BBQ Chicken Salad

There’s a great TikTok account that I follow called “Salad Lab”. The woman makes famous salads everyday.

The Kardashians favorite salads, the original Waldorf salad, Panera salads, etc. She’ll include celebrity favorite salads–I think a few days ago it was Jennifer Lopez’s favorite kale and queso salad.

I get tons of inspiration from her account. I love salads, especially during these dog days of summer, but there’s only so many salads my brain can dream up.

I got the idea of this salad from her—sort of. After seeing a Panera salad on her feed, it made me think of my favorite Panera salads (I have three, for what it’s worth). Their barbecue chicken salad is an absolute MUST during summer.

I changed up some things to my liking, but I think you’ll get the Panera-vibe when you eat this. I left out the beans, made the crema more low fat (Greek yogurt instead of ranch) and used my own tortilla strips (you can easily buy your own).

Overall, I got exactly what I was looking for: a healthy, hearty salad to eat for lunch when the temperatures reach 100 degrees.

Enjoy!

BBQ Chicken Salad

Servings: 4-6
Time: 15 mins
Difficulty: Easy
Print

A refreshing salad with chicken, corn and tomatoes with BBQ sauce and a low-fat lime crema.

Ingredients

1 cup chopped cooked chicken

4 cups chopped romaine lettuce

1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half

2 ears of corn, shucked and cut off cob

1/2 a red onion, diced

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

Juice of 1 lime

1 tsp. lime zest

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. cumin

salt

Tortilla strips, for serving

Your favorite BBQ sauce, for serving

Directions

Make the lime crema: in a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, lime juice & zest, garlic powder, cumin and salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Make the salad: start with a bed of romaine. Top with chicken, cheese, tomatoes, corn, and onion. Drizzle crema and barbecue sauce on top. Top with tortilla strips and serve.