This BBQ Chicken Salad might just be the best salad you will ever try. Juicy chunks of chicken smothered in our healthy homemade BBQ sauce, loaded on a bed of greens and vegetables and then topped with crunchy tortilla chips and a creamy ranch dressing.
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This salad really does have it all. It's creamy, tangy, zesty and it's got so many different incredible textures going on. It's light and fresh, but still tastes super comforting too.
Easy to make a huge batch to serve a crowd, this is a salad that will even concert people that say they don't like salads.
Looking for more chicken salads? Try our Green Goddess Chicken Salad or our Cottage Cheese Chicken Salad.
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Why You Will Love It
- A salad that even salad haters will love
- Easy to adapt
- Protein packed
- A great use for our homemade healthy BBQ sauce
Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Chicken - We used chicken breasts to keep this salad lean and protein packed. You could chop up boneless and skinless chicken breasts though. You could also use leftover chicken, like from our Slow Cooker Whole Chicken, and just fry that up with the BBQ sauce.
- BBQ sauce - This is where so much of the flavour in this salad comes from. We have used our Homemade Healthy BBQ Sauce, however you can use your favourite BBQ sauce - this will change the nutritional information though.
- Lettuce - Feel free to use your favourite salad greens. We used romaine for some crunch and then a butterhead and spinach mix for flavour and texture. You could add some kale to the mixture for a nutrient boost.
- Flour tortillas - These are cut into strips and then baked until crispy and they add a nice crunch on top of the salad. You can use white, wheat or corn tortillas to make these.
- Vegetables - A salad is always a good opportunity to eat some more veggies, right? This salad is a good fridge raid meal, so chop up and add whatever you have. We have added carrots and sweetcorn, however you could add some bell peppers, roasted courgette and aubergine or even some artichokes.
- Tomatoes - A great addition to salad for colour and flavour. Make sure that they are ripe and juicy. We used cherry tomatoes, but you could dice up plum/roma tomatoes too.
- Avocado - It's not a salad without avocado, right? Dice it up and mix it in with the vegetables, our your can slice it and serve it on top.
- Lime - We haven't mixed any kind of dressing into the lettuce, and we just squeezed over some lime juice instead.
- Ranch dressing - The creaminess of this goes perfectly with the BBQ sauce. You can use any good quality store bought ranch dressing, but we used our Homemade Healthy Ranch Dressing.
- Cheese - To finish this salad off, we added a sprinkling of grated cheddar. You could add a kick of spice by using a spicy grated cheese mix.
More ingredient substitutions and variations can be found in the recipe card.
Step by Step Instructions
One: Slice the tortillas in the thin strips and then spray with a little oil. Put in a preheated oven at 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 for 3-4 minutes, until crispy.
Two: Heat some oil in a large frying pan. Add the diced chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Keeping on a low heat, stir in the BBQ sauce and then take off the heat.
Three: Add the lettuce to a large serving bowl and squeeze the lime juice over it. Top with the chopped avocado, diced tomatoes, sweetcorn and grated carrot. Top with the BBQ chicken.
Four: Add the cheese and the crispy tortilla strips.
Five: Drizzle with the ranch dressing and serve.
BBQ Chicken
The star of this salad is definitely the BBQ chicken. Juicy chunks of chicken breast smothered in our homemade BBQ sauce pair beautiful with all the other flavours going on in this salad. If you don't want to cook the chicken yourself, then you could just shred up some leftovers from a roast chicken and heat it through with the BBQ sauce in a pan. You could also use leftovers from our Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken.
Not a fan of chicken? This recipe would also work really well with halloumi. Just cut the halloumi into large chunks and then dry fry them for 3-4 minutes and then stir in the BBQ sauce.
Salad Dressing
A dressing can really make or break a salad. It's what brings all the flavours together, so it has to be good. Whilst there is a lot of flavour from the BBQ sauce and we have added some lime juice to the lettuce, we topped everything with our Healthy Ranch Dressing and it's what makes this pretty much salad perfection.
Made using a mixture of Greek yogurt, dill, lemon and mustard, you are going to want to put it on everything - so make sure you make a big batch. You can use any good quality store bought ranch dressing or even swap it for a Caesar dressing. If you wanted to save some calories, you could just leave it out completely.
Salad Toppings
This BBQ chicken salad is stacked. There really isn't anything else we could have piled on top of it, as you will see when you go to eat it (which you will, because how could you NOT try this salad?), because you will bite through so many different layers and textures.
The great thing about this salad though, is it is easy to adapt. It's a good way to use up whatever you have in your fridge and reduce food waste. Here are some of our other favourite things to add to this salad:
- Cucumber
- Black beans
- Croutons
- Edamame
- Roasted peppers
- Chickpeas
- Brown rice
- Chopped bacon
- Artichokes
- Crispy onions
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Crushed pecans
- Quinoa
- Lentils
- Flaked almond
- Feta
- Baked pita chips
- Celery
- Gouda
- Barley
- Sliced red onions
- Pumpkin seeds
- Dried cranberries
- Stilton
Dannii's Top Tips
- You can use any good quality store bought BBQ sauce in this salad, however it really is worth going to the effort of making your own.
