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Whip & Wander

BBQ Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Jalapeno Ranch

By 41 Comments

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a white bowl with bbq chicken, salad, and veggies on top of a wooden tray

A spicy kick to your summer salad

There’s really nothing clever I can say about summer salads that hasn’t already been said before. It’s a million degrees outside. Do yourself a favor and ignore the oven for a few more weeks. This beauty can be made with a bit of quick prep and a short trip to the grill.

This BBQ Chicken Salad starts out with a bed of classic salad trimmings, but levels up with the addition of a few spicy and delicious upgrades. The grilled chicken is basted in Spicy Red BBQ Sauce, adding a sweet and spicy heat that is sure to be better than anything you’ll find in a bottle. Then, everything is finished with Buttermilk Jalapeno Ranch Dressing, bringing a gentle heat that balances everything out.

bbq chicken salad with avocado, tomato, cucumber, green onion, olives

a bowl of salad with chicken and wooden salad tongs

closeup of bbq chicken salad with veggies

Base variations

I’ll often switch up the veggies and other toppings in this salad depending on what we have lurking in the crisper drawer or what’s popping up in the garden at the time. Some other great options are:

  • Swap the romaine for sweet butter lettuce
  • Swap the romaine for a bed of crunchy cabbage slaw
  • Bell peppers are a fantastic addition. They can be added raw or sliced/diced after a quick turn on the grill.
  • If you aren’t grain-free, grilled corn is delicious on this salad. Just pop an ear or two on the grill at the same time you’re cooking the chicken.
  • Swap the green onions for thinly sliced red onions
  • Pepitas are a fun textural addition to add crunch
  • Black beans are a delicious and fiber-rich option
  • Swap the bleu cheese crumbles for feta, cubed cheddar, or mini mozzarella balls

slices of chicken breast covered in bbq sauce

a wooden board with bbq chicken

Other ideas for using this BBQ chicken

The BBQ Chicken used in this recipe is perfectly sweet and spicy, and as much as I love it on top of salad, sometimes I want to ditch the greens in favor of something slightly carby. Thankfully, it also layers really well on a sandwich. Skip the mayo and slather a bit fo the Buttermilk Jalapeno Ranch Dressing on along with a slice or two of tomato, some cheddar cheese, onion, and lettuce. BBQ Chicken Sandwich heaven.

a hand pouring buttermilk jalapeno ranch dressing over a bowl of bbq chicken salad

two salad servers mixing a bowl full of bbq chicken salad and buttermilk jalapeno ranch dressing

Does this salad pack well for leftovers and meal prep?

Yes. When packaging this salad for meal prep, simply store the BBQ Chicken and the Buttermilk Jalapeno Ranch Dressing in their own separate containers from the rest of the salad fixings. I will also generally skip slicing the tomatoes so they don’t weep into the salad greens when storing.

A note for special diets

This BBQ Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Jalapeno Ranch is grain-free, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, low-carb.

For those following a Keto diet, who would like to cut the carbs even more so than the estimated 12 net carbs per serving, please take note of the zero-carb sweetener swap in this recipe for Spicy Red BBQ Sauce.

bbq chicken, carrots, avocado, cucumber, tomatoes, on salad

white bowl full of salad with chicken on a white towel with salad tongs resting nearby

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a white bowl with bbq chicken salad, cucumber, tomato, avocado slices and salad servers

BBQ Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Jalapeno Ranch

★★★★★ 5 from 40 reviews
  • Author: Whip & Wander
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Category: Salads & Dressings, Mains
  • Method: Grilling
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This Keto-friendly BBQ Chicken Salad levels up with a Spicy Red BBQ Sauce and a creamy Buttermilk Jalapeno Ranch Dressing.

Scale

Ingredients

For the grilled chicken:

  • 1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced in half so they are thinner
  • 1/3 cup Spicy Red BBQ Sauce

For the salad:

  • 2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped (about 8 cups)
  • 1 cup english cucumber, sliced
  • 3/4 cup sliced carrots
  • 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 3.8 oz can sliced black olives
  • 1 medium avocado, sliced
  • 1/4 cup green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles
  • 3/4 cup Buttermilk Jalapeno Ranch Dressing

Instructions

For the grilled chicken:

  1. Heat grill to medium-high.
  2. Using a basting brush, baste chicken with Spicy Red BBQ Sauce on both sides.
  3. Grill, covered, turning halfway through, until chicken reaches a minimum of 165 degrees F, about 4-5 minutes per side. Let rest 5 minutes, then slice.

