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Southwest bbq chicken salad

Southwest BBQ Chicken Salad with Avocado Lime Ranch

A hearty southwest bbq chicken salad loaded with smoky chicken, corn, tomatoes, avocado, and topped with a creamy avocado lime ranch made mostly with greek yogurt for added protein. Easy to make in 30 minutes and perfect for meal prep all week long.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

For the Chicken

  • 1 lb chicken tenders
  • salt
  • ground black pepper
  • garlic powder
  • onion powder
  • paprika
  • ⅓ cup BBQ sauce

For the Avocado Lime Ranch

  • ¼ cup mayonaise
  • ½ cup plain greek yogurt
  • ½ avocado
  • 3 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • juice of ½ lime
  • ¼ tsp onion powder
  • 2 Tbs cilantro, chopped

For the Salad

  • 3 cups shredded romaine lettuce
  • corn on the cob (I cooked 2)
  • 1 plum tomato, diced
  • ½ avocado (the other half that you didn't use for the dressing)

Instructions
 

Grill Corn

  • Drizzle a cast iron grill plate with a little oil and grill corn on the cob over medium heat until tender, rotating every few minutes. (should take about 10-15 total minutes) You can also do this directly on your cooktop fire or on a grill.
  • Brush or rub each cob with butter and season with salt.
  • Cut corn off the cob and set aside in a bowl. Meanwhile, prep the chicken.

Prep Chicken

  • Pat chicken tenders dry and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika. Set aside.

Prepare Dressing

  • In a jar, combine all ingredients for the dressing and blend using a hand or immersion blender or a regular blender. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Grill Chicken

  • On a cast iron grill plate over medium heat or a grill, grill your chicken tenders about 4-5 minutes on each side.
  • After about 3 minutes after you flip the first time, brush each tender with bbq sauce and flip and repeat. Flip the chicken a few more times to help the bbq sauce caramelize. Remove from heat.

Assemble the Salad

  • Place lettuce in the bottom of a large bowl. Top with tomatoes, corn, avocado chunks and chicken.
  • Drizzle on a generous serving of avocado lime ranch and sprinkle with more chopped cilantro if desired.
  • ENJOY!