The best thing about leftovers is when they’re repurposed into a whole other meal. It’s even better when the resulting finished dish is miles better than the originals. Meet one such happy accident that came from a platter of leftover barbecue grilled chicken.
My youngest, who loves a good Chick-Fil-A salad, challenged me to work this chicken into a recipe for barbecue chicken salad.
Challenge accepted, I called on a few of my favorite back-pocket recipes as the perfect teammates to this meal salad.
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A really special barbecue chicken salad
Just because I started with leftovers doesn’t mean I had to lower my culinary standards even for a salad, To me, a well-composed salad is built around a balance of textures, flavors and colors.
And this bbq chicken salad checks all the boxes with just the right amount of contrast between:
- Bright and fresh. The bright green lettuce brings freshness in flavor and color with the corn adding yellows and the pickled onions a hot pink
- Warm and cool. The charred corn and spicy bbq sauce on the chicken give the warmth and the avocado green goddess dressing lends the cool factor.
- Sweet and acidic. The charred corn has a smoky sweetness that accentuated by the acidity from the pickled onions.
Salad components
Remember…this salad was inspired by leftovers. I share below how you can instead make all the parts at the same time.
Here are the components:
1. Grilled brined chicken
Super juicy grilled chicken topped with a rich tomato barbecue sauce is the foundation for this big meal of a salad. Best of all, the barbecue sauce is made using roasted tomatoes and no ketchup.
2. Roasted tomato barbecue sauce
This tangy thick barbecue sauce is homemade and doesn’t have a drop of ketchup in it. If you’re short on time, use store-bought barbecue sauce. And if you’re meal prepping this recipe, take the extra time to whip up this sauce. You won’t be disappointed!
3. Charred corn
Uses 1/2 a bag of charred or fire-roasted corn. Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn makes it so easy.
4. Pickled red onions
This is a quick pickled onion recipe thanks to the magic of boiling water, vinegar and a little sugar.
5. Green goddess dressing
This green goddess dressing adds a fresh and lime forward flavor. Made in the blender with avocado, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic. lime and lemon juice, olive oil and a little water.
Toppings
Grate some cheddar cheese and pull out some packaged tortilla strips (usually found by the croutons in the grocery store). Of course, you can buy pre-shredded cheese too to save some time (but you probably already thought of that).
Assemble the salad: same day
Below is a plan to help you make the salad and each component all on the same day. If you choose, make the individual recipes on their own (i.e. make the barbecue sauce the day before). I just wanted to show you how you can be successful with doing it all at once.
PREP STEP: preheat the oven and the grill and boil water for the pickled onions.
- Roast the tomatoes, baby carrots and garlic for the barbecue sauce (skip this step if you’re using store bought).
- While the tomatoes roast, brine the chicken for 30 minutes and boil the water for the pickled onions.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, pour some boiling water over the thinly sliced red onions in a small heat-proof bowl. Stir in the vinegar, sugar, and peppercorns. Set the onions aside to pickle for 15 minutes.
- While the onions pickle, saute the corn in butter on the stove and season with salt and pepper.
- After the tomatoes and garlic are done roasting, blend the sauce and finish the barbecue sauce by simmering with seasoning on the stove.
- Preheat the grill for the chicken. Grill the chicken for about 11 minutes and finish by basting and charring with the barbecue sauce.
- While the chicken grills, grate the cheddar cheese.
- Assemble the salad by placing the lettuce in a large bowl. Fan out sliced chicken over the center of the bowl and place the corn, pickled onions and cheese in quadrants on the salad. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with tortilla chips.
Second dinner
Need some meal ideas for repurposing the chicken, corn, and dressing?
Tuck the whole salad into a large tortilla and fold into a wrap.
Roll out some some pizza dough and make a barbecue grilled chicken pizza topped with sharp cheddar, Drizzle over the dressing. (I personally would skip the lettuce but I’ll leave that up to you).
Use the leftover charred corn on a white pizza or and the pickled onions on a Buffalo chicken pizza or on top of fish tacos.
Made this recipe?
I’d love it if you’d share your review and leave a star rating and comment!