For the salad:

  1. Assemble romaine, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, olives, avocado, green onions, and bleu cheese, then toss with Buttermilk Jalapeno Ranch Dressing.
  2. Add sliced BBQ Chicken to the top and serve.

Notes

Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/4 recipe
  • Calories: 459
  • Sugar: 8
  • Sodium: 1163
  • Fat: 27
  • Saturated Fat: 7
  • Carbohydrates: 19
  • Fiber: 7
  • Protein: 42
  • Cholesterol: 113

Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Aleta

    Whoa. This beauty is majorly calling my name! All those colours, textures and flavours look insanely delicious, I bet my husband will absolutely love this salad as well! That dressing sounds sooo good too.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  9. Jacque Hastert

    I made this jalapeno ranch dressing today and I could seriously drink it. I love that I can use it for so many salads and snacks for dipping into.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  10. Michelle

    This salad is packed full of delicious ingredients. A little spicy and a little creamy. Just perfect. Love it!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  11. Gloria

    This is a great dinner salad. SOOOO many awesome ingredients in there. The dressing sounds amazing. Hubby likes things spicy…so you can really turn the heat up for sure.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  12. Debra

    This salad is so beautiful and vibrant. Love that it’s a whole meal in one bowl. That chicken is spot on with the flavors we enjoy. I think I’ll double the chicken to have on hand for lunches during the week.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  13. Ramona

    I have made this salad and so delicious. I have added some extra red chilli flakes. Will be making it again and again. Refreshing and absolutely superb indeed.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  14. Kelly Anthony

    It’s 100 degree here in Texas right now and I’ll do anything from having to turn on the oven. I love this twist on a classic summer salad.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  20. Sarah

    Woah this is beautiful! That chicken is so perfectly browned, and I love the idea of a spicy ranch with it. I wish I’d had this for dinner today- maybe tomorrow!! (And I’m totally team blue cheese crumbles)

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  23. Amanda

    This is such a perfect summer salad! The BBQ chicken added such nice flavor, and I’m in love with that buttermilk jalapeno ranch. I think it’d also make the perfect dipper for appetizers with football season coming up. Thanks so much for sharing!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  25. Linda

    That chicken looks amazing and I guess I can’t make an exception and grill this BBQ chicken on a hot day like this. So good and flavorful!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  26. Sandra

    I made this today and portioned it out for my lunch for the rest of the week. First meal was today and this is so delicious and filling. I have pepitas, to sprinkled a bit on top. Nice addition!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  29. Marisa F. Stewart

    That is a perfect luncheon or dinner salad. It is beautiful!! So colorful and inviting to chow down. We have BBQ chicken often in the summer time and what a great way to present it — with a nutritious salad. YUM!! We’ll be eating this salad out tomorrow night on the deck.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  30. Leslie

    I SO wish I would have found this recipe 3 hours ago! I’m making quite a few salads this week and was on the hunt for new recipes. Will have to try this one next week!

    Reply

  32. Sean@Diversivore

    Hooooo, man this is my kind of salad. So fantastically loaded and hearty, yet well put together and balanced in terms of flavour. I love that you’ve got your own salad dressing (which sounds amazing) AND your own barbecue sauce to work with too – hardcore scratch-cooking FTW! I appreciate the variations and tips too – always good to be able to switch it up a bit to avoid ending up in a salad rut. Cheers.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  33. Tatiana

    Perfect!! I was looking for a salad idea for lunch today and everything I found had me headed back to the store for something. But I have everything I need to make this…plus…I LOVE BBQ Chicken Salads!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  35. Jacqueline Debono

    This salad looks fabulous! I just love the idea of grilling the chicken basted in a spicy bbq sauce! Plus your dressing sounds divine! I need to make this soon! Pinning for later!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  37. April

    Fantastic recipe to stay away from the oven. The summer is almost over but it is still too hot to go all in, so I am really keen to make this chicken salad. It looks really yum!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  38. Dana Sandonato

    I could probably live on big beautiful protein-stacked salads like this. (As long as I could have pizza once in a while, haha). Chicken and salmon are my go-to’s for meal salads, and I’m thinking either would go amazingly with this salad and this lip-smacking dressing!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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