BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad With Homemade Avocado Dressing

I don’t know about you, but when the weather starts to get nicer I crave delicious salads with tons of veggies in them. Who feels like turning on the oven when it is finally warming up outside?  This BBQ chicken chopped salad hit the spot and it was a great way to use up the leftover BBQ chicken from dinner the night before.  I’m all about leftovers aka saving time in the kitchen. You too?  Smart thinking!    icon-thumbs-up

BBQ Chicken Salad w/ Avocado Dressing

I’ve adapted the recipe for the salad from Iowa Girl Eats and it’s great because you can really change it up depending on what you have in your pantry.  I am also a big fan of homemade salad dressings.  And avocados.  Actually, I’m pretty obsessed with avocados.  More about that another time, you want to know how I made this dressing right?  Simply Scratch has a great Creamy Avocado Salad Dressing that I know will be in my rotation for a long time.  Hungry yet? Let’s get on to the good stuff.

Ingredients For Salad:

• 2 chicken breasts, pounded thin
• extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper
• 1/3 cup BBQ sauce
• 2 ears sweet corn
• 2-10 oz bags chopped romaine lettuce
• 2 vine ripened tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup black beans
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• crushed tortilla chips
• Light ranch dressing
• BBQ sauce

My Changes:

• I used frozen corn instead of fresh.
• Instead of Ranch dressing I used the avocado dressing, recipe linked below.
• I didn’t have any tortilla chips so I just cut up some strips of tortillas.

Instructions For Salad:

• I used leftover BBQ chicken that I had made in the crockpot for dinner the night before, so I didn’t need to worry about cooking the chicken for this meal. In the original recipe the chicken is grilled and then basted with BBQ sauce.  Check out this link for some different ideas on how to make the BBQ chicken. Or just grab a rotisserie chicken from the store, shred it, mix it up with some BBQ sauce and call it a day.
• Steam the corn according to the package directions.
• Chop up the lettuce, red onion, and tomatoes and add to a big bowl.
• Add in the corn, chicken, tortilla strips, and black beans.
• Add in the dressing and serve.  (See instructions for Creamy Avocado Salad Dressing here). 

Hope you enjoy it!  I am looking forward to mixing up all types of different salads this spring and summer with the help of fresh fruits and veggies from my local farmers market.  Can’t wait to share them with you!

 icon-thumb-tack Quick tip: I like to save glass jars when they are empty and use them to store salad dressing or whatever kind of crazy concoction sparks my interest.  So don’t toss those old jam and salsa jars next time they are empty!

What are your favorite warm weather salads to make?

• ← Using Apple Cider Vinegar To Rid Hair Of Product Buildup
• Quick And Easy Greek Style Quesadillas →