Italian Barbecue Chicken Salad with Charred Corn
Ingredients
- 1 cup roasted tomato barbecue sauce , can be made ahead, plus more for serving. You can also use your favorite bbq sauce. Ingredient list below – see recipe link for full details.
- 10 oz. mixed greens
- brined grilled chicken, Ingredient list below – see recipe link for full details.
- charred corn, below
- pickled onions, below
- ½ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- ¼ tortilla strips, or more
- avocado green goddess dressing , Ingredient list below – see recipe link for full details. Or use your favorite bottled creamy dressing.
For the barbecue sauce
- 2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
- 15 baby carrots
- 4 cloves garlic , unpeeled
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup chicken broth , you can also use water or chicken soup base prepared according to package to yield ¼ cup
- 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup molasses
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
For the brined chicken
- 3 chicken breasts
- 3 cups cold water
- 3 Tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 T brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
For the corn
- 8 oz. fire-roasted corn, I use ½ bag of Trader Joe's frozen charred corn
- 1 T unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the pickled onions
- ½ red onion, sliced very thin
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 1 cup boiling water, or amount needed to cover the onions
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon sugar
For the dressing
- 1 avocado ripe
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and halved with stem removed
- 2 tsp garlic, chopped
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 tsp lemon juice, from 1 lemon half
- ½ tsp sugar or honey, to taste
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 Tablespoons water, see note below
Instructions
For the grilled chicken breasts
- Preheat the grill to 450°.
- Brine the chicken breasts for 30 minutes. Pat dry (do not rinse). Place the chicken breasts on the preheated grill and cook for 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and grill for another 5 minutes. Flip again. Brush on generous amounts of roasted tomato barbecue sauce. Grill for 2 minutes before flipping and brushing the other side with more sauce. Cook for another 2 minutes or so until the internal temperature reaches 165° and the outside is slightly charred.Remove to a cutting board and rest for a few minutes before thinly slicing diagonally.3 chicken breasts, 3 cups cold water, 3 Tablespoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 2 T brown sugar, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- While the chicken is brining, make the barbecue sauce, saute the corn and pickle the onions (see below).
Quick pickled red onions
- Thinly slice red onions. Add the red onions to a small heat-proof bowl. Pour over the boiling water to cover. Stir in white vinegar, peppercorns, sugar and a pinch of salt. Let sit for about 15 minutes for as long as you’d like. These can sit in the fridge for up to 4 days.½ red onion, ½ cup white vinegar, 1 cup boiling water, 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon sugar
Charred corn
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the corn, season with salt and pepper and saute for 5 minutes (check this time) until cooked but still crispy. Set aside to cool.8 oz. fire-roasted corn, 1 T unsalted butter, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Make the dressing
- Carefully remove the pit from the avocado using a sharp knife. For more detailed instructions on how to do this, please review a step by step in the dressing recipe.Add the avocado to a blender along with the remaining ingredients except the water. Cover the blender and turn it on to low. Slowly ramp up the speed.If the blender struggles, add water 1 Tablespoon at a time until the dressing gets to creamy texture. Blend until the cilantro can't be seen or just in small tiny specks.1 avocado ripe, 1 jalapeno, 2 tsp garlic, 1 cup cilantro, 3 Tablespoons olive oil, 1 lime, 2 tsp lemon juice, ½ tsp sugar or honey, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, 4 Tablespoons water
Assemble the salad
- Pile the lettuce into a large wide salad bowl. In sections, arrange the sliced grilled chicken, pickled onions, corn, cheddar cheese, tortilla strips. Spoon over cilantro avocado dressing and toss. Serve with more barbecue sauce for dipping the chicken.10 oz. mixed greens, ½ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese, ¼ tortilla strips
Notes
- Store leftovers of each individual component separately in airtight containers for up to 4 days.
- Refer to the blog post for ideas for other recipes that can be made with chicken, corn, and dressing.
Great summer meal. Totally complete and delicious!
Thank you so much and glad you liked it! I totally agree- we have eaten it several times this summer and will barbecue the chicken as long as we can until it snows!