The best Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Salad made with tender chicken, black beans, fresh veggies and the perfect creamy cilantro ranch.
The Best Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Salad
This easy Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Salad with Cilantro Ranch Dressing is the perfect summer salad.
Tender barbecued chicken is cooked in the slow cooker for a few hours and then paired with plenty of black beans and fresh veggies.
Watch How to Make This Recipe
Last, but not least, there’s a creamy drizzle of cilantro ranch over everything for the perfect bite. I know you’ll love this recipe!
Salad Ingredients
Chicken Breast: we’re using boneless skinless chicken breast for this recipe which cooks relatively quickly in the slow cooker.
Bbq Sauce: just grab your favorite barbecue sauce for this recipe. Whatever sauce you like to eat will work well here!
Greek Yogurt: the base of the creamy cilantro ranch dressing is whole milk Greek yogurt.
Fresh Herbs: the dressing uses a combination of fresh cilantro, dill, and chives.
Toppings: the base of this delicious salad is chopped romaine and then we’re topping it with black beans, corn, diced red onion, tomato, and avocado.
Ingredient Swaps and Frequently Asked Questions
- bbq sauce – want to make the chicken sugar free? grab a sugar free bbq sauce that you love.
- Greek yogurt – need to keep this recipe dairy free? you can swap the Greek yogurt for mayo instead.
- fresh herbs – don’t have fresh herbs? you can use dried if that’s all you have. The general rule of thumb is one teaspoon of dried herbs for every one tablespoon of fresh.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make a BBQ Chicken Salad
Make the BBQ Chicken: Add the chicken breast, barbecue sauce, water, apple cider vinegar, and salt to your crockpot. Stir to combine. Cook on high for 2-3 hours until the chicken breast is cooked through and shreddable. Use two forks to shred the chicken breast in the barbecue sauce.
Make the Cilantro Ranch: Add the ranch dressing ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
Assemble your salad: Start with romaine lettuce and top with the barbecue chicken, corn, black beans, tomatoes, avocado, and red onion. Drizzle the cilantro ranch dressing and extra drizzle of bbq sauce over everything and serve. Enjoy!
Salad Shortcut Ideas
- Use rotisserie chicken – if you’re extra short on time, feel free to grab a rotisserie chicken, shred the breast meat, and then toss with barbecue sauce!
- Buy pre-chopped veggies – one of my favorite ways to save time with this recipe is to buy pre-chopped veggies like lettuce, tomatoes, and onion.
- Grab a store-bought dressing – don’t have time to make the dressing? grab your favorite ranch or avocado ranch and use it instead!
Meal Prep & Storage Tips
Want to make this recipe for your weekly meal prep? Here are my favorite tips:
- Prep the chicken in advance: the cooked chicken will last 3-4 days when stored in an air-tight container in the fridge. Feel free to make in advance and then reheat in the microwave before adding to your salad for a quick lunch.
- Make the dressing: make the dressing in advance and then store in an air-tight container like a mason jar.
- Chop and store your veggies: make throwing your salad together extra easy by chopping your veggies in advance and then storing in air-tight containers in the fridge.
More Delicious Recipes
- Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs
- Healthy Southwest Chicken Taco Salad
- The Best Greek Salad
- Thai Crunch Salad with Creamy Peanut Dressing
- Healthy Broccoli Salad
- Greek Salmon Salad
I hope you give this Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Salad a try! It’s a delicious and hearty salad that you’ll love!
If you do give this recipe a try, I want to know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @allthehealthythings on INSTAGRAM. Your reviews help support All the Healthy Things and make it possible for me to continue to create the recipes you know and love.
Print
Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Salad with Cilantro Ranch Dressing
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
The best Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Salad made with tender chicken, black beans, fresh veggies and the perfect creamy cilantro ranch.
Ingredients
BBQ Chicken
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Cilantro Ranch
- 1/2 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For Serving
- 4–6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 cup corn
- 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup grape/cherry tomatoes
- 1 large ripe avocado, sliced
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion
- bbq sauce
- cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Make the BBQ Chicken: Add the chicken breast, barbecue sauce, water, apple cider vinegar, and salt to your crockpot. Stir to combine. Cook on high for 2-3 hours until the chicken breast is cooked through and shreddable. Use two forks to shred the chicken breast in the barbecue sauce.
- Make the Cilantro Ranch: Add the ranch dressing ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Assemble your salad: Start with romaine lettuce and top with the barbecue chicken, corn, black beans, tomatoes, avocado, and red onion. Drizzle the cilantro ranch dressing and extra drizzle of bbq sauce over everything and serve. Enjoy!
Recipe by: Ashlea Carver / All the Healthy Things | Photography by: Eat Love Eat
