Ultimate BBQ Chicken Salad
This salad is anything but boring. It's filled with tender honey BBQ chicken bites, charred corn, roasted sweet potato & chickpeas, avocado & caramelized onions. Top it off with a homemade green goddess dressing and enjoy! It's perfect for a dinner salad since it's so hearty, great for a weekend by the pool or lake or even meal prepped for the week.
Ultimate BBQ Chicken Salad
This BBQ chicken salad is loaded with crispy honey BBQ chicken bites, roasted sweet potatoes and chickpeas, charred corn, creamy avocado and caramelized onions, all finished with a fresh homemade green goddess dressing. It’s sweet, smoky, creamy, crunchy and hearty enough to actually call dinner.
There are a few components, but several can be made ahead, and the chicken, sweet potatoes and chickpeas cook at the same time. It’s also easy to shortcut when you need to. Use rotisserie chicken or frozen chicken tenders and you’re halfway there.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Honey BBQ chicken: chicken breast, flour, egg, breadcrumbs, BBQ seasoning, BBQ sauce + honey
Salad: lettuce, sweet potato, chickpeas, corn, avocado + caramelized onions - Green Goddess Dressing: parsley, dill, chives, lemon, mayo, sour cream + milk
See the recipe card below for exact measurements.
How to Make This Salad Easier
- Make the green goddess dressing and caramelized onions up to 3-4 days ahead.
- Roast the sweet potatoes and chickpeas while the chicken bakes.
- Char the corn while everything is in the oven.
- For an easy shortcut, use rotisserie chicken or frozen crispy chicken tenders instead of homemade chicken bites.
Make the Dressing
In a blender combine & blend until smooth:
- 1/4 cup parsley, packed
- 1/4 cup dill, packed
- 1/4 cup chives, packed
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup mayo + 2 Tbsp
- 1/4 cup sour cream + 2 Tbsp
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- Salt and pepper
Store the dressing in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator. Always a time saver to make the dressing ahead of time. It will stay good for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
Make the Caramelized Onions
- Slice the onion
- Sauté: Heat a pan over medium heat and add 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil together. Add the onion and season with salt. Sauté for 5-7 minutes until they start to turn translucent and most of the moisture is gone.
- Broth + Balsamic Vinegar + Brown Sugar + Thyme : Add in 1/4 cup of beef (chicken or vegetable) broth, 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp brown sugar and a couple sprigs of thyme
- Low Simmer for 60 min : Turn the heat to low and cook for about 1 hour stirring occasionally. Add a tbsp more broth as needed until the onions turn a deep brown color and are beautifully caramelized.
Make the Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Chickpeas & Chicken Bites
Preheat the Oven to 425°
For the Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Chickpeas
- Peel & Cut the Sweet Potato into 1/2 inch cubes
- Drain + Rinse + Dry the Chickpeas : Pour the can of chickpeas into a fine mesh sieve and rinse with water. Place them onto a dish towel or paper towel to dry off a little.
- Sheet Pan – Line a sheet pan with tin foil for easy clean up and combine the chickpeas & sweet potatoes
- Oil + BBQ seasoning – Drizzle on a generous amount of olive oil and sprinkle 2 tbsp of BBQ seasoning overtop. Mix until everything is well coated.
- Roast – in the oven for 25-30 min
For the Chicken Bites
- Cut the chicken breast into 1 – 1 1/2 inch pieces
- Flour – toss the chicken in flour
- Eggs – coat in eggs
- Breadcrumbs + BBQ seasoning – coat in the breadcrumbs
- Sheet Pan – Lay the chicken bites on a sheet pan so they aren’t touching and spray with olive or avocado oil
- Bake in the oven for 15 min
- BBQ Sauce + Honey – Mix together 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce with 1/4 cup of honey.
- Add Honey BBQ sauce & Bake for another 5 min
Char the Corn
- Char the corn: Lightly coat the corn with oil and cook in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until lightly charred, about 10–14 minutes. Let cool slightly, then slice the kernels from the cob.
Make the Ultimate BBQ Chicken Salad
- Lettuce – plate a bed of lettuce
- Toppings:
- Roasted sweet potatotes and chickpeas
- Caramelized onions
- Honey BBQ Chicken Bites
- Avocado
- Corn
- Green Goddess Dressing – Drizzle, toss with the dressing or keep it on the side
Servings: 6
Ingredients
Green Goddess Dressing
- 1/2 cup Milk whole or 2%
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp Mayo
- 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp Sour Cream
- 1/4 cup parsley packed
- 1/4 cup dill packed
- 1/3 cup chives packed
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Caramelized Onions
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 large Vidalia Onion sliced
- 1/4 cup Beef Broth + more as needed
- 1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- Fresh Thyme a couple springs (optional)
Ultimate BBQ Salad
- 8-10 cups romaine, spring mix, lettuce of choice chopped
- 1.5 lbs Chicken Breasts Cut into 1 - 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup Flour
- 2 large Eggs beaten
- 3/4 cup Plain Breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp BBQ seasoning
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/4 cup Honey
- 1 medium Sweet Potato peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 can Chickpeas drained, rinsed and patted dry
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp BBQ seasoning
- 1 ear Corn
- 2 Avocados
- Caramelized Onions
Instructions
Green Goddess Dressing
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth
Make the Caramelized Onions
- Heat a pan to medium heat and add 2 tbsp butter + 2 tbsp oil. Sauté the onions until translucent. Add the broth, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and thyme. Simmer low and slow for 60 minutes until brown, gooey and caramelized.
Ultimate BBQ Chicken Salad
- Preheat the oven to 425°
- On a sheet pan toss the chickpeas & sweet potatoes with oil and BBQ seasoning. Roast in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes until the sweet potatoes are cooked through and browning and the chickpeas are starting to get crispy.
- Dredge the pieces of chicken in the flour. Coat in the eggs, then in the breadcrumbs. Toss until fully coated.
- Place the breaded chicken bites on a sheet pan so they're not touching and spray with olive or avocado oil. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- Combine the BBQ sauce and honey and mix to combine. Pour the sauce over the chicken bites, toss to coat and bake for another 5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°.
- While the chicken bites and other veggies are in the oven, char the corn. Coat the corn in oil and char in a cast iron pan over medium-high heat on all sides. It will take about 10-14 minutes. Cut the corn off the cob. See notes for other options.
Serve
- Plate a bed of lettuce. Top with the roasted sweet potatoes and chickpeas, caramelized onions, avocado, corn, honey BBQ chicken bites and the green goddess dressing.
Notes
Other options: Char the corn directly over a gas burner, on an outdoor grill, or under the broiler.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!