BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad

Now that summer is here, it’s a great time to enjoy salads to beat the heat! I’ve been looking at restaurant menus for inspiration, one of my favorite ways to inspire me in the kitchen. When I had some BBQ Chicken leftover, I came across California Pizza Kitchen’s menu item for their BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad and decided to recreate it at home…
The California Pizza Kitchen describes their BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad as…

“Chopped lettuce, black beans, sweet corn, jicama, cilantro, basil, crispy corn tortilla strips and Monterey Jack cheese tossed together in our herb ranch dressing. Topped with chopped BBQ chicken breast, diced tomatoes and green onions.”

Without overthinking the salad, I just took the same ingredients, combined it together, adjusted it to my tastes and voila… the salad was made! It was delicious and the only ingredient I left out was the black beans ( I didn’t want to take a trip to the store solely for a can of beans.) Even without the beans, it was really good and I’d make it again. So if you’re looking for salad recipes this summer, try looking at restaurant menus for inspiration and play with the ingredients they may list to describe the salad!

3-4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1/4 cup canned sweet corn, drained
1/4 cup diced jicama
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 cup shredded cooked bbq chicken (white and/or dark meat)
1/4 cup fresh tomatoes, diced
2 stalks green onion, sliced
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or Monterey Jack/Colby cheese blend)
a few tablespoons of Herbed Ranch Dressing to taste (recipe follows)

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and toss.