Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This hearty summer salad has 41 grams protein and 7 grams of fiber! It’s perfect for summer lunches with the family or make it ahead for meal prep.
If you love a big summer salad, you’ve gotta try my BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad! This recipe was inspired by a pre-made chopped salad kit from Wegmans that I absolutely love. Usually I pair it up with chicken and turn it into an easy weekend lunch. I knew I needed to recreate it for summer and meal prep! Mine includes a few “extras” that you won’t find in a bagged salad, like black beans, fresh grilled corn, and tomatoes.
make it with:
Grilled BBQ Chicken Breasts
This is the centerpiece of this salad, so you want to make sure it lives up to the spotlight and doesn’t get lost in all the other salad ingredients!
Ingredients and Substitutions
BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad
- BBQ Grilled Chicken Breast – Read more about how I made it and ingredients used in it’s own dedicated blog post!
- Lettuce – I love green leaf lettuce for salads, and that’s what I used here. It’s got a similar amount of body and crunch to romaine but with more green and less of the white stuff.
- Black beans – These are drained and rinsed canned black beans. If you have another type of bean you’d like to include instead, go for it.
- Cherry tomatoes – Chopped Roma tomatoes would work great here too. Use whatever tomatoes you like or skip them if you prefer.
- Corn – I prefer grilled corn cut from the cob for the best flavor, but frozen corn kernels will work fine too.
- Red onion – This would also be delicious with pickled red onions!
- Ranch dressing – I like Hidden Valley’s light ranch dressing, but use whatever kind you prefer. If you have the time, this salad would also be great paired with my herby Avocado Ranch Dressing.
- BBQ sauce – Go for something that’s smoky, sweet, and a little spicy.
- Tortilla strips – Find these in the salad toppings section of the grocery store. I really love the Santa Fe style ones for the best flavor, but if you can’t find them, you can always loosely crush up some tortilla chips over the salad for similar crunch.
- Optional add ons – You can also add some avocado and shredded Monterey Jack cheese if you like! I’m listing them here because they’re in the photo, but when I meal prep this salad, I don’t usually include them. I left them off the nutrition info so you can choose that route too if you want.
how to
Make BBQ Chicken the Star
I tested out several different methods to make this BBQ Chicken Breast as flavorful and juicy as I could (with the least amount of fuss) before landing on the method you see in the recipe card. I actually wrote a whole blog post about my experiments because I’m a food nerd, and maybe you are too!
Here are the different methods I tried – and just note that I cooked mine on a regular ole gas grill because that’s what’s readily available to most casual BBQ’ers like me.
- Marinade only
- Dry brine + dry rub
- Dry brine + marinade
- Wet brine + marinade
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Recipe
BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad
Juicy grilled BBQ chicken is served over a classic southwestern salad, including charred corn for the ultimate summer lunch!
Servings: servings
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 1/4 lb chicken breast, raw
- 1/3 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce, (96 grams)
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp each: smoked paprika, ground mustard, cumin, garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp each: chili powder, black pepper
For the Salad
- 10 cups green leaf lettuce, chopped (360 grams)
- 1 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (160 grams)
- 1 1/3 cup low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed (173 grams)
- 4 small ears sweet corn, (300 grams yield)
- 1 cup Fresh Gourmet Santa Fe Style Tortilla Strips, (56 grams)
- 1/2 cup red onion, sliced or chopped (64 grams)
- 5 tbsp Hidden Valley Light Ranch Dressing
- 3 tbsp Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Optional: avocado slices and shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Instructions
Prepare the chicken.
- Place 1 1/4 lb chicken breast, raw on a small rimmed baking sheet with paper towels under and over it. With a mallet or closed fist, pound the chicken to even thickness. Add a wire rack under the chicken on the baking sheet, then season both sides with 1 tsp kosher salt. Set aside in the refrigerator, uncovered, to dry brine for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
- After the chicken has dry brined, mix 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp each: smoked paprika, ground mustard, cumin, garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp each: chili powder, black pepper on a plate. Press the chicken breasts into the dry rub mixture to coat on both sides. Return the chicken to the wire rack and baking sheet. Refrigerate, uncovered, for an additional 1-3 hours.
- After the chicken has rested in the dry rub, pat both sides dry and rub with 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Set aside at room temperature while heating the grill.
- Pre-heat the grill to 450-500°F. Rub the grill grates with vegetable oil or spray with non-stick grill spray. Add the prepared chicken, "nice" side down, and cook for 6 minutes.
- Flip the chicken, then brush with 1/3 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce. Lower the heat to about 400°F and continue to grill for 5-7 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside to rest.
Assemble the salad.
- While the chicken is grilling, drizzle 4 small ears sweet corn with 1 tsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Add to the grill with the chicken, turning frequently to avoid burning. Cook for 6-8 minutes or until lightly charred and tender. Set aside to cool.
- Once the corn has cooled slightly, cut the kernels off the cob. Once the chicken has rested for at least 5 minutes, slice for serving.
- Layer 10 cups green leaf lettuce, 1 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, 1 1/3 cup low sodium black beans, 1/2 cup red onion, and grilled corn in 4 serving dishes. Top with prepared chicken, then drizzle with 5 tbsp Hidden Valley Light Ranch Dressing, 3 tbsp Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce. Top with 1 cup Fresh Gourmet Santa Fe Style Tortilla Strips and serve immediately.
Tips & Tricks
Scan the barcode below or search for “Peanut Butter and Fitness BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad” to log this food in My Fitness Pal. Note: the avocado and shredded Monterey Jack cheese are optional ingredients and are not included in the nutrition info.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 525kcal (26%), Carbohydrates: 63g (21%), Protein: 41g (82%), Fat: 14g (22%), Saturated Fat: 2g (13%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 106mg (35%), Sodium: 1434mg (62%), Potassium: 1254mg (36%), Fiber: 7g (29%), Sugar: 27g (30%)
