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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.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: Dinner, lunch, Salad
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

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

Method
 

Green Goddess Dressing
  1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth
Make the Caramelized Onions
  1. 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
  1. Preheat the oven to 425°
  2. 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.
  3. Dredge the pieces of chicken in the flour. Coat in the eggs, then in the breadcrumbs. Toss until fully coated.
  4. 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.
  5. 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°.
  6. 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
  1. 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.