BBQ Chicken Salad Recipe – My absolute favorite salad! A hearty chopped salad tossed with fresh greens, BBQ chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, tortilla strips and a delicious cilantro lime dressing.
This BBQ Chicken Salad is so easy to make and is topped with our favorite shredded chicken and black bean and corn salsa to make the ultimate salad recipe. Add a scoop of the best homemade guacamole to really put this barbecue chicken salad over the top!
Barbecue Chicken Salad
This BBQ chicken salad is my family’s ALL time favorite salad recipe. We could eat it every single day! It’s so easy to put together and tastes GREAT as leftovers too. Sometimes I’ll make a large batch of BBQ chicken and then freeze half of it. Then the next time I’m craving this barbecue chicken salad…all I have to do is pull the shredded chicken out of the freezer and let it thaw. You can also make the black bean and corn salsa the day before. This is the perfect meal for summer nights and is a definite must try!
How to make BBQ chicken salad
This BBQ chicken salad is super easy to make and will become a fast favorite! Just follow the simple steps below to get started. Scroll down for the printable bbq chicken salad recipe.
- Place chicken breast in crock pot over low heat. Pour BBQ sauce over the chicken. If I have onions on hand, I will put a few slices on top of the chicken. Cook chicken for 6 hours or until it shreds easily. Can also cook on high for 3-4 hours. Shred chicken and remove any fat.
- For the dressing: Combine ranch dressing, cilantro, lime and tomatillo in a blender. If you like it spicy, you could throw half a jalapeno in there. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Place desired amount of lettuce on your plate. Then add a few spoonfuls of chicken and black bean salsa. Pour on dressing and top with tortilla strips.
Quick tips about this BBQ chicken salad recipe
- Try using this EASY shredded chicken recipe that can be made in both the slow cooker and instant pot. Just add the BBQ sauce and adjust the spices to your preference.
- You can even bake the chicken in the oven if you’d rather cook it that way.
- Want to have leftovers? Make a large batch of the BBQ chicken and freeze half. This way you can pop it out of the freezer anytime you’re craving this delicious barbecue chicken salad!
- If you want to make this salad without the black bean salsa, add your favorite toppings such as tomatoes, avocado, black beans, corn, red bell peppers, cheese, etc.
- In the mood for something heartier? Try turning this into a BBQ chicken burrito bowl by adding some white or brown rice.
- Want to make your own homemade tortilla strips? Try this easy recipe.
- I love to make my own cilantro lime dressing, however store bought is fine. Ranch would taste delicious on this BBQ chicken salad too.
Love this BBQ chicken salad? You’ll like these other delicious salad recipes too:
- Mexican salad with chipotle dressing
- Strawberry burrata salad with a poppyseed dressing
- Buffalo chicken cobb salad
- Easy fajita salad recipe
BBQ Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 2 cups black bean salsa (see link below for recipe)
- 5 cups lettuce (or spinach)
- 1 1/2 cup ranch dressing
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1 lime (juiced)
- 1 tomatillo (small)
- tortilla strips for topping
Instructions
- Place chicken breast in crock pot over low heat. Pour BBQ sauce over the chicken. If I have onions on hand, I will put a few slices on top of the chicken. Cook chicken for 6 hours or until it shreds easily. Can also cook on high for 3-4 hours. Shred chicken and remove any fat.
- For the dressing: Combine ranch dressing, cilantro, lime and tomatillo in a blender. If you like it spicy, you could throw half a jalapeno in there. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Place desired amount of lettuce on your plate. Then add a few spoonfuls of chicken and black bean salsa. Pour on dressing and top with tortilla strips.
Notes
Nutrition
Enjoy!
Looks delicious!! And such a beautiful photograph. Did I miss the recipe??
Thank you! Whenever I pre-schedule posts the recipe disappears. Weird! Sorry, it’s up there now. :) Have a great day! xo
This sounds so good but not sure where the recipe is? Perhaps I missed a link. I love BBQ chicken salads, what sauce so you use?
It’s back in there now. Not sure why it does that. :) I just use a store bought BBQ sauce… but I’m sure a homemade sauce would be amazing!
Looks delish. I can’t find the recipe either.
Thanks for your comment Pam! The recipe is back in there. Hope you have a great Monday!
