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.
Storage
Make-Ahead And Storage
- Make-Ahead: Prep ingredients and store separately for easy assembly later.
- Dressing: Make ahead and chill; it’s better after a few hours. Lasts 5-7 days in the fridge.
- Leftovers: Don’t dress the entire salad. Mix ingredients just before serving to keep fresh.
More Salad Recipes:
BBQ Chicken Salad
BBQ Chicken Salad brings together smoky chicken, black beans, sweet corn, creamy avocado, and a zesty cilantro-lime dressing!
Equipment
- Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 batch BBQ chicken
- 5 heaping cups romaine lettuce cut to bite-sized 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
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.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Fire-roasted corn is a favorite of mine 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 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 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
Serving: 1serving | 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.
The whole salad is delicious, but this dressing is AMAZING! I can see myself making this dressing constantly for all of my salads!
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much Cara! 🙂
Made this for dinner last week and my husband and I loved it!! We took all the shortcut subs including using the premade dressing, store-bought guacamole, and pre-shredded rotisserie chicken and it came together SO fast. For the amount of effort and how healthy this was, plus we got two dinners and two lunches out of it, I was very pleased!!
It didn’t even need the dressing, honestly…!!
Yay! So glad to hear this was a hit and enjoyed by you and your husband! Thank you for the comment and review Cena 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight and it was SO good! Especially the dressing!
I am so happy to hear this Sam! Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂
Rotisserie chicken is perfect to use in recipes to speed them up! That dressing is so delicious!
Quick, easy and delicious. This proves you can make a healthy dinner with very little time. Yum!
Soooooo good! I’ve already had it for lunch twice this week.
This bbq chicken salad looks incredible. So many flavors and textures in on one plate! yummy!
Thanks Matt!