- Add an extra bit of flavour by grilling corn on the cob and then slicing the corn off, rather than using a tin of corn.
- If you don't want to go to the effort of baking tortilla strips, then you can just buy store bought tortilla chips and crush them on top.
- You could also swap the tortillas for croutons instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
We used our homemade healthy BBQ sauce as it makes this BBQ chicken salad a little lighter. But you can use your favourite BBQ sauce. Use one with a hint of chilli if you want a spicy kick to it, or just mix in a little chipotle paste.
The best way to check that the chicken is cooked, is to use a meat thermometer. Insert the meat thermometer in the middle of the chunk of chicken, and if the internal temperature of the chicken is 75°C or 165°F, then you know that it is cooked through. If it it isn't cooked, then cook it for 2 minutes longer and then check again.
Once this salad is mixed with the dressing, it doesn't mix well as it starts to go soggy. However, you can prepare it in advance and then store all the ingredients separately. You can then mix it together when you are ready to serve. Definitely make the BBQ sauce and dressing in advance, and they can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
More Salad Recipes
If you've tried this BBQ chicken salad let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
BBQ Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 Mini flour tortillas - cut in to strips
- 6 pumps of Spray oil
- 1 teaspoon of Olive oil
- 1 Chicken breast - diced
- 8 tablespoon of Barbecue sauce
- 1 Romaine lettuce - chopped
- 2 handfuls of Lettuce leaves
- 80 g (0.5 cups) of Sweetcorn - canned; drained
- 2 Carrot - peeled and diced
- 0.5 Avocado - diced
- 8 Cherry tomatoes - diced
- 4 tablespoon of Ranch dressing
- 1 Lime - juice
- 30 g (0.25 cups) of Cheddar cheese - grated
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
- Slice 2 Mini flour tortillas into thin strips and then spray 6 pumps of Spray oil. Put into the oven for 3-4 minutes, until crispy.
- Heat 1 tsp of Olive oil in a large frying pan. Add 1 Chicken breast and cook for 5-6 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Keeping on a low heat, stir in the 8 tbsp of Barbecue sauce and then take off the heat.
- Add 1 Romaine lettuce and 2 handfuls of Lettuce leaves to a large serving bowl and squeeze juice of 1 Lime over it. Top with 0.5 Avocado, 8 Cherry tomatoes, 80 g of Sweetcorn and 2 Carrot. Top with the BBQ chicken.
- Add 30 g of Cheddar cheese and the crispy tortilla strips.
- Drizzle with 4 tbsp of Ranch dressing and serve.
Recipe Video
Recipe Tips
- You can use any good quality store bought BBQ sauce in this salad, however it really is worth going to the effort of making your own.
- Add an extra bit of flavour by grilling corn on the cob and then slicing the corn off, rather than using a tin of corn.
- If you don't want to go to the effort of baking tortilla strips, then you can just buy store bought tortilla chips and crush them on top.
- You could also swap the tortillas for croutons instead.
Nutritional Information
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The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Tracy says
My favourite salad is a chicken Caesar. Probably not the healthiest though.
Nina says
I can't wait until I can eat a salad every day. It is just too cold at the moment.
Tina @ The Spicy Pear says
I love salads, you get to be creative with whatever is in the fridge and have fun with. I have managed to covert my husband too. For example, yesterday we had leftover barbecued tandoori chicken with tabbouleh (without the bulgur wheat), homemade mint yoghurt, and homemade spicy salsa. We were both stuffed and felt incredibly light this morning. Now that spring is here, there will be more salads in my house. Must try your ranch dressing, sounds delicious.
Jo Bryan says
Oh I approve, I love salads, I have already made your ranch dressing and this looks fab. I eat salads all year round but this will be great in summer.
Eliza says
How can avocado be optional? It is a necessity in life, surely? lol.
Gabi says
Mmmm, this sounds delicious. It's a shame that it is so cold here today and not really salad weather. I will bookmark it for a few months time though.
Janie says
That looks great! I'm really into very crunchy salads at the mo, using red & white cabbage, carrot etc. I think it's pulling away from stodgey winter foods that doesn't have much crunch!
Janie x
Isobelle says
What vegetarian option would you suggest having this with? Thanks.
Andrea says
The pulled pork looks amazing! I can't wait to get into salad weather
Linda says
I wish this was my lunch today. It looks really good.
Ann-Marie says
LOVE your ranch dressing. I had it with some salmon yesterday and my kids even wanted to try it.
Fritha Strickland says
oh your blog is so lovely! glad I came across it, some great ideas on here :)
http://www.tigerlillyquinn.com
Francesca says
This definitely sounds like my kind of salad.
Kayla says
This salad looks perfect. My husband is a "salad dodger" as he liked to call it, but I will make this and see if he likes it. Wish me luck!
Charlotte says
I absolutely love both your BBQ chicken recipe and your ranch recipe. Why have I never thought to put them together? I shall make it this weekend. Is it too early to look forward to Saturday's lunch?