Okay that looks delicious! I love a creative salad!!
It was awesome meeting you at Haven! I had so much fun hanging out with like-minded people. It was definitely one of the best weeks ever!! xoxo
Thanks Skye! It was so good to meet you as well! There’s nothing better than being around people who “get” you! ;) Let’s stay in touch! xo
Omgosh this looks good! Please let me know when you post the recipe! I already grabbed the Black Bean Salsa! nom nom
Thanks Teddie! It is SO good! The recipe is back in the post. It likes to magically disappear. ;) Hope you have a wonderful day!
Mmm that looks SO good!
This looks so delicious! The dressing and black bean salsa sound great! Another idea for the chicken is to smoke a whole chicken. It will give this salad another level of flavor! Here’s our recipe: http://www.extraordinarybbq.com/smoked-whole-chicken/
I am going to try this next time I smoke a chicken.
This looks so delicious! SO perfect for summer when its too hot to cook! :) thanks for sharing! On my menu for the week!
Oh YUMMY! I can’t wait to try this! Thx for sharing :)
Wow, this sounds absolutely delicious! Normally not a BBQ but this does sound like a interesting recipe!
How much water goes in with the BBQ sauce and chicken? and why?
I usually just put 1/4 cup in the bottom of the crockpot. It seems to make the chicken more moist and helps it shred easier.
This looks so good, I could jump right in! This is going on my list next week of things to make for dinner, I think my family would gobble it up. Thanks for the recipe!!!
I love to eat BBQ chicken salad. I like your recipe. It is so greeny. I love it.
Just made this tonight and it was a hit! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe :) DELISH!!
Hi Jamielyn!
I just want to thank you for sharing this awesome recipe. I am featuring your dish on my blog today. Thank you again!!
Am I missing the printer friendly link? I’d love to print this out and give it a try.
Oh yum! This looks a whole lot like my favorite bbq chicken salad from Panera! I will definitely try your recipe!
just had this for supper tonight!! oh man, was it ever good!!!! the black bean salsa was such a fresh topping!!! thank you!
Great blog! I love this post, I’m a big fan of bbq chicken salads, used to love CPK’s but it’s too rich for me now, This looks like a healthy version and easy to make. Can’t wait to try it out, just got a crock pot! Beautiful photo too btw:)
Do you make your own Tortilla strips or are they purchased. If you make them how do you do it?
I purchased mine at Fry’s. :)
LOL, thanks for the quick response but due to the fact that I live in Virginia I think shopping at Fry’s not possible. I’ll have to check out my local stores although I’ve never seen those nice little Tortilla strips in any of them.
Not sure if you realized that the ingredient list on the prior page (where I found the link to get here??) lists the quantity of ranch dressing as 5 1/2 cups.
Hi Patti! I can’t seem to find the page where it lists 5 1/2 cups, do you have a link? It is 1 1/2 cups! :)
Thank you for the recipe! It is yummy! To save a little time, I just got a rotisserie chicken and shredded it with some BBQ sauce. I also added some queso fresco. MMMmmm
What a great idea to use a rotisserie chicken to make it a quick meal! Thanks for sharing Emily! :)
Thank you for sharing this recipe! My family enjoyed it, even my picky ten year old.:)
Oh I am so happy to hear that! It is my favorite salad and my two little ones will eat it too, so it is a win win!
Hi. The receipe looks delicious but I cannot get the salsa receipe. A blank screen just comes up.
Try clicking this link: https://www.iheartnaptime.net/black-bean-salsa/. Hope you enjoy this recipe, it is one of my favorites!
I love all your recipe
Thank you Mary! :)
great tips ! Cant wait to try!
Just sent another recipe to my daughter. The cashew chicken lettuce wrap.Looks Delicious! Can’t wait for her to make it so I can visit ?
My family loves this salad! We add a few diced avocados on top. Great for summer!!
Love avocados! Sounds like the perfect addition!
I love how this has all the flavor of summer without being too heavy! I know my family is going to love this!
This looks incredible! We have been buying a couple rotisserie chickens each week and making easy meals with them. This will be perfect!
Yummy looks so good!! I can’t wait to try!
I had been craving bbq chicken and saw this recipe and it totally hit the spot!