Southwest BBQ Chicken Ranch Salad

If you’ve ever made a salad and thought, “this needs something,” this Southwest BBQ Ranch Salad with Chicken is exactly that something. With smoky BBQ flavor, creamy ranch, fresh vegetables, and plenty of texture, it comes together easily but tastes like something you’d order at your favorite salad spot (kind of like our California Cobb Salad recipe). It’s fresh but still a little indulgent, hearty enough for dinner, and one of those recipes we keep coming back to when we want something easy that still delivers big flavor.

Pull Up A Chair

Rachel: I love a big salad. This one reminds me of loaded Southwest salads I’ve eaten at restaurants, only better because it’s homemade made the way I like it!

Emily: This is one of those meals I make when I want something fresh but still filling. It may be a salad, but it’s actually super filling and so good!

Why You’ll Love This Big Salad

• Main dish salad. It’s big and hearty and filling enough for the main meal, not just as a side dish. 
• Blend of from-scratch cooking and shortcuts. Optimize flavor and ease by whipping up the homemade buttermilk ranch dressing (store ranch is never as good) and cooking the chicken in store-bought BBQ sauce. 
• Big, bold flavors without complicated steps. The most involved things you’ll need to do is mix up the dressing (easy), and coat the chicken with pre-made barbecue sauce and bake it (also easy). The rest is just mixing everything together in a big bowl!
• Great for meal prep. Make the chicken and ranch ahead of time and assemble when ready to eat.

Ingredients in This Southwest BBQ Ranch Salad

• Boneless skinless chicken thighs – these are juicier and more tender than chicken breasts. If you only eat chicken breasts, they’ll still work, but you may need to adjust the bake time.
• Barbecue sauce – use your fave BBQ sauce to coat the chicken thighs before baking them, and drizzle a little extra sauce on the salad at the end for flavor.
• Lettuce – we like the crunchiness of romaine.
• Other fresh salad ingredients – fire roasted corn (we use frozen and thaw it), tomatoes, black beans, and green onions.
• Shredded cheese – we recommend using cheddar or jack cheese.
• Crispy fried shallots or onions – you can buy fried shallots or onions at the store; no need to make your own.
• Homemade ranch dressing – made with buttermilk, sour cream, mayonnaise, dried herbs (chives, dill), lemon juice, a touch of sugar, and salt and pepper.

How to Make This Salad

Prep and bake the chicken. Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easier cleanup. Place ½ cup barbecue sauce in a bowl (reserve the rest for later), and brush it onto the chicken. Bake the chicken for about 20 minutes and then broil for 2 to 3 minutes to caramelize the sauce, until the internal temperature is 165°F. If you don’t have a broiler, bake the chicken for 20 to 25 minutes total. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest, chop it into bite-sized pieces.

Make the dressing. Add the ranch dressing ingredients to a bowl or high sided container and whisk together until fully combined. 

Assemble the salad. Place the lettuce, veggies, beans, cheese, and chicken into a large salad bowl. Toss the salad with the rest of the barbecue sauce and your desired amount of ranch dressing. Top the salad with the crispy shallots.

Our Tips for Southwest BBQ Ranch Salad with Chicken

• Super short on time or energy? Use rotisserie chicken. While baking the chicken thighs with BBQ sauce gives the best results, in our opinions, rotisserie chicken is a close second. Just shred some up and toss it with your favorite BBQ sauce and warm it up slightly in a pan or in the microwave.

• Use a BBQ sauce you actually like. There’s a lot of BBQ flavor in this salad, so don’t use something you don’t enjoy. Not sure what to pick? Here’s a ranked list of some of the BBQ options out there. We find that smoky-sweet sauces work best here because they are balanced nicely by the creamy ranch.
• Use a salad spinner to keep the lettuce crisp and dry. Make sure your lettuce is fully dry before assembling. Dressing and sauce stick to dry lettuce better than wet, and wet lettuce will also dilute the sauces.
• Add the crispy onions/shallots right before serving. Otherwise, they’ll get soggy. 
  

