This BBQ chicken salad is restaurant-quality with the best flavors and textures from the BBQ chicken, black beans, crunchy veggies, tortilla strips and creamy cilantro lime dressing!
Other main dish salad recipes we love include balsamic Mediterranean salad and htis cobb salad!
Why I Love This Recipe
- Flavorful: This BBQ chicken salad is my family’s favorite salad recipe. I have been told it reminds people of Panera’s BBQ chicken salad.
- Full of texture and color: It’s made with crunchy lettuce, sweet BBQ chicken, fresh black bean salsa and topped with a creamy cilantro lime dressing. It will turn any into into a salad lover!
Recipe Ingredients
Substitutions and Variations
- Chicken: I love making this crockpot BBQ chicken. It’s super easy and we always have leftovers. You can also make baked BBQ chicken or grill chicken. I have even shredded a rotisserie chicken and mixed BBQ sauce.
- Grilled corn: For another layer of flavor, use grilled corn in the salsa.
- Extra toppings: Fresh homemade guacamole, pico de gallo, homemade salsa, cheese or chopped jalapeno would all be delicious additions.
- Homemade tortilla strips. Easily make your own homemade tortilla strips if you don’t have any on hand. All you need is flour tortillas and oil!
- Rice: Sometimes we love to add cilantro lime rice, too!
- Dressing: You could also swap this dressing for a homemade ranch dressing, salsa ranch dressing, cilantro lime crema or an avocado lime dressing.
How to Make BBQ Chicken Salad
Combine chicken and BBQ sauce in a crockpot. Cook 6 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on high. Shred the chicken.
Make the dressing by blending ranch dressing, cilantro, lime and a tomatillo in a blender or food processor. Chill at least 30 minutes.
Place lettuce on a plate and top with chicken and black bean salsa. Drizzle with dressing and top with tortilla strips.
Love BBQ recipes? BBQ chicken tacos or a BBQ chicken pizza are favorites, too!
More Easy Salad Recipes
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BBQ Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 1 ½ cups ranch dressing
- ½ cup cilantro
- 1 lime , juiced
- 1 tomatillo , small
- ½ jalapeno , optional
- 5 cups chopped iceberg or romaine lettuce , or spinach
- 2 cups black bean salsa , see link below for recipe
- Tortilla strips , for topping
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in a crockpot. Pour BBQ sauce over the chicken. If I have onions on hand, I will put a few slices on top of the chicken. Cook 6 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on high, or until the chicken shreds easily. Shred chicken and drain any fat.
- In the base of a blender or food processor, blend ranch dressing, cilantro, lime juice, and tomatillo. If you like it spicy, add jalapeno. Chill at least 30 minutes.
- Place desired amount of lettuce on your plate. Add a few spoonfuls of chicken and black bean salsa. Drizzle with dressing and top with tortilla strips.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
I don’t like ranch dressing. What can I use as a substitute?
I like using the Bolthouse Farms Cilantro Avocado Yogurt Dressing as a substitute! :)
I love the dressing! I want to put it on EVERYTHING!
This is the perfect recipe for my house because my hubs loves barbecue chicken and I love salad!! Will definitely be making this regularly!
It’s such a great combo! Thanks for leaving a comment and review Stephanie!
I had been craving bbq chicken and saw this recipe and it totally hit the spot!
Yummy looks so good!! I can’t wait to try!
This looks incredible! We have been buying a couple rotisserie chickens each week and making easy meals with them. This will be perfect!
I love how this has all the flavor of summer without being too heavy! I know my family is going to love this!
My family loves this salad! We add a few diced avocados on top. Great for summer!!
Love avocados! Sounds like the perfect addition!
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 ?
great tips ! Cant wait to try!
I love all your recipe
Thank you Mary! :)
Hi. The receipe looks delicious but I cannot get the salsa receipe. A blank screen just comes up.
Try clicking this link: http://www.iheartnaptime.net/black-bean-salsa/. Hope you enjoy this recipe, it is one of my favorites!
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!
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! :)
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! :)
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.
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. :)
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:)