This BBQ Chicken Salad is packed with flavor! Seasoned grilled chicken, black beans, corn and avocado are tossed in a tangy cilantro-lime dressing and drizzled with BBQ sauce. Shredded cheese and tortilla strips are the perfect finishing touch!
I love making a big salad for dinner in the summer! This BBQ chicken salad is one of our favorite salad recipes, along with this Salmon Salad, this easy Taco Salad and this zesty Italian Salad.
This BBQ chicken salad is light enough to enjoy on a hot day, yet filling enough to leave you satisfied. It’s loaded with toppings so that each bite is full of flavor!
I’ve seasoned the chicken for this salad with a simple spice blend. My Grilled Chicken Recipe, Baked Chicken Breast or chicken marinated in my easy chicken marinade would be delicious in this salad. This recipe is a great way to use leftover chicken from Instant Pot BBQ Chicken or Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken. If you’re really short on time, you can use a rotisserie chicken.
There’s no need to heat up your house by turning on the oven when a big salad is on the menu!
BBQ Chicken Salad Ingredients
Here’s an overview of the ingredients needed for this salad. Find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Grilled Chicken: The recipe card below includes directions for how to season and grill the chicken. Or, use rotisserie chicken or your favorite method for cooking chicken.
- Cilantro-Lime Dressing: The tangy dressing is made with cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, Greek yogurt, honey, salt and pepper.
- Romaine Lettuce: I love the crunch of crisp romaine lettuce in this salad, but you can use your salad greens of choice.
- Black Beans: Rinse and drain canned black beans well.
- Corn: I use canned corn for ease. You can also cook corn on the cob in the Instant Pot or on the grill.
- Tomatoes: Choose cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, or whole chopped tomatoes.
- Red Onion: Slice the onion thinly, or chop it if desired.
- Avocado: Creamy, rich avocado makes any salad better!
- Shredded Cheese: I love Colby jack in this salad. Shredded cheddar, Monterey jack, Mexican blend shredded cheese, or even crumbled Cotija cheese would also be delicious in this salad recipe.
- Tortilla Strips: If you don’t have tortilla strips you can crumble up some tortilla chips. For a healthier salad, you can leave out the tortilla strips.
- BBQ Sauce: Try my homemade BBQ sauce or use your favorite store bought barbecue sauce.
How to Make BBQ Chicken Salad
- Season and grill the chicken.
- Make the cilantro-lime salad dressing by pulsing the ingredients together in a food processor.
- Toss the lettuce with about half of the dressing.
- Top salad with black beans, corn, tomatoes, red onion, avocado, cheese and chicken.
- Drizzle salads with more of the cilantro-lime dressing.
- Top with tortilla strips and drizzle with BBQ sauce.
Then enjoy one of the most mouthwatering dinner salads you’ve ever tasted. This grilled chicken salad recipe is going to be on repeat in our meal rotation all summer long! See more delicious easy dinner ideas.
Recipe Variations
This is a recipe that you can really make your own, depending on your tastes and what you have on hand. If you don’t care for one of the ingredients, leave it out! Add in your favorites. Here are a few ideas for variations on this BBQ chicken salad:
- Try Ranch Dressing instead of the cilantro-lime dressing.
- Add in other veggies. Try crisp radishes, cucumber, bell peppers, or thinly sliced carrots.
- Substitute chopped green onion for the red onion.
- Garnish the salads with chopped fresh cilantro for even more flavor.
More Summer Salad Recipes:
BBQ Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
For the cilantro-lime dressing:
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
- 1 ½ tablespoons honey
- salt & pepper, to taste
For the salads:
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup canned corn, drained
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 avocado, chopped or sliced
- ½ cup shredded colby jack cheese, or cheddar
- ½ cup tortilla strips, or crumbled tortilla chips
- ¼ cup BBQ sauce, for drizzling
Instructions
Grill the chicken:
- Pat chicken breasts dry using paper towels. In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Rub over all sides of the chicken breasts.
- Heat grill to medium-high heat. Grill chicken until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F, turning once halfway through, about 5-10 minutes per side. Set chicken on a clean plate to rest for at least 10 minutes and then slice.
Make the cilantro-lime 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 or 4 individual serving bowls and toss with about half of the dressing.
- Top lettuce with black beans, corn, tomato, red onion, avocado, cheese and chicken. Drizzle each salad with a little more of the cilantro-lime dressing. Top with tortilla strips and then drizzle lightly with BBQ sauce. Serve immediately.
Notes
- If desired, ranch dressing can be used instead of the cilantro-lime dressing.
Everything about this was great apart from the chicken rub—the rub was quite bland and meh. But sub in another grilled chicken recipe and this salad is rad.
Hey, Kristine
From your cooking recipes list this one reminds me to eat again and again! ?