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    Home > Blog > Salads > BBQ Chicken Salad

    BBQ Chicken Salad

    by Teri Lyn Fisher · Published: Jan 13, 2025 · Modified: Jan 13, 2025

    Jump to Recipe
    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!
    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!

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    Click here for more Chicken Recipes!

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    Loaded BBQ chicken salad recipe in a bowl.

    BBQ Chicken Salad

    5 from 19 votes
    PRINT RECIPE Pin Recipe
    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!
    RECIPE BY Teri & Jenny
    Prep Time: 20 minutes mins
    Cook Time: 10 minutes mins
    Total Time: 30 minutes mins
    Servings: 6

      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.

      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.
    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
    CUISINE: Amercian
    KEYWORD: bbq chicken, salad
    COURSE: lunch, Main Course, Salad

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    January 13, 2025 / 19 Comments

    About Teri Lyn Fisher

    Teri Lyn Fisher is half of Spoon Fork Bacon. She is also a food and cosmetics photographer. She is a big fan of hot dogs. #sfbTERI

    Previous Post: < Previous Post Air Fryer Salmon
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    Reader Interactions

    January 13, 2025 / 19 Comments

    Comments

      5 from 19 votes (10 ratings without comment)

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      Recipe Rating




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    1. Jamie

      March 28, 2021 at 3:34 pm

      5 stars
      DELICIOUS
      Used shrimp instead of chicken and didn’t toss shrimp in BBQ sauce bc dressing had enough barbecue taste. The jicama provided amazing crunch. LOVE IT

      Reply
    2. Sasha L

      July 31, 2020 at 7:57 pm

      5 stars
      So simple but oh so good.

      Reply
    3. Ron Morris

      July 30, 2020 at 5:26 pm

      5 stars
      I love chicken salad. This adds a nice touch.

      Reply
    4. Jessica

      July 30, 2020 at 12:27 pm

      5 stars
      Easy to make. Chicken was so moist.

      Reply
    5. Cheryl Morris

      July 29, 2020 at 10:28 pm

      5 stars
      What a very yummy one dish dinner. My family enjoyed this for dinner. While great any night, it really hit the spot on a hot summer night. Very easy to make and so flavorful with the fresh vegetables available this time of year. Love BBQ chicken!

      Reply
    6. AstroTalk

      July 23, 2020 at 6:26 am

      It’s looking very tasty and healthy as well. I will try this and also share this blog with my friends.

      Reply
    7. Darren

      July 22, 2020 at 6:21 pm

      5 stars
      Yummers! Love me some bbq chicken salad and yours is perfect. It’s got all my favorite fixins!

      Reply
    8. Lindsay

      July 20, 2020 at 12:30 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe is so simple and SO delicious!! It’s reminiscent of the CPK BBQ Chicken Salad, but a lot less work! I added an avocado (because they make everything better :) ) and about 10 basil leaves finely sliced to the salad mix (a CPK trick), and it really makes it sing!! Thank you for the recipe!

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        July 20, 2020 at 2:04 pm

        Avocado really does make everything better! Love the idea of adding basil too. So glad you enjoyed this!

        Reply
      • Teri Lyn Fisher

        July 21, 2020 at 7:10 am

        Yum! Love the idea of basil leaves! So glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    9. Jane :

      July 11, 2020 at 8:52 am

      5 stars
      This is so good and everyone in my family loved it.

      Reply
    10. Aubrey

      June 30, 2020 at 7:19 pm

      5 stars
      Made this last night and it’s my new favorite!

      Reply
    11. Leanne

      February 28, 2018 at 6:26 am

      How much does the recipe you included for the Greek yogurt ranch make?

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        February 28, 2018 at 9:01 am

        The recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups of dressing!

        Reply
    12. Trina

      June 07, 2016 at 4:35 pm

      Ditto to yay summer salads! Definitely taking this to my next picnic! Thanks!
      http://www.sistersweetly.wordpress.com

      Reply
    13. Nadia

      June 07, 2016 at 5:42 am

      Going to try this for lunch but with cous cous as I do not have any quinoa.

      Reply
    14. Jess

      June 06, 2016 at 4:39 pm

      This looks delish! And perfect for when my mom is visiting this month. I wish I could save your recipes to my Pinterest! Can you guys make my dream come true? :D

      Reply
      • Teri Lyn Fisher

        June 07, 2016 at 6:11 pm

        There is a pinterest “pin” over each image if you roll over it to easily pin. :)

        Reply
    15. Holly Deffenbaugh

      June 06, 2016 at 10:32 am

      This reminds me of a Buddha bowl… I can see changing out various items to create alternative options to the salad…keeping the BBQ chicken as your main ingredient. I look forward to creating this for a week of awesome lunch goodness!

      Reply

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    Loaded BBQ chicken salad on a plate with dressing on the side.

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