Bring the great flavours of BBQ chicken to this perfect Summer dinner salad! This BBQ chicken dinner salad is chock-full of flavours and textures, with cherry tomatoes, green onion, cilantro, avocado, black beans, charred corn, and lettuce. It’s all tossed in a homemade creamy herb dressing before being topped with quick-cooking, sliced BBQ boneless chicken thighs.
BBQ chicken dinner salad: at a glance
Always moist boneless chicken thighs are quickly cooked with your favourite store-bought BBQ sauce, then sliced to top this salad. You can cook the chicken on the BBQ grill, on a grill pan in the oven, on a baking sheet in the oven or even in a hot skillet, if you like. (Can be cooked ahead!)
The salad itself starts with chopped romaine lettuce, combined with canned black beans, charred corn (char it on the BBQ or in a hot skillet), avocado, green onion, cilantro and cherry tomatoes, tossed with a homemade buttermilk dressing and topped with BBQ chicken.
The homemade creamy herb dressing is what brings it all together! Mix it up early in the day to give the flavours a chance to blend, then use it to toss the salad and drizzle on top to serve. A final drizzle of BBQ sauce finishes it off.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Boneless chicken thighs – Boneless chicken thighs are perfect for this salad, as they are always moist and tender. That said, boneless chicken breasts will also work here. I would butterfly them for quicker cooking.
Your favourite store-bought BBQ sauce – Use whatever BBQ sauce you have on hand and enjoy. I’m a big fan of Sweet Baby Ray’s (Original). Of course, if you’d like, you can certainly make a homemade BBQ sauce to use instead.
Romaine lettuce – I love romaine in this salad, but any lettuce you have on hand or enjoy will work just fine.
Milk or buttermilk – If you happen to have buttermilk on hand, certainly use it here, but 1/4 cup probably isn’t enough to justify buying a quart for it (unless you know you’ll have a good use for the rest of it :). Simply substitute regular milk for the buttermilk. The added lemon juice in the dressing will work to make a DIY buttermilk on its own.
How to make BBQ chicken dinner salad: step-by-step
This is a visual summary of the steps to make this recipe. Scroll down to the Recipe Card below for the complete list of ingredients and instructions.
Step 1: Earlier in the day (if you can), add the creamy herb dressing ingredients to a jar or bowl.
Step 2: Shake or stir up the dressing, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour or several hours before using, to allow the flavours to blend.
Step 3: Closer to dinner time (ideally), cook the BBQ chicken, either on a BBQ grill, on a grill pan in the oven or even in a skillet on the stovetop.
Step 4: Char the corn. You can set a cob of corn on the BBQ grill or a grill pan in the oven, or simply char in a non-stick skillet on the stovetop.
Step 5: Add a generous layer of chopped romaine lettuce to a salad bowl.
Step 6: Top with the charred corn, black beans, cherry tomatoes and green onion.
Step 7: Dollop some of the buttermilk dressing onto the salad.
Step 8: Toss the salad, then top with the sliced BBQ chicken, avocado and cilantro to serve.
Making ahead and storing
While you can cook the chicken ahead if needed, I prefer cooking it fresh, if possible. I find the higher fat content in chicken thighs causes them to stiffen up a bit when refrigerated. If you need to cook ahead, take them out of the fridge a bit early to let them soften before adding them to the salad.
The charred corn can certainly be made ahead.
The creamy herb dressing is ideally made several hours ahead; in fact, you can make it up to 24 hours ahead if you like. Refrigerate until needed. In a pinch, even an hour in the fridge will benefit the flavours.
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Get the Recipe: BBQ Chicken Dinner Salad
Ingredients
Creamy herb dressing:
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup milk, or buttermilk
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed recommended
- 1 Tablespoon dried chives
- 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
- 2 teaspoons white granulated sugar, or honey
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For the salad:
- 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1/2 cup store-bought BBQ sauce, use your favourite
- 1 cup charred corn kernels, *see Note 1 below
- 2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup green onion, chopped
- 1 avocado, pitted and cut into chunks
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- tortilla strips, optional
Instructions
- Make the Creamy Herb Dressing by adding 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup milk (or buttermilk), 1 Tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed recommended), 1 Tablespoon dried chives, 2 teaspoons dried dill weed, 2 teaspoons white granulated sugar (or honey), 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper to a jar or small bowl. Stir or shake together well, then cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, but ideally several hours ahead, to allow the flavours to blend.
- Start by cooking the 6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs either on the BBQ grill for 10-15 minutes or on a baking sheet in a 425F oven for 15-20 minutes, basting generously with 1/2 cup store-bought BBQ sauce (use your favourite) during the last few minutes of cooking. Be sure to cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 175-185F. (If using the oven, you can move the baking sheet to the top rack and broil the chicken briefly to add a bit more colour.) Set the chicken on a cutting board to rest.
- Make the 1 cup charred corn kernels (*see Note 1 below) as detailed in Note 1 below and set aside.
- To assemble the salad, add the 2 heads romaine lettuce (chopped), 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes (halved), 1 cup black beans (drained and rinsed) and 1/2 cup green onion (chopped). Dollop about 1/4-1/3 of the Creamy Herb Dressing onto the salad and toss to coat well.
- Slice the cooked BBQ chicken thighs and place on top of the salad. Garnish with 1 avocado (pitted and cut into chunks) and 1/2 cup fresh cilantro (chopped). Add some tortilla strips, if you have them. Drizzle with some more of the Creamy Herb Dressing and add a drizzle of BBQ sauce. Serve with additional Creamy Herb Dressing on the table.
- Leftover Creamy Herb Dressing will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week. Refrigerate leftover salad for a day or so.
Notes
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress-free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
