BBQ Chicken Salad

This is one of my favorite dinners for our family, and it’s a salad. Yes, that’s right, salad and family and favorite are all in the same sentence. I’ve found the secrets to serving salads to my family: they love raw vegetables, they love fruit mixed in, they love meats and cheeses mixed in, they like to choose their own dressings, and some like their salads dry. With that, here is the recipe for BBQ Chicken Salad (which is amazingly similar to the chopped barbecue chicken salad at California Pizza Kitchen):

BBQ Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 1/3-1/2 cup BBQ Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper (to taste)
• 1/2 large onion (half diced, half sliced, either red or white)
• 1-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (can use breasts if you’d prefer to save the fat, but thighs work well in this recipe and are less expensive)
• salad greens (about 1/2 bag)
• 2 peppers (your favorite colors, chopped)
• jicama (peeled and chopped)
• 2 celery sticks (chopped)
• 2 carrot sticks (chopped)
• 1 pineapple (peeled and cored, diced into small pieces)

Get Cooking

1. Mix BBQ sauce, 1 tablespoon olive oil, kosher salt, and ground pepper to taste, and the diced onion pieces in a large plastic bag. Add chicken pieces, shake until coated, and place in refrigerator for 1-4 hours to marinate.
2. Preheat oven at 375.
3. Place chicken in a foil-lined baking sheet and pour marinate over the top. Discard remaining to marinate.
4. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Grill chicken pieces to finish cooking (usually about 5-10 minutes over medium-high heat).
6. Brush extra BBQ sauce over onions and grill, turning once.
7. Allow chicken and onions to cool.
8. Meanwhile, cut salad pieces into small pieces and combine them in a salad bowl. Once chicken and onions have cooled, dice and add to a salad bowl.
9. Serve immediately or chill with plastic wrap or bowl lid on top.
10. Serve with BBQ dressing or other favorite dressings. (though I’m partial to the BBQ, I think it makes the salad perfect.)

Find out what we’re eating for dinner this week on the Meal Plan Calendar.