Chicken BLT salad is a fresh and satisfying cold salad loaded with juicy chicken, smoky bacon, fresh tomatoes and crunchy romaine lettuce all tossed with a creamy ranch dressing. It is a great way to turn leftover chicken and bacon into something quick, easy and really delicious. Serve it for lunch, dinner or meal prep when you want something filling without a lot of work.
BLT sandwiches are a classic for a reason. But magic happens when you skip the bread and turn those same flavors into a salad and add some juicy chicken and creamy ranch dressing. It becomes a whole new kind of meal. Crisp lettuce, smoky bacon, fresh tomatoes and tender chicken make this salad hearty enough for lunch, dinner or even weekly meal prep. And if you still want that little bit of crunch from the bread, a handful of croutons on top does the trick perfectly.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Chicken (leftover chicken works great here)
- Bacon (leftover bacon works great too)
- Grape tomatoes
- Romaine lettuce
- Ranch dressing (homemade or store bought)
- Croutons (optional)
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Gluten free - this recipe is naturally gluten free. If you add croutons on top, just make sure they are gluten free.
- Vegan - to make this recipe vegan, you would need to replace the chicken and bacon with plant based products and use a vegan ranch dressing.
- Chicken - you can replace the chicken with another protein. Do you have leftover steak instead? That works really well too!
- Ranch dressing - you don't have to use ranch dressing. You can substitute another dressing of your choice. I love using chipotle almond dip thinned with a little water as a dressing as I always have that dip in my fridge.
Equipment
No special equipment is needed for this recipe.
Storage
Store any leftover chicken BLT salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 days.
Next Level Tips
- I love making this salad when I have leftover chicken or bacon in the fridge. That does not mean you have to wait until you have extras in the fridge. It just means thinking ahead a little when meal prepping. For example, you could grill a pound of chicken and use half for a southwestern Cobb salad and the rest for this chicken BLT salad. Or make a few extra slices of bacon at breakfast so you already have some ready to go later.
- If you want tips on grilling chicken for salads, check out my southwestern Cobb salad post for more instructions.
- My favorite way to make bacon is to bake it at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until crispy. Thin bacon bakes up faster and thick cut bacon may take longer. I'm team crispy bacon too! Overall, I just find that baking bacon is the least messy way to make it. And I'm all for less mess!
- To make your own quick and delicious ranch dressing, just mix ¼ cup sour cream, ¼ cup mayo, ¼ cup buttermilk, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons of ranch seasoning mix. It's that easy!
FAQ
Yes, absolutely. If you want to make fresh chicken and bacon for this salad, you can absolutely do that! Just know that this works great as a cold salad too!
First, slice the romaine head or heart in half lengthwise. Then chop crosswise into 1 inch wide pieces. It's really that easy! 
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Chicken BLT Salad
Ingredients
- 5-6 slices cooked bacon chopped
- 8 ounces cooked chicken chopped
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
- ½ cup ranch dressing
- croutons optional
Instructions
- Wash and chop the romaine lettuce, then add it to a large salad bowl or divide it between two dinner plates or bowls.
- Chop the cooked chicken and bacon into similar sized pieces, then halve the tomatoes and add everything on top of the lettuce.
- Drizzle ranch dressing over the salad or serve it on the side.
- Finish with optional croutons for an extra crunch. Enjoy!
Notes
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Don't worry! We won't spam you!
Leave a Reply