Bbq Chicken Salad With Creamy Bbq Dressing

This BBQ chicken salad, with homemade creamy barbecue dressing, is one of my summertime go-to meals. You can assemble it quickly with fresh ingredients, throw some chicken on the grill and you have a vibrant, hearty salad meal that is perfect to eat on the patio on hot summer evenings. The easy, creamy dressing is the perfect thing to drizzle over warm chicken and it adds so much flavor! Pair it with some icy cold lemonade and some crusty bread and you have a delicious dinner for any night of the week.

BBQ Chicken Salad Ingredients

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts – in this recipe, you grill the chicken, but if you are in a hurry you can use shredded rotisserie chicken and mix it with bbq sauce. You can also cook the chicken in a grill pan or slow cooker. BBQ sauce – Homemade bbq sauce works great or we love to use Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ. Romaine lettuce – chopped Corn Black beans Green onions Shredded cheddar cheese Crushed Tortilla chips More Optional Toppings – diced tomato, diced red onion, avocado, monterey jack cheese, corn salsa

Creamy BBQ Dressing

I used this BBQ ranch dressing on my BBQ chicken salad and it was incredible! Typically I just combine ranch dressing with BBQ sauce (and you can totally do that if that is what you have on hand) but this dressing is way better!

Mayonnaise – The base of the dressing by adding flavor as well as gives substance to the dressing. Milk – A creamy dressing in store for you! Milk helps add liquid, flavor, and creaminess. Buttermilk – Always blends well with a creamy base that has flavor, a thick creamy base, and adds a sweetness to the homemade dressing. Cilantro – This has a lemon and peppery taste to it. Lime juice – A hint of zest from the juice that helps balance the BBQ sauce. White vinegar – Just a little bit of white vinegar will go away. In dressing, this helps keep it in the fridge for a couple of days but also has a strong vinegar flavor. It is a great balancer for all the ingredients. Sugar – Added mainly for sweetness and gives some texture to the dressing. Garlic – Everyone loves garlic and no dressing or recipe can be left out of garlic! This is always a popular ingredient that most people love to add in and have on hand. Cayenne pepper – A little bit of subtle heat. Cumin – Gives a nutty and warm flavor to the dressing. BBQ sauce – Pick your favorite BBQ sauce or make your own homemade bbq sauce.

How to Make BBQ Chicken Salad

This BBQ chicken salad tastes amazing with all the flavor and combination of sweet and savory! Every bite is filled with all the textures and bursting with flavor. Your tastebuds will be thanking you!

Tips for Perfectly Grilled Chicken

I have mentioned this several times in other blog posts, but getting the chicken just right is everything. People are always asking how I get juicy grilled chicken. Here are two of my tried and true tips:

Cooking meat – Use a DIGITAL meat thermometer. Don’t slice your chicken apart every five minutes to check doneness. Digital meat thermometers are amazing little gadgets and they can make ANYONE a grill master. They are cheap, they are accurate, and they will give you perfect meat every. time. If you don’t have one, get one! You’ll thank me later. Slow cooking – Be patient and cook over medium to medium-high heat on the grill. Don’t crank up the temperature and turn the outside of your chicken. You will have a burnt outside and raw inside. Take your time. Do it right. Your guests will thank you. BBQ sauce – For this recipe, I love using Bull’s Eye or Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce, and I brush it on while the chicken is on the grill. Any of your favorite sauces will do, but those two brands are my favorite.

More Scrumptious Salad Recipes

For all the salad lovers out there, these salads will make your lunchtime even better! Each salad is loaded with so much flavor and deliciousness. You won’t know which one to choose each day, they are that good!