Grilled BBQ Chicken Salad

Fourth of July weekend is coming up and for the first time in my adult life I do not have anywhere to be. No block party, no Steve and Patty backyard thing, no fireworks that half the city goes to. Ryan will be working. I will be at home. I have decided to lean into this rather than mourn it: I am going to cook something I have always wanted to try and eat it on our little balcony and watch whatever fireworks I can see from the second floor of an apartment building in the middle of Chicago.

The cooking project I have always wanted to try is proper ribs. Baby back ribs, dry-rubbed, slow-cooked in the oven for four hours, finished on the small grill. I have made ribs before but always in a rush and with a shortcut. This time I want to do it properly — the rub from scratch with smoked paprika and garlic powder and brown sugar, the low and slow oven, the last ten minutes on the grill to get the char. I called Steve to ask about his rub recipe because Steve Kowalczyk has opinions about ribs and he gave me a full five-minute breakdown complete with the detail that brown sugar is the wrong move and you should use white and finish with honey. I said I would try it. He said I should let him know.

The garden update: the balcony has parsley, basil, one cherry tomato plant that is losing its mind with growth, and a sad pepper plant that Ryan is very emotionally invested in despite it showing few signs of life. I watered the pepper extra this week and said encouraging things to it. Ryan said he heard me. I said it needed the support. Neither of us mentioned that it still has not produced any peppers. Sometimes you support a thing through its difficult season and wait.

Blog post this week: I announced the engagement officially, with the kitchen sink story. The response was wonderful and completely overwhelming and I cried reading comments for twenty minutes. This readership has become something I did not plan and cannot quite believe. People I have never met are genuinely happy for me. That is something.

I ended up making the ribs — Steve’s white-sugar-and-honey method and all — and they were exactly the low-and-slow project I needed for a quiet holiday weekend. But this Grilled BBQ Chicken Salad is what I want to share here, because it captures the same spirit in a fraction of the time: smoky char from the grill, that sweet-tangy BBQ backbone, and enough color and crunch to feel genuinely celebratory even if it’s just you, your balcony, and whatever fireworks you can see from the second floor. It’s the recipe I’d make for the weeknight version of that same Fourth of July feeling — and honestly, it holds up.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large)
3/4 cup BBQ sauce, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup corn kernels (fresh, canned, or thawed frozen)
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips
1/3 cup ranch dressing
2 tablespoons extra BBQ sauce (for dressing drizzle)

Instructions

Prep the chicken. Pat chicken breasts dry. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the chicken, then brush generously with 1/2 cup of the BBQ sauce. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes while the grill preheats.
Grill the chicken. Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill chicken for 6–7 minutes per side, brushing with the remaining 1/4 cup BBQ sauce during the last 2 minutes of cooking, until internal temperature reaches 165°F and char marks form. Remove from heat and rest for 5 minutes.
Slice the chicken. Cut the rested chicken against the grain into 1/2-inch slices or bite-sized chunks.
Build the salad base. Divide the chopped romaine among four bowls or spread across a large serving platter. Top evenly with cherry tomatoes, corn, black beans, and red onion.
Add the toppings. Arrange the sliced BBQ chicken over the salad. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar and tortilla strips.
Dress and serve. Drizzle ranch dressing evenly over the salad, then finish with a drizzle of the extra BBQ sauce in a zigzag pattern across the top. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Grilled BBQ Chicken Salad — Because the Grill Deserves a Starring Role