Name: Barbecue Chicken Ranch Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 38 min
Total time: 53 min
Yield: 6 Servings
Cuisine: American

Cooking with Conks Verified

February 5, 2026

We’re big fans of big salads, and this Barbecue Chicken Ranch Salad fits the bill. It’s super fresh but also indulgent. This salad combines two of our favorite sauces (barbecue and ranch) with chicken, corn, tomatoes, black beans, green onions, and crispy shallots to make a main-dish salad that even the biggest salad skeptics will love.

From the Cook

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Barbecue Chicken Ranch Salad

Cooking with Conks Verified

Ingredients

WarningMilk and 5 other allergens identified

Instructions

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400F. For easier cleanup, line a baking sheet with parchment.

Place ½ cup barbecue sauce in a bowl (reserve the rest for later), and brush it onto both sides of the chicken thighs.

Bake the chicken for 30 minutes or until the internal temp is 165F. Remove the chicken from the oven and let it rest before cutting it into bite sized pieces.

Add the shallots to a microwave safe bowl and cover them with oil. Microwave the shallots for 5 minutes, then stir them and microwave for another minute. Stir again, microwave another 30 seconds to a minute, stir, and so on until shallots are golden brown but not burnt (about 7-8 minutes total).

Using a slotted spoon, remove the shallots and place them on a paper towel lined plate to cool and crisp. Season the shallots with salt.

Mix the ranch ingredients together.

Place the lettuce, diced cooked chicken, corn, tomatoes, black beans, and green onions in a large salad bowl.

Toss the salad with your desired amount of ranch dressing and all of the reserved barbecue sauce.

Top the salad with the crispy shallots and enjoy!

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Tips & Tricks (5)

Ranch Dressing Hack 🥗
Let ranch ingredients sit for 30 minutes before mixing to allow dried herbs to rehydrate and intensify flavor profiles.
Crispy Shallot Pro Tip 🧅
Slice shallots uniformly thin and soak in ice water for 10 minutes before frying to ensure maximum crispiness and prevent burning.
Chicken Marinade Trick 🍗
Marinate chicken thighs in half the barbecue sauce for 2-4 hours to infuse deep flavor and ensure juicy, tender meat.
Corn Roasting Secret 🌽
Pat frozen fire-roasted corn completely dry before adding to salad to prevent excess moisture and maintain crisp texture.
Salad Assembly Technique 🥬
Layer ingredients from heaviest to lightest, with chicken and beans at bottom and delicate lettuce on top, to prevent wilting.

Intelligent Tags

About the Cook

Cooking with Conks

We’re Rachel & Emily Conklin (“Conks” for short), sisters, lifelong foodies, and the voices behind Cooking with Conks. We grew up in Southern California, surrounded by bold flavors, big family meals, and the kind of kitchen chaos that turns into inside jokes