Panera Barbeque Chicken Salad is such an easy recipe to copycat at home. Not only will you save money making your Panera salad at home, but you can control the ingredients you put into it!
If you are focusing on a whole30 or gluten-free diet, then you can pick out dressings based on your needs.
If you use already cooked chicken, you could have this easy and healthy dinner ready in less than 10 minutes.
Over the Spoon for:
- Saving money with a homemade Panera Meal
- Low Carb and high protein
- Ready in 10 minutes
What do you need:
BBQ sauce: I like Sauer’s North Carolina style and New Primal Original BBQ sauce
The trick to the best Panera barbeque chicken salad is using 2 barbeque sauces!
You need 1 bbq sauce that’s a more vinegar based to marinate the chicken and one bbq sauce that’s a more smokey original sauce to mix with the ranch.
Romaine Lettuce
Ranch : I like the ThriveMarket Whole 30 ranch, Tessamae’s , or the New Primal Ranch
Cooked chicken: to speed up the process shred a rotisserie chicken
Black Bean and Corn Salsa: You could make your own or use a premade jar
Fresh Cilantro: this is optional but adds great flavor
Additions:
To make this officially like the Panera Barbeque Chicken Salad, you could add crispy onions straws.
If you want to keep it gluten-free you could add diced red onion or green onion
How to make:
- Wash and chop romaine lettuce and place about 1 and ½ cups in a large bowl.
- Shred rotisserie chicken or slice cooked chicken breast and then marinate about ½ cup chicken per salad in ¼ cup vinegar based sauce.
- In a small bowl mix together dressing: 1 and ½ tbsp. smokey bbq sauce with 1 tbsp ranch
- Top lettuce with marinated chicken, 3 tbsp corn salsa, 2 tbsp dressing, fresh cilantro, and onions if using.
- To meal prep this salad: place chicken, salsa, and dressing in the bottom of a bowl, top with romaine lettuce, refrigerate and serve within 3-4 days.
Making this Panera BBQ chicken salad at home allows you to hand select ingredients and make healthier choices.
If you like this BBQ chicken salad you should try:
Pasta Asparagus Salad
Shredded Buffalo Chicken Salad (Whole30 Friendly)
Warm Winter Salad (Whole30 Friendly)
I hope you are Over the Spoon for this recipe!
It is my goal to inspire you to create healthy and easy meals.
It would mean the world if you could leave a review or a star rating below!
Panera Barbeque Chicken Salad Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups chopped romaine lettuce
- ½ cup cooked chicken
- ¼ cup Vinegar based barbeque sauce
- 1 ½ tbsp original barbeque sauce
- 1 tbsp ranch dressing
- 3 tbsp corn and black bean salsa
Optional
- 2 tbsp fried onions
- fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Wash and chop romaine lettuce and place about 1 and ½ cups in a large bowl.
- Shred rotisserie chicken or slice cooked chicken breast and then marinate about ½ cup chicken per salad in ¼ cup vinegar based sauce.
- In a small bowl mix together dressing: 1 and ½ tbsp. smokey bbq sauce with 1 tbsp ranch.
- Top lettuce with marinated chicken, 3 tbsp corn salsa, 2 tbsp dressing, fresh cilantro, and onions if using.
- To meal prep this salad: place chicken, salsa, and dressing in the bottom of a bowl, top with romaine lettuce, refrigerate and serve within 3-4 days.
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