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Inspired by California Pizza Kitchen’s signature BBQ chicken dishes, this fun Grilled BBQ Chicken Skewer Salad is a light and bright summer meal.
If you have ever eaten at CPK (California Pizza Kitchen), then you’ve probably ordered their BBQ chicken salad at least once. It’s filled with all sorts of goodies, tossed in an herby ranch dressing, and topped off with sweet, smoky chicken. I wanted to create a homemade version that captures the same flavors so I can have it whenever the craving strikes.
I also have to mention my homemade Whole30-approved Herby Ranch Dressing — once you make it, you’re going to want to put it on everything. In a pinch, you could opt for store-bought ranch, which would make this dish come together even quicker, but it really is worth it to make it from scratch.
ingredients:
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Avocado Oil
- Kosher Salt
- Store-Bought BBQ Sauce
- Wooden Skewers
- Avocado Oil
- Large Egg
- Unsweetened, Full-Fat Coconut Milk
- Lemon Juice
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Kosher Salt
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Cloves
- Fresh Dill
- Fresh Parsley
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Corn on the Cob
- Romaine Lettuce
- Green Onions
- Grape Tomatoes
- Canned Black Beans
- Fresh Cilantro
- Fresh Basil
- Avocado
step-by-step:
step one: prep the chicken
Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy skillet, pound the chicken until it is a uniform 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch pieces and place in a large bowl with the oil, salt, and 1 cup of BBQ sauce. Stir until well combined. Set aside to marinate for at least 20 minutes at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours.
step two: make a quick homemade mayonnaise
In a wide-mouth jar, add the oil and egg. Use an immersion blender and, without moving it, gently blend until the mixture turns white, creamy, and thick, 10 to 15 seconds. Slowly move the immersion blender up and down until the oil and egg have emulsified into a mayonnaise.
step three: blend up the herby ranch dressing
Add the coconut milk, lemon, red wine vinegar, salt, onion powder, and garlic and blend until combined. Stir in the dill, parsley, and black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.
step four: assemble the chicken skewers
Thread the chicken onto the prepared wooden skewers, 4 to 5 pieces each, and set aside.
step five: prep the corn
Drizzle the corn with the avocado oil and rub to evenly coat.
step six: heat the grill
Heat the grill over medium-high heat (350℉ to 400℉) and oil the grill grates. (To do to this, dip a wadded paper towel in a little oil and, using tongs, wipe the oil evenly over the grates.)
step seven: grill the corn and chicken
When hot, add the corn and grill until tender, 10 to 12 minutes total, turning often. Place the chicken skewers on the grill and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until nice grill marks have formed. Flip the skewers and baste the grilled side with the reserved BBQ sauce. Continue to grill until chicken is cooked through and nice grill marks have formed on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the corn and the chicken to a platter and let cool slightly.
step eight: make the salad
In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, green onions, tomatoes, black beans, cilantro, and basil. Add your desired amount of dressing to the salad and toss until the lettuce is well coated.
step nine: add the remaining ingredients
Cut the corn from the cob and add to the salad along with the diced avocado, gently tossing once more to combine.
step ten: serve and enjoy
Top with the grilled chicken skewers, serve, and enjoy!
recipe faqs:
If you’re sticking to a Whole30 diet, omit the corn on the cob and black beans.
You can marinate the chicken several hours in advance and make the Herby Ranch Dressing up to one week in advance. Store the dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use.
The next time you’re craving California Pizza Kitchen—or are just looking for a fun and flavorful summer salad—I hope you’ll try my BBQ Chicken Skewer Salad. Comment below and let me know what you think of it!
looking for more grilled chicken recipes? try these!
grilled sesame chicken skewers with ginger-scallion rice
korean-inspired bbq chicken skewers
harissa-yogurt marinated chicken with cucumber-quinoa salad
grilled chicken with chipotle-whiskey bbq sauce
BBQ Chicken Skewer Salad
Ingredients
For the Chicken Skewers:
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups BBQ sauce, divided, such as Primal Kitchen
- 8 (6-inch) wooden skewers, pre-soaked
For the Herby Ranch Dressing:
- 1 cup avocado oil
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup unsweetened full fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill fronds
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Salad:
- 4 ears corn
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 8 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce (from about 2 small heads)
- 6 green onions, thinly sliced (green parts only)
- 16 ounces (about 2 cups) quartered grape tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup loosely packed, freshly chopped cilantro leaves
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil
- 1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and diced into medium cubes
Instructions
Marinate the chicken:
- Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy skillet, pound the chicken until it is a uniform 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into 2-inch pieces and place in a large bowl with the oil, salt, and 1 cup of BBQ sauce. Stir until well combined. Set aside to let marinate for at least 20 minutes at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours.
Make the Herby Ranch Dressing:
- In a wide-mouth jar, add the oil and egg. Use an immersion blender and, without moving it, gently blend until the mixture turns white, creamy, and thick, 10 to 15 seconds. Slowly move the immersion blender up and down until the oil and egg have emulsified into a mayonnaise.
- Add the coconut milk, lemon, red wine vinegar, salt, onion powder, and garlic and blend until combined. Stir in the dill, parsley, and black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Grill the Chicken and Make the Salad:
- Thread the chicken onto the prepared wooden skewers, 4 to 5 pieces each, and set aside.
- Drizzle the corn with the avocado oil and rub to evenly coat.
- Heat the grill over medium-high heat (350℉ to 400℉) and oil the grill grates. (To do to this, dip a wadded paper towel in a little oil and, using tongs, wipe the oil evenly over the grates.)
- When hot, add the corn and grill until tender, 10 to 12 minutes total, turning often. Place the chicken skewers on the grill and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until nice grill marks have formed. Flip the skewers and baste the grilled side with the reserved BBQ sauce. Continue to grill until chicken is cooked through and nice grill marks have formed on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the corn and the chicken to a platter and let cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, green onions, tomatoes, black beans, cilantro, and basil. Add your desired amount of dressing to the salad and toss until the lettuce is well coated.
- Cut the corn from the cob and add to the salad along with the diced avocado, gently tossing once more to combine.
- Top with the grilled chicken skewers, serve, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Eat Love Eats.
Is there another bbq sauce you recommend? Primal Kitchen isn’t available in my area.
Yes! We created this BBQ sauce with Ronny at the Primal Gourmet and, of course, I highly recommend it!
Hey! What could I substitute the red wine vinegar for? I only have apple cider I believe, would that work?
Yes, that should work okay! It is a slightly sweeter vinegar so add a little extra lemon juice or salt if needed after tasting.
This is our households favourite salad! I use store bought Avocado mayo and it’s still very good. Very filling as well. Great summer recipe as we don’t have AC in our house so we like salads in the summer. Yum!
It’s so great for summer. Glad you liked it!
I’ve been eating a summer salad for lunch every day now and man I can confidently say this is my fav salad to date!! 🤩 I used 2% milk instead of coconut milk and 1 1/2 tbsp dried dill instead of 1/4 cup fresh dill & the dressing turned out amazing! I am really loving it lol
So happy to hear that!
still thinking about this recipe a week after making it–so good. used Stubbs for BBQ sauce and an avocado oil-based mayo for the dressing. added more lemon. vinegar and garlic to the ranch to overcome the coconut flavor that wasn’t my favorite, though I couldn’t tell when it was on the salad.
Took a lot of creative liberty with what I had on hand and it was still so delicious! I used Side Dish Ranch and will be making this on repeat
YES! love to hear this.
Tastes great and I loved it. I am wondering if you can link the nutrition facts for this recipe? I couldn’t find it any where.
Hi Lindsey- I just added the loose nutrition facts- keep in mind that this calculates using all of the dressing- which I usually have plenty leftover, so it’s not super accurate.
when using store bought mayo, do i still add the coconut milk, red wine vinegar and other seasonings to it?
Yes!
YUM, I made this tonight (with 2% dairy milk instead of coconut), and it was awesome! Everyone at the bbq I brought it to loved it. Thanks for the winning recipe!!!! I also had TONS of dressing, which I’m fine with, I’d just save a bit aside next time.
So glad this was a hit!