BBQ Chicken Salad

Our BBQ Chicken Salad recipe is a crowd-pleaser! Made with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, bbq seasoning, barbecue sauce, turkey bacon, Romaine lettuce, pepper Jack cheese, cherry tomatoes and onion all tossed in our homemade ranch dressing. This barbecue chicken salad is one of my family’s favorite salad recipes to make! 

This barbecue chicken salad is a great salad to make for potlucks, parties, game day, busy week days and lazy summer afternoons!

Why We Love This Barbecue Chicken Salad

• Delicious. This salad has a great mix of flavors! With barbecue chicken, turkey bacon, pepper Jack cheese and ranch dressing…what’s not to love!
• Quick And Easy. This bbq chicken salad is quick and easy to make. The chicken is made on the stovetop, so no need to mess with a grill.
• Great For Sharing.  I’ve taken this salad to a lot of potlucks over the years and it’s always popular…especially with the men I worked with. 
• Budget Friendly. We use chicken thighs for this recipe which are less expensive and have more flavor than chicken breasts. 

BBQ Chicken Salad Recipe Ingredients

You’ll love how easy this recipe for barbecue chicken salad comes together!  

• Chicken.  We use boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe, but you can use boneless skinless chicken breasts if you like.
• Butter. Add a little butter to the grill if needed to prevent the chicken from sticking to the grill.
• Barbecue Sauce. Use your favorite barbecue sauce. We like to use Sweet Baby Ray’s Original barbecue sauce.
• Bacon. We like to use uncured turkey bacon rather than pork bacon. If you fry turkey bacon in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, it’ll get nice and crispy like pork bacon. Turkey bacon has fewer calories and less fat than pork bacon.
• Romaine Lettuce.  We use Romaine lettuce for this salad, but you can use spring mix or a combo of Romaine and spring mix if you like. 
• Tomatoes. We toss in sliced cherry tomatoes to the mix, but you could use garden tomatoes or Plum tomatoes (Roma tomatoes) if you prefer
• Cheese. A We love to add a little grated pepper Jack cheese to this salad. 
• Ranch Dressing. We use our Homemade Ranch Dressing for this salad.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

Variations

• Make it a hot bbq chicken salad by melting the cheese on the chicken while it’s still on the grill. Let it cool just a minute then add it to the top of the salad just before serving. This is a really great way to serve this salad. It’s SO good!
• Use cheddar or Jack cheese  instead of Pepper Jack.

How to Make BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad

1. Make Dressing. Whisk the Ranch Dressing ingredients together in a bowl and refrigerate before serving. Store in an airtight container, like a mason jar, in the refrigerator. 
2. Cook Turkey Bacon. Cook the turkey bacon in a little olive oil until its crispy and can be crumbled into the salad.
3. Grill Chicken.  Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan or a large skillet on the stovetop for 1-2 minutes. Once hot, brush the grill with oil or swirl oil in the skillet, then add the seasoned chicken to the grill or skillet and cook on each side until well browned and cooked through with an internal temperature between 16°F and 180F. Brush both sides of the chicken with barbecue sauce and let the chicken rest five minutes before slicing. 
4. Toss Salad. Toss the Romaine Lettuce, chopped or crumbled turkey bacon, tomatoes, onion and grated cheese in large bowl.
5. Add Dressing. Toss the salad with Ranch Dressing.
6. Plate Salad. Divide the salad evenly on plates and top with the sliced barbecue chicken.

Tips For Making The Best Barbecue Chicken Salad

• We always start off by making the dressing first so it can chill in the refrigerator for the flavors to blend together while we prepare the rest of the ingredients for the salad.
• Be sure to pat the chicken dry before adding it to the skillet.
• Make sure to cook the turkey bacon until it’s on the crispy side.
• Store the salad and dressing separately in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. 

Storing Leftovers

• Store the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If it has already been tossed with dressing, it will only last a day. If the salad and dressing have been stored separately, the salad should last 2-3 days.  
• Store the dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, the dressing should last up to 5 days. Give in a good stir before serving leftovers.

More Salad Recipes

• Fried Chicken Salad
• Greek Chopped Salad (with marinated chicken)
• Chicken Avocado Chopped Salad
• Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
• Best Chopped Salad (with chicken)
• Crispy Chicken Salad
• BLT Salad

Still want more ideas? Check out all of our salad recipes.

This recipe was originally published on June 30, 2017. Recipe has been updated and new photos provided.

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Yield: 4 Servings

BBQ Chicken Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

This BBQ Chicken Salad is a crowd-pleaser with tender bites of grilled chicken brushed with bbq sauce, black beans, avocado, tomatoes, fresh corn cut from the cob, cilantro,  black olives and romaine lettuce all tossed in a delicious light ranch dressing.

Ingredients

• 4 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 3/4 cup barbecue sauce (We like Sweet Baby Rays Original)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 8 slices turkey bacon
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 2 large heads of romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1-1/2 cups Pepper Jack cheese, grated

For the Ranch Dressing

Toggle ingredient group

• 1 cup real mayonnaise (like Best Foods or Hellmann's)
• 1 cup buttermilk (add more for desired consistency)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Whisk together the Ranch dressing ingredients. Chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the salad ingredients. The dressing is best if chilled up to an hour before serving.
2. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. When the skillet is hot add 2 tablespoons oil and swirl. Add turkey carefully lay the turkey bacon slices into the hot oil. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. 
3. Grill Chicken.  Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan or a large skillet on the stovetop for 1-2 minutes. Once hot, brush the grill with oil or swirl oil in the skillet, then add the seasoned chicken to the grill or skillet and cook on each side for 5-7 minutes or until well browned and cooked through with an internal temperature reading between 165°F and 185°F on a meat thermometer. Brush both sides of the chicken with barbecue sauce and let the chicken rest five minutes before slicing. 
4. Toss Salad. Toss the Romaine Lettuce, chopped or crumbled turkey bacon, tomatoes, onion and grated cheese in large bowl.
5. Add Dressing. Toss the salad with Ranch Dressing.
6. Plate Salad. Divide the salad evenly on plates and top with the sliced barbecue chicken.

Notes

Variations

• Make it a hot bbq chicken salad by melting the cheese on the chicken while it's still on the grill. Let it cool just a minute then add it to the top of the salad just before serving. This is a really great way to serve this salad. It's SO good!
• Use cheddar or Jack cheese  instead of Pepper Jack.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 921Total Fat: 72gSaturated Fat: 13gUnsaturated Fat: 60gCholesterol: 168mgSodium: 1387mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 8gSugar: 25gProtein: 36g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations.