Wendy’s BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad

Sometimes when dining out, I like ordering a nice salad like Wendy’s BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad. I love the different flavor combinations that get my creative juices flowing- I enjoy recreating the salads at home for a quick weeknight dinner.

How to Make a Wendy’s Salad at Home

My favorite Wendy’s salad is the BBQ ranch chicken salad. Sometimes they discontinue it, and sometimes they bring it back. No matter what they decide, I can eat it all the time when I make it at home.

While this salad requires a bit of extra preparation, it’s delicious and will make a great addition to your meal plan! It’s also an excellent way to use up leftover grilled chicken. You may like it so much that you plan on grilling extra to ensure leftovers for this salad!

BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad Ingredients

Here’s what I used to make my salad. It tastes just like Wendy’s salad.

• Grilled chicken
• Lettuce
• Corn kernels
• Bacon
• Diced tomatoes
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Honey
• BBQ sauce
• Ranch dressing

Other Veggies to Add to Your Salad

The thing I love about making my own salads is how easy it is to customize them. You can make the same salad taste and look different with just a few ingredient swaps.

Try adding some of these veggies in for a little different variation and taste:

• Avocados
• Cucumbers
• Green peppers
• Carrots
• Red onions

What type of cheese is best for Wendy’s salad?

I think Wendy’s just uses shredded cheddar cheese. So if you want to make a true copycat recipe, stick with sharp cheddar cheese.

But if you want to mix things up, you can use Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack. Both taste amazing in this salad.

What dressing is best for a BBQ salad?

There are two sauces on this salad. One is a honey BBQ glaze and the other BBQ ranch. If that’s too much BBQ flavor for you, do the glaze and then just use a plain ranch as the dressing.

Fresh lettuce, blackened corn, and freshly chopped vine-ripened tomatoes make for a flavorful salad.

You are going to love this Wendy’s BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad. This would be a great salad to bring to work for lunch.

How to Make BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad

1. Cook the corn in a skillet over medium-high until it begins to blacken.
2. If your chicken isn’t already cooked, season it with salt and pepper and cook it in the same skillet with little oil.
3. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
4. Place the salad greens in a bowl.
5. Place chicken, corn, tomatoes, and bacon on top of the salad greens.
6. Mix honey with a tablespoon of BBQ sauce and drizzle it over the salad.
7. Combine BBQ sauce with ranch dressing and serve it with the salad.

What do you eat with chicken salad?

This is an entire meal all on its own. It’s an incredibly filling recipe. But if you still want something on the side, serve it with a cup of fresh fruit.

This will also taste delicious with some french fries or a bowl of soup.

How do you make BBQ chicken for salad?

I just used grilled chicken, I didn’t BBQ it first. The BBQ in the recipe name describes the dressing, not the chicken.

But if you want, you can cook some chicken breasts in your slow cooker and pour some BBQ sauce on top. Then, just shred it and add it to your salad. Yum!

Use rotisserie chicken

This is one of my favorite time-saving cooking hacks. Pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Now all you have to do is slice off some meat and put it in your salad. It’s so easy and requires almost no work.

Do you love Wendy’s? Try these copycat recipes!

• Wendy’s Baconator
• Wendy’s Breakfast Baconator
• Wendy’s Chili
• Wendy’s Fondue Fries
• Wendy’s Summer Berry Chicken Salad
• Wendy’s Taco Salad

Popular Salad Recipes

• Apple Pecan Salad
• Applebees Oriental Chicken Salad
• Grape Salad
• Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad
• Olive Garden Salad
• Thai Noodle Salad
• Waldorf Salad

Check out more of my easy salad recipes and the best fast food recipes here on CopyKat!

Wendy’s BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad

You can make Wendy's BBQ Ranch Chicken salad at home with this easy copycat recipe.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad, Wendy’s Salad

Prep Time: 8 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 23 minutes

Servings: 1

Calories: 828kcal

Author: Stephanie Manley

Ingredients

• 4-5 slices grilled chicken (you can find this in the freezer section at the grocery store or use leftovers) or a grilled chicken breast
• 1/4 cup corn kernels, drained
• 1/4 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 slices Applewood smoked bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
• 2 tablespoons creamy ranch dressing (Marzetti® brand recommended)
• 4 cups salad greens – ideally a mix of iceberg and romaine

Instructions

• In an iron skillet, cook the corn over medium-high until it begins to blacken. Be careful as this will happen quickly and you don’t want it to burn.
• Remove the corn from skillet.
• If your chicken isn’t already cooked, turn the heat to medium and add 1 teaspoon olive oil in the same skillet.
• Sprinkle your chicken with ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
• Cook chicken on one side in the skillet until edges are opaque, about 7-10 minutes.
• Turn the chicken over. Cover and cook about 10 minutes more or until a meat thermometer registers 165 degrees.
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes.
• Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
• Place the salad greens in a bowl.
• Top the salad greens with chicken, corn, tomatoes, and bacon.
• Mix the honey with 1 tablespoon of the BBQ sauce and drizzle it over the salad.
• Blend the remaining BBQ sauce with the ranch dressing and serve it with the salad.

Nutrition

Calories: 828kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 55g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 1198mg | Potassium: 854mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 2375IU | Vitamin C: 47.7mg | Calcium: 170mg | Iron: 3mg