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An overhead image of this salad with a half red onion, striped napkin and fried onions around it.
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Copycat Panera Chicken BBQ Salad

This copycat Panera chicken BBQ salad recipe is a delicious lunch or dinner. It's as healthy as it is tasty and so quick and easy that it practically begs you to make it for a simple weeknight dinner! Ready in just 10 minutes from start to finish!
Course Main, Salad, side
Cuisine American
Diet Low Calorie, Low Salt
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 2 servings
Calories 497kcal
Author Jessy Freimann

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 3 cups Lettuce, Chopped
  • 2 Tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 2 cooked chicken breasts, sliced (or any leftover chicken)
  • ¼ cup BBQ Sauce
  • ½ cup French fried onions
  • 2 scallions, chopped

BBQ Ranch Dressing

  • ¼ cup ranch dressing
  • ¼ cup BBQ sauce

Roasted Corn Salsa

  • 1 cup red onion diced
  • 2 cups frozen corn
  • 1 cup red bell pepper diced
  • 1 14.5 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

  • Roast all corn salsa ingredients on a lined sheet pan for 30 minutes at 400 degrees and set aside to cool.
  • In a small bowl whisk together ranch dressing and BBQ sauce until well combined.
  • Toss the lettuce with BBQ ranch dressing to lightly coat. Place into serving dishes.
  • Top with chicken, corn salsa, tomatoes, french fried onions, scallions and a drizzle of BBQ sauce and serve immediately.

Video

Notes

  • Use those leftovers up- if you’re looking to repurpose chicken leftovers, this recipe is the way to go!.
  • If you don't have any leftovers to use and need to make your chicken from scratch, consider marinating it in BBQ sauce for even more flavor.
  • Although I don’t remember what the specific Panera salad dressing was for this salad, we love to make our own BBQ Ranch dressing with equal parts of our favorite BBQ sauce and ranch dressing. It always comes out so good!
  • Be sure to add the dressing and the French fried onions at the last minute so you don’t end up with a soggy salad.
  • Add another layer of texture and top your salad with tortilla strips or chopped nuts.
  • Ingredients to prep ahead- To get ahead, chop the lettuce, cook and chop the chicken, make the roasted corn salsa, wash the tomatoes and scallions, and mix the dressing. All that will be left to do is assemble!
  • Leftovers and storage- This will stay fresh without dressing for 4-5 days covered in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 497kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 2.193mg | Potassium: 1.292mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 35g | Vitamin A: 3.658IU | Vitamin C: 133mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 3mg