One of my students once asked me why all teachers eat salad and drink Diet Coke for lunch. Instead of taking advantage of a “teachable moment” and explaining the dangers of making assumptions and stereotyping whole groups of people, I honestly couldn’t answer that question with anything but the truth: because salads and Diet Coke are delicious.
But this isn’t a blog post about Diet Coke. It’s a post about a delicious salad that makes an appearance on my weekly dinner menu at least once a week. The Southwest BBQ Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing is a salad with all of the good stuff. It’s packed with veggies, topped with Carolina BBQ Chicken (always grilled, no matter how cold it may be outside), and drizzled with a delicious and easy buttermilk ranch dressing. Inspired by the BBQ Chicken Salad from California Pizza Kitchen, this salad has been customized to my liking. Of course, you could do the same and interchange the ingredients, but hopefully you’ll trust me and give this recipe a try before you go about doing something crazy like leaving out the jalapeños.
Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 large chicken breasts, seasoned with salt & pepper
- 1 cup of Carolina BBQ sauce
- 1 tsp Worstechire sauce
- 1/4 cup Italian Dressing
- salt and pepper, to taste
Salad
- 2 heads of Romaine lettuce
- 1 Campari tomato
- 1 ripened avocado
- 1 8oz can of corn
- 1/2 red onion
- 1/4 cup of sliced jalapeños
- Tortilla strips *optional
Dressing
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dill
Directions
Whisk together the BBQ sauce, Worstechire sauce, Italian dressing and salt and pepper. Place your seasoned chicken in a ziplock bag, and pour the marinade over the chicken, massaging well to coat. Place in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Grill the chicken on medium-high heat for 4-6 minutes on each side. Slice the chicken into strips and set aside.
Chop up the Romaine lettuce and place in a large salad bowl. Dice the tomato, red onion, and avocado and place on the Romaine. Top with the canned corn, jalapeños, and the grilled BBQ chicken.
For the dressing, whisk together the buttermilk, yogurt, garlic powder, onion powder, and dill for 1-2 minutes. For a thinner dressing, add in buttermilk until you reach your desired consistency. Drizzle on top of the salad, tossing well until coated. For an added flavor boost, drizzle an extra tablespoon of BBQ sauce on top. Top with tortilla strips, if you like an extra crunch!