creamy avocado dressing and this zesty cilantro lime dressing. You could also use a lighter lemon vinaigrette.
Storing Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Whenever possible, try to store any leftover salad, chicken, and dressing in separate airtight containers. This way, the ingredients won’t become soggy as quickly. The salad and chicken will last for 2-3 days in the fridge, while the barbecue ranch dressing lasts up to 2 weeks.
- Reheat the chicken. If you’d like to reheat the BBQ chicken, warm the chicken in the oven, air fryer, or microwave until it’s hot again. You may wish to toss the chicken pieces in extra barbecue sauce afterward.
