This easy barbecue chicken salad recipe features the great flavors of grilled chicken with summer veggies and a tangy ranch dressing! Serve it at your next summer party and watch them line up for seconds…and thirds!
Oh, this barbecue chicken salad! Next to my all time favorite summer holiday supper (my dad’s AMAZING Coca-Cola Ribs, of course!) this is high on my list for Labor Day deliciousness. Tender and just the right amount of spicy grilled chicken, sweet corn and cherry tomatoes, creamy avocado, all tossed with ranch dressing and topped with some crushed tortilla chips for crunch. If we HAVE to celebrate the end of summer, this is the barbecue chicken salad to do it with. Ready for some summertime deliciousness? Let’s make it!
You start by letting your chicken lounge around a while in your favorite barbecue sauce. In our house, that means Stubbs. Amen.
You need to leave it in its bbq sauce bath for about an hour in the fridge – and if you have longer, even better. We want all that bbq wonderfulness to do its work. Once you are good and marinated, fire up that grill and cook the chicken up until it is nice and done, about 4 minutes per side. Let it slide and shred it up when it is cool enough to handle, and then you are ready to assemble one spectacular barbecue chicken salad.
Toss some shredded iceberg lettuce in a bowl with some cherry tomatoes, some fresh corn kernels (we like them raw off the cob, but feel free to simmer them for a minute or two if you prefer them cooked) and some cheddar cheese. Now, the best way to do this is with clean hands – trust me on this. Add the chicken, and then the ranch dressing, and you are done!
All except for sprinkling on those crushed tortilla chips, and my best advice on that step? BE LIBERAL.
And with that, happy delicious Labor Day, my friends. I hope your summer has been as wonderful as you are.
Barbecue Chicken Salad
Prep Time: 20 minutes- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Grill
- Cuisine: American
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Pin RecipeDescription
This easy barbecue chicken salad recipe features the great flavors of grilled chicken with summer veggies and a tangy ranch dressing!
Ingredients
- 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
- 1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- Kernels from 2 ears of corn
- 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
- 1/4 cup ranch dressing
- 1 cup crushed tortilla chips
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken in the bbq sauce for an hour or as much as overnight.
- Heat the grilled to medium high and grill the chicken until done, about 4 minutes per side. Let the chicken sit until cool enough to handle and then shred.
- Put the lettuce in a large bowl with the cherry tomatoes, corn, avocado and cheddar cheese and toss gently with clean hands. Add chicken and toss again. Add the ranch dressing and toss again.
- Divide among bowls, sprinkle with tortilla chips and serve!
I love this summer salad idea! I think the BBQ chicken will make it appealing to people who don’t always like salad (perhaps my fiancee :)). I also love all of the flavors going on in this salad. Definitely going on my list of recipes to try!
I bet your fiancé will LOVE this one! :)