Valentina Ablaev
This Copycat recipe for Cheesecake Factory’s Ranch BBQ Chicken Salad is going to become your new favorite salad. Tender chicken breast smothered in bbq sauce on a bed of romaine with avocado, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, corn, and homemade onion strings.
The homemade BBQ Ranch dressing is the perfect finish to this amazing salad recipe!
This hearty chicken salad recipe is the perfect side that is so good that it could be a main entree. The salad is loaded with tender chicken, fresh vegetables, creamy avocado, and the best, ranch bbq salad dressing. This is a salad you won’t be able to get enough of.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Easy meal prep. Salads like these, that are loaded with protein, make the perfect, easy meal prep.
- Restaurant classic. There’s nothing like recreating restaurant favorites for a fraction of the cost.
- Perfect for a party. This salad is great to make for potlucks!
Ingredients for Ranch BBQ Salad:
- Chicken – our pan-seared chicken recipe makes the perfect addition to this salad.
- Corn – canned corn sauteed with butter for the best flavor.
- Lettuce – romaine lettuce makes the perfect base for this salad.
- Tomatoes – cherry tomatoes add the perfect juiciness to this recipe.
- Avocado – adds so much flavor and creaminess.
- Beans – canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed.
- Fried onion – adds the perfect crunch to this salad.
- Dressing – a combination of mayo, sour cream, bbq sauce, lemon juice, and ranch seasoning.
How to Make Ranch BBQ Chicken Salad:
Making the Cheesecake Factory’s copycat salad is so easy! You will be so surprised how quickly this salad comes together.
- Prepare the pan-seared chicken and set aside.
- Sautee the corn in butter until the corn is lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
- To a large salad bowl, add chopped romaine lettuce, halved tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, slices of avocado, and onions.
- Cut the pan-seared chicken into slices and coat in bbq sauce.
- Add the chicken to the salad and drizzle with the homemade bbq ranch.
Storing this Salad
Refrigerate: If you plan to have leftovers, it’s better to store a portion of the salad undressed. This prevents the salad from getting soggy. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freeze: We don’t recommend freezing this salad.
More Recipes:
If you enjoyed this chicken salad recipe, be sure to try our other popular recipes; here are some of our favorites:
If you tried this ranch bbq chicken salad recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below – we appreciate it!
Ranch BBQ Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 recipe of pan seared chicken
- 1/3 cup sweet baby ray's barbecue sauce
salad –
- 1/2 cup canned corn, sautéed
- 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 romaine lettuce hearts, chopped
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 mini cucumber, sliced
- 1/2 large avocado, sliced
- 1/3 cup canned kidney beans, drained
- 1/4 red onion, sliced
- onion strings, optional
bbq dressing –
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 1 ½ tsp barbecue sauce
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 ½ tsp dry ranch dressing mix
- ¼ tsp ground paprika
- ⅛ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp oil
Instructions
- On high heat, heat 1 Tbsp oil in a skillet. Sear chicken 2 minutes on both sides. Turn heat down to low, close lid of the skillet and cook another 5-6 minutes, until chicken is tender. Remove the cooked chicken from the heat and cut into slices. Coat the chicken in bbq sauce.
- In a different skillet, add ½ Tbsp butter and corn. Sauté for a minute on medium/high heat.
- Fry onions if you will be adding onion strings.
- In a large serving bowl, add all of the ingredients for the salad (minus the dressing).
- In a small bowl, add all the ingredients for the dressing and mix until creamy.
- Drizzle salad dressing over salad. Toss gently. Enjoy!
