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BBQ Chicken Salad

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This BBQ Chicken Salad is full of black beans, corn, tomato, avocado, and grilled chicken. It’s tossed in a tangy cilantro-lime dressing and drizzled with BBQ sauce. Shredded cheese and crumbled tortilla chips are a perfect finishing touch!

Hi, Friends! This BBQ Chicken Salad is a real summer hit with family and friends.

Add this BBQ Chicken Salad to your next get together or meal plan . It’s just the right balance between being light enough for a hot summer day – it is a salad after all – while also being filling. And, you won’t have to turn on your oven and heat up your house, which we all know is so important when the temperatures are rising!

I prepare this salad with crisp romaine lettuce because I love the crunch. What makes this salad is all the toppings. Besides the spiced, grilled chicken, I’ve added black beans, corn, tomatoes, red onion, avocado, and more.

A refreshing cilantro-lime vinaigrette, made with a little Greek yogurt and honey, is the perfect dressing for it all. And the finishing touches? A drizzle of BBQ sauce (try my easy homemade BBQ sauce recipe), and a sprinkling of shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips. It’s salad perfection!

I made this BBQ Chicken Salad a couple of times while testing the recipe, and Brad and I didn’t mind taste-testing at all. For the kids, we served a deconstructed salad and they were happy little eaters as well. I thought it would be fun to take a photo of their plates, too. 🙂

More Summer Salad Ideas:

• Broccoli Salad
• Tabouli Salad
• Corn Salad Recipe
• Italian Pasta Salad

BBQ Chicken Salad

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This BBQ Chicken Salad is full of black beans, corn, tomato, avocado, and grilled chicken. It's tossed in a tangy cilantro-lime dressing and drizzled with BBQ sauce. Shredded cheese and crumbled tortilla chips are a perfect finishing touch!

Course Main Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword bbq chicken salad, summer salad

Servings 4

Calories 505kcal

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 tsp. chili powder1 tsp. chili powder
• ½ tsp. garlic powder½ tsp. garlic powder
• ½ tsp. onion powder½ tsp. onion powder
• scant ¼ tsp. Kosher saltscant ¼ tsp. Kosher salt
• scant 1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepperscant 1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

For the cilantro-lime dressing:

• ½ cup cilantro½ cup cilantro
• 3 tbsp. lime juice3 tbsp. lime juice
• 2 tbsp. Greek yogurt2 tbsp. Greek yogurt
• 1 ½-2 tbsp. honey to taste1 ½-2 tbsp. honey to taste
• 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
• ¼ cup olive oil¼ cup olive oil
• Salt & pepper to tasteSalt & pepper to taste

For the salads:

• 8 cups romaine lettuce washed & chopped8 cups romaine lettuce washed & chopped
• 1 cup canned black beans rinsed and drained1 cup canned black beans rinsed and drained
• 1 cup canned corn drained1 cup canned corn drained
• 1 large tomato chopped1 large tomato chopped
• ½ small red onion thinly sliced½ small red onion thinly sliced
• 1 avocado pitted and cubed1 avocado pitted and cubed
• 1 cup shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese1 cup shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese
• Crumbled tortilla chips optionalCrumbled tortilla chips optional
• BBQ sauce for drizzlingBBQ sauce for drizzling

Instructions

Grill the chicken:

• In a small bowl, combine chili powder, garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Rub over both sides of chicken breasts. Heat grill to medium-high heat. Grill chicken until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, turning once halfway through. Set chicken on a clean plate to cool and then chop into bite-size pieces.

Make the dressing:

• Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Pulse until cilantro is finely chopped and everything is well combined. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Assemble the salads:

• Place lettuce in a large bowl and toss with about half of the dressing.
• Place 2 cups of the lettuce on each plate. Top with black beans, corn, tomato, red onion, avocado, and cheese. Place ¼ of the chicken on top of each salad. Drizzle each salad with a little more of the cilantro-lime dressing. Crumble on a few tortilla chips, if desired, and then drizzle lightly with BBQ sauce. Serve immediately.

Notes

Nutritional Information does not include optional ingredients. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 recipe | Calories: 505kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 506mg | Potassium: 1039mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 9317IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 277mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is an estimate.

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