• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

What Molly Made

Eat to Feel Good

  • About
    • FAQ
    • Contact
  • Recipes
    • Christmas
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Dessert
    • Snacks
    • Side Dishes
    • Drinks
    • Special Diet
    • Holiday
    • Cooking Method
  • Dinner
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • PCOS
      • PCOS Recipes
      • PCOS Tips + Resources
      • Clean Living
      • FREE PCOS Email Course
    • Home and Decor
    • Mom Life
  • Cookbook
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Christmas
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Dessert
  • Special Diet
  • PCOS
  • Appetizers
  • Snacks
  • Holiday
  • Cookbook
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes

    BBQ Chicken Salad with Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing

    Updated: August 28, 2020 | Published on: April 28, 2020 - Molly4 Comments

    Dairy Free RecipesDF
    Gluten Free RecipesGF
    Paleo RecipesP
    Jump to Recipe

    This healthy BBQ chicken salad is better than the restaurant! It includes classic southwest toppings and a creamy (dairy free) cilantro lime ranch that takes 5 minutes to make.

    bbq chicken on a big platter with cilantro lime ranch dressing and a spoon and fork

    If you're familiar with Panera's BBQ chicken salad, then you probably love it as much as me! Same with California Pizza Kitchen. Both of those restaraunts make a KILLER BBQ chicken salad.

    But I'm here to share with you a salad that rivals both of them!

    Why is this BBQ chicken salad better than the restaraunt?

    1. This salad includes all of the toppings, but a bit healthier. The BBQ sauce is paleo-approved and the dressing is dairy free. You know exactly what's going into your salad when you eat it!
    2. It's more affordable! You can make a huge salad for a lot cheaper than spending money one one. You'll make a batch and have salads for the rest of the week.
    • shredded bbq chicken with two forks
    • cilantro lime ranch dressing in a glass jar on a wood cutting board

    How to make a BBQ chicken salad:

    Start by making the shredded BBQ chicken. Rub the chicken with the spice blend and add it to the slow cooker with the BBQ sauce ingredients (or pre-made BBQ sauce). Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3 hours.

    When it's done, shred with two forks and add it to a bed of romaine lettuce. Top with the rest of the salad ingredients and drizzle with homemade cilantro lime ranch dressing.

    cilantro lime ranch being poured onto bbq chicken salad

    If you love this recipe as much as I do, don't forget to follow me on Instagram and tag me with @what_mollymade so I can see it and feature you!

    More healthy salads:

    • Crispy chicken salad with honey mustard [paleo]
    • Strawberry spinach salad
    • The best shaved brussels sprout salad
    • Autumn pear salad with candied pecans
    bbq chicken salad on a white platter with cilantro lime ranch

    BBQ Chicken Salad

    This healthy BBQ chicken salad is better than the restaurant! It includes classic southwest toppings and a creamy (dairy free) cilantro lime ranch that takes 5 minutes to make.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dinner
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 0 minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 388kcal
    Author: Molly
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    For the salad:

    • 1 2 and 1/2 cups rotisserie chicken shredded with 1/2 cup sugar free BBQ sauce(I like primal kitchen) OR 1 serving bbq chicken in the slower cooker
    • 8 cups romaine lettuce (could also use spinach)
    • 1 cup black beans drained & rinsed
    • 1 cup canned corn (fire roasted if you can find it)
    • 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
    • 1-2 avocados chopped
    • 1/2 cup red onion thinly sliced
    • 1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
    • Additional optional toppings: shredded mexican cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips

    Creamy Cilantro Jalapeno Dressing

    • 3/4 cup paleo mayo (I like primal kitchen)
    • 1/2 cup full fat canned coconut milk shaken first to combine cream and liquid
    • 1/2 cup cilantro tightly packed about 1/2 bunch
    • 1 tablespoon honey omit for whole30 option
    • Juice from 1/2 a lime
    • 2 teaspoons dried chives
    • 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
    • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
    • 1 clove of garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1 jalapeno roughly chopped with or without seeds for more spice *see notes
    • 1/4 cup mild salsa verde * see notes
    • 3 tablespoon almond milk more or less depending on your consistency preference

    Instructions

    • Add all of the ingredients, except for the almond milk, to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth, scraping sides down as needed. Add the almond milk a few tablespoons at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Place in the refrigerator to chill before using.
    • If you are using rotisserie chicken, add it to a medium bowl and toss with BBQ sauce. Set aside.
    • Prep all of your ingredients including draining the beans and corn and chopping the onion, avocado and tomato. Add the lettuce to a large bowl and top with BBQ chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, avocado, onion and cilantro. Top with any additional ingredients and serve with cilantro lime ranch dressing.

    Notes

    For the dressing:
    You can swap a fresh jalapeno for 3/4 cup pickled jalapeno.
    You can swap the salsa verde for 1 can of diced green chilis.
    Add more almond milk if you want the dressing thinner.
    *Nutrition information does not include dressing

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1g | Calories: 388kcal | Carbohydrates: 33.2g | Protein: 40.9g | Fat: 11.3g | Fiber: 9.2g | Sugar: 11.9g
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @What_MollyMade or tag #whatmollymade!
    collage of two pictures of bbq chicken salad with cilantro lime ranch dressing

    More Recipes

    • Crispy Chicken Salad [Gluten Free | Paleo]
    • Best Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Chicken [Paleo]
    • Gluten Free Fried Chicken
    • Creamy Jalapeno Ranch Dressing [Dairy Free]

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Alicia says

      September 24, 2020 at 2:30 pm

      5 stars
      Needed to try another one of your recipes since the first one I made was delicious! This one is another winner! I’m so happy I came across your sight while researching PCOS stuff. Your meals are so tasty and easy to make. I can’t thank you enough for making cooking and eating enjoyable again. Having to follow a PCOS friendly diet is not the easiest task and you are restoring my hope that enjoying meals can be done while watching the ingredients in it. Thanks again for another fabulous meal to add to my list.

      Reply
      • Molly Thompson says

        September 27, 2020 at 11:44 am

        Thank you so much for taking the time to share this, Alicia! This just made my day!!! This really is my purpose for sharing my story and recipes and I'm so glad you're feeling hopeful.

        Reply
    2. Kayla Thielen says

      April 17, 2022 at 11:45 am

      5 stars
      One of the BEST salads I have ever tasted in my life! So simple, so easy to make, but also SO delicious! It's a new staple in my meal prep rotation. The dressing is to die for! So yummy!

      Reply
      • Molly Thompson says

        April 25, 2022 at 12:31 pm

        Best comment! So glad you think so!! We love this one for meal prep too!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    molly thompson from what molly made

    I'm Molly! I'm so grateful you're here. My hope is that my recipes bless your home and your bodies. I want my website to be a tool to help you feel your best and nourish you with recipes you (and your family) look forward to making!

    More about me →

    Recipe Key:

    Dairy FreeDF
    Gluten-FreeGF
    Low CarbLC
    PaleoP
    Refined Sugar FreeSF
    VeganVg
    VegetarianV
    Whole30W

    One Pan Meals

    • One Pot Hawaiian Chicken with Coconut Rice
    • Creamy One Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta [Dairy Free]
    • One Pot Taco Pasta
    • Sweet and Spicy Pork Lettuce Wraps

    Order My Cookbook!

    the cover of the anti inflammatory diet made simple cookbook

    Amazon | Barnes&Noble

    Learn more about the book here →

    Footer

    Stay Connected

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

    Copyright © 2023 · Privacy Policy