My diabetes friendly bbq chicken salad recipe is a hearty salad with good amounts of protein and crunch with some sweetness from the bbq sauce. Top it with some ranch or bbq ranch dressing and lunch is served!
My husband and I spent a couple years living in Kansas City, and one of the highlights was the bbq. There’s so much you can do with it — like make it into a flatbread, load it onto a baked potato, enjoy it on a bun, or make this super tasty salad.
diabetes friendly BBQ CHICKEN SALAD INGREDIENTS
Firm romaine is the base for this salad. Add in some crunchy green bell pepper, cucumber, and onion. Balance out the crunch with corn, beans, and tomato, and you’ve got an amazing bbq chicken salad!
When I wash my romaine, I love to throw it in this OXO salad spinner. I’ve had it for YEARS and use it all the time. What a super quick way to get the excess water out of the spinach leaves. And it’s a quick and easy clean when you’re done! Give it a try and let me know what you think.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH BBQ CHICKEN SALAD
This diabetic friendly bbq chicken salad is pretty versatile and can be paired with several other foods. Here are some ideas to get you started thinking.
- small bbq sandwich
- cup of soup
- crusty bread
- cornbread muffin
VARIATIONS FOR THIS SALAD
Like I said before, this salad is pretty versatile, so there are several variations this could take on. Substitute some ingredients, add something new. There are so many possibilities!
- Grill the chicken and slice it into strips instead of using shredded chicken.
- Avocado would be a nice addition.
- Tortilla strips would add some extra crunch.
- Add in some cheese for more depth of flavor. (Blue cheese would pair well with bbq.)
- You could always omit the corn or the beans if you prefer.
- Use a spring mix instead of romaine, or use part spinach and part romaine for variety.
diabetes friendly BBQ CHICKEN SALAD CARBS
The carbs in a salad are sometimes a bit challenging to figure. But I get as close as I can by equally dividing the ingredients.
In this particular salad recipe, we find most of our carbs in the bbq sauce, beans, and corn. With the specific brand of ingredients I used for this recipe, the entire total was 140g of carbs. Since it makes 4 salads, that’s 35g carbs per salad. (This doesn’t include any additional dressing.)
STORING FOR LATER
I like to prep my salad ingredients (as much as I can) ahead of time and store them for the week. Then all I have to do is throw it all in a bowl before lunch!
In this particular salad, I like to:
- make sure my romaine is washed and dried.
- cook my chicken ahead and put it in the bbq sauce to store it in the fridge for a few hours.
- cut up my red onion, bell pepper, tomato, and cucumber in advance.
- rinse and drain the black beans.
And now for the recipe…
Diabetes Friendly BBQ Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2-3 romaine hearts chopped
- 1 ½ c. chicken breast shredded
- ½ c. bbq sauce
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 small red onion diced
- 1 c corn
- 1 c black beans rinsed and drained
- 2-3 roma tomatoes diced
- 2 mini cucumbers chopped
Instructions
- Cook and shred the chicken. Mix in the bbq sauce and set aside.
- Chop the romaine, bell pepper, red onion, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
- Add the beans and corn into the bbq chicken mixture and distribute evenly among the salads.
Notes
DID YOU MAKE this recipe?
If you’ve made this recipe, would you please leave a comment? I would love to hear from you!
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NOTE: I am not a certified nutritionist or registered dietician. Nothing here should be taken as professional medical advice. Any nutritional information provided should be used as a general guideline and estimate only. For the most accurate information, please calculate based on the specific ingredients and brands you use, as well as any changes you make to the recipe.
COUNT CARBS and Nutrition Facts EASILY
Looking for a way to count your carbs, fat, fiber, and protein easily? Look no further…
I love how this template makes counting nutrition facts SO easy. You literally list the total grams from each ingredient, total it at the bottom, and divide by the number of servings. Voila!
This recipe template walks you through every step. And you can keep it for future reference. Just calculate it once and you’re done!
Check my Etsy store for an instant download that includes a cover page, section header pages for different kinds of recipes, section tabs, and this recipe template.
PIN FOR LATER
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