How to Serve This Southwest BBQ Ranch Salad

There are a few different ways to enjoy this hearty salad, depending on your preferences and needs. Here are some ideas:

• As a full meal on its own
• Deconstructed for picky eaters
• Wrapped in a tortilla for a quick lunch
• With Parmesan Cheese Bread or Fresh Papaya with Lime on the side

Storage & Meal Prep Tips

This Southwest BBQ Ranch Salad with Chicken keeps well in the fridge for a couple of days as long as it’s not dressed. Store the dressing and crispy onions separately to keep everything fresh. This salad is great for meal prep too. Prep the cooked barbecue chicken and the dressing ahead of time, and keep them and the crispy onions separate from the lettuce and other ingredients until ready to assemble.

Southwest BBQ Chicken Ranch Salad

This Southwest BBQ Ranch Salad with Chicken is a bold, flavor-packed salad that’s perfect for an easy weeknight dinner. Made with juicy chicken cooked in barbecue sauce, crisp lettuce, fresh vegetables, and crispy shallots, then tossed in a creamy buttermilk ranch dressing, it’s a satisfying, restaurant-style salad you can make at home.

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Prep Time:15 minutes mins

Cook Time:25 minutes mins

Total Time:40 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6

Ingredients

Salad

• 2 romaine lettuce heads chopped
• 1 pound chicken thighs boneless and skinless
• ¾ cup barbecue sauce divided
• 1 cup frozen fire roasted corn thawed
• 1 cup diced Roma tomatoes
• 1 cup black beans drained
• ½ cup diced green onions
• ½ cup shredded cheese like cheddar or jack
• ¼ cup crispy onions or shallots like French's fried onions

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp dried chives
• 1 tsp dried dill
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¾ tsp sugar
• ½ tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400F. For easier cleanup, line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Place ½ cup barbecue sauce in a bowl (reserve the rest for later), and brush it onto both sides of the chicken thighs.
  0.5 cup barbecue sauce, 1 pound chicken thighs
• Bake the chicken for 20 minutes, then broil for 2-3 to caramelize the sauce, until the the internal temp is 165°F. If you don't have a broiler, just bake the chicken for 20 to 25 minutes total. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest before cutting it into bite sized pieces.
• Add the ranch ingredients to a bowl and whisk together until fully combined.
  ½ cup sour cream, ½ cup mayonnaise, ½ cup buttermilk, 1 tsp dried chives, 1 tsp dried dill, ½ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¾ tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, ½ tbsp lemon juice
• Place the lettuce, cooked chicken, corn, tomatoes, black beans, cheese, and green onions in a large salad bowl.
  2 romaine lettuce heads, 1 cup frozen fire roasted corn, 1 cup diced Roma tomatoes, 1 cup black beans, ½ cup diced green onions, ½ cup shredded cheese
• Toss the salad with your desired amount of ranch dressing and the reserved barbecue sauce.
  0.25 cup barbecue sauce
• Top the salad with the crispy onions or shallots and enjoy!
  ¼ cup crispy onions or shallots

Notes

Tips:

• Super short on time or energy? Use rotisserie chicken. Toss it with BBQ sauce, then heat in a pan or microwave. 
• Use a BBQ sauce you actually like. We think smoky-sweet sauces work best here.
• Dry off washed lettuce in a salad spinner before using. Dressing and sauces stick to dry lettuce better than wet, and wet lettuce will also dilute the sauces.
• Add the crispy onions/shallots right before serving. Otherwise, they’ll get soggy.

Final Thoughts

This is one of those recipes that’s hard to mess up and easy to make your own. If you’re someone who tends to get overwhelmed by cooking, this is a good recipe to ease into. There’s minimal prep, mostly inactive cooking (chicken baking in the oven), and room to customize it to your liking. Just start with the chicken, mix up the dressing, and bring it all together. You’ll end up with a main dish salad that’s fresh, flavorful, and totally satisfying.