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Michael and I don’t go to very many chain restaurants (not because we’re snooty, but because we don’t go out to many restaurants in general), