BBQ Chicken Salad | Easy Meal Prep Lunch | Gluten Free

BBQ Chicken Salad is the perfect summer lunch.

Shredded BBQ chicken is made in the slow cooker, saving you a ton of time and your oven a whole lot of work. The slow cooker also makes the chicken super tender and effortless to shred.

The shredded BBQ chicken is accompanied by chopped romaine lettuce, black beans, corn kernels, chopped cilantro, shredded Mexican blend cheese, crushed corn tortilla chips, cherry tomatoes, fresh-squeezed lime juice, and Ranch dressing (or dressing of choice, such as creamy avocado, cilantro lime, etc.)

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What makes BBQ Chicken Salad so good?

The chicken is made in the slow cooker, which saves a ton of steps and time. Plus, it makes the chicken impossibly tender - something that would take a lot longer to achieve in the oven. Tip: You can also grill the chicken and baste with BBQ Sauce. This gives it a huge summery kick.

All of the ingredients go incredibly well together. I love salads because you can throw in whatever you have on hand or personalize it to your tastes and they tend to just get even better. You can also use your favorite BBQ sauce in this recipe, or use a homemade recipe!

Is there anything that's more the taste of summer than BBQ chicken?

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat
• Your favorite BBQ sauce, or homemade recipe. I used Heinz Original BBQ Sauce - it's gluten free and doesn't have high-fructose corn syrup like a lot of store-bought sauces do.
• Romaine lettuce
• Black beans
• Corn kernels
• Cherry tomatoes
• Cilantro
• Lime
• Shredded Mexican-blend cheese
• Corn tortilla chips
• Ranch, or salad dressing of choice. I love to use the ranch dressings you can find in the refrigerated section next to the produce aisle because they don't contain any additives and taste more refined, such as Marzetti Classic Ranch.
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to make BBQ Chicken Salad:

For the Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Chicken:

• Trim chicken breasts of excess fat. Place in a slow cooker with a touch of water on the bottom. Salt and pepper to taste. Tip: If using homemade BBQ sauce, you can add your sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker instead of the water. If using store-bought BBQ sauce, you can add in about ½ cup BBQ sauce instead of the water. Just note that as the chicken cooks and releases juices, it will water down the sauce some. That's why I recommend adding more BBQ sauce at the shredding stage.
• Cook on High for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low for 6-7 hours.

• Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and place into a large bowl or plate. Shred the chicken using two forks.

• Add in 1-2 cups of BBQ sauce, and stir to combine. You can add it back to the slow cooker if you want to incorporate some of the juices from there, and keep it on Warm until ready to use.

For the Salad:

• Prep: Rinse and dry off fresh produce. Chop romaine lettuce and cilantro. Slice lime into quarters.
• To assemble: Lay a bed of romaine lettuce on a large dinner plate or salad bowl. Add the following ingredients in piles on the top: BBQ shredded chicken, black beans, corn kernels, cherry tomatoes, shredded cheese, and crushed tortilla chips. Sprinkle over chopped cilantro. Drizzle salad dressing over top, or serve on the side. Place a fresh lime wedge off to the side of each plate (for squeezing over top).
• Enjoy!

Equipment

Slow cooker or grill, for cooking the chicken.

Storage

Store the shredded chicken separately from the rest of the salad ingredients.

For meal prep: You will need three containers and one ziploc bag for each serving. (1) A large rectangular container that has the cold salad ingredients (romaine, black beans, corn kernels, cherry tomatoes, shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, and lime slice. (2) A medium-sized microwave-safe container that contains the BBQ shredded chicken. (3) A small sauce container that contains the dressing. Then, in the plastic baggie, the crushed tortilla chips.

Eat within 3-4 days.

Notes for BBQ Grilled Chicken:

• Grill the chicken and baste with BBQ sauce to make it taste even more like summer. You can prep the chicken the weekend before for week-long lunches.

Any substitutes?

• Swap the ranch dressing for your favorite dressing that goes with BBQ chicken. Try something like a creamy avocado, cilantro lime, or maybe even an aioli or sour cream based sauce.
• You can add other ingredients to this salad such as avocado, coleslaw or cabbage mix instead of romaine, red onion, etc.

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