BBQ Chicken Salad

BBQ Chicken Salad features smoky chicken, tender black beans, sweet corn, creamy avocado, and the best cilantro-lime dressing.

Why We Love This BBQ Chicken Salad

• Smoky BBQ Chicken: The BEST chicken flavor and easy to whip together!
• Easy-Peasy: Use store-bought short-cuts to make it come together super quick.
• Flavorful Dressing: Cilantro-lime dressing brings it all to life.
• Packed with Protein: Chicken and beans to keep you satiated.
• Prep it Ahead: Great for grab-and-go lunches.

BBQ Chicken Salad Ingredients

• Smoky Chicken: Use grilled chicken and your favorite BBQ sauce or toss prepared shredded/diced chicken with BBQ sauce.
• Black Beans: Rinse canned beans or try our favorite homemade Black Beans.
• Corn: Charred fire-roasted or sautéed frozen corn adds a sweet crunch.
• Creamy Avocado: Pick ripe ones and add drizzle on lime juice to keep them fresh.
• Cilantro-Lime Dressing: Go homemade or grab store-bought for convenience.

How To Make BBQ Chicken Salad

• Prepare the Chicken: Grill and coat with BBQ sauce.
• Rinse Beans: Drain and rinse black beans.
• Cook Corn: If using frozen, sauté until thawed.
• Chop Veggies: Dice avocado, halve tomatoes, and slice red onion.
• Mix Dressing: Blend or choose a store-bought cilantro-lime dressing.
• Assemble Salad: Combine lettuce, chicken, beans, corn, avocado, and onion in a large bowl.
• Dress & Serve: Drizzle dressing over salad, toss, and enjoy

BBQ Chicken Salad Shortcut Ideas

• Rotisserie Chicken: Big time-saver if you don’t want to grill/cook chicken! Use pre-shredded rotisserie chicken for even quicker prep.
• BBQ Sauce: Store-bought saves time. Stubbs® or Sweet Baby Ray’s® are our fave picks.
• Dressing: Wild Coyote® is our favorite store-bought dressing, or try Bolthouse® Cilantro Avocado for a lighter alternative.
• Guacamole: No time or ripe avocados? Store-bought guacamole is a convenient substitute.

More Salad Recipes:

• Greek Salad 
• Quinoa Black Bean Salad 
• Curry Chicken Salad
• Avocado Chicken Salad
• Spring Quinoa Salad

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5 from 7 votes

BBQ Chicken Salad

By Chelsea Lords

BBQ Chicken Salad features smoky chicken, tender black beans, sweet corn, creamy avocado, and the best cilantro-lime dressing.

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 -3 servings

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 batch BBQ chicken (Note 1)
• ▢ 5 heaping cups romaine lettuce, cut to bite-sized pieces
• ▢ 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• ▢ 3/4 cup each: corn & drained/rinsed black beans (Note 2)
• ▢ 1 large ripe avocado, diced
• ▢ 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced (Note 3)
• ▢ Optional: ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro, Cotija cheese, tortilla strips
• ▢ Cilantro Dressing -- store-bought or homemade Note 4)

Instructions 

• DRESSING: Prepare dressing if making from scratch (Note 4).
• BBQ CHICKEN: Prepare chicken (Note 1).
• LETTUCE: Chop romaine lettuce into bite-sized pieces, wash, and dry thoroughly. (We love using a salad spinner here!)
• ASSEMBLY: 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.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Chicken: Prepare BBQ chicken by grilling chicken and brushing with BBQ sauce OR shred a rotisserie chicken (or pre-shredded/cooked chicken) and measure out 2 cups. Pour in 1/2 cup BBQ sauce. Gently toss with tongs until the chicken is coated to your liking; adding extra BBQ sauce as needed. (If cold, warm the chicken for just a minute in a skillet.) Set aside.

Note 2: Corn: Fire-roasted corn is a favorite of ours in this salad. If using frozen, sauté until thawed through, then cool it down before mixing in.

Note 3: Red onion: 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 4: Dressing: If you don't want to make your own dressing, we like this store-bought cilantro-lime ranch.

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

Nutrition

Serving: 4servings | Calories: 788kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 50g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 16g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 159mg | Sodium: 1200mg | Potassium: 889mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 1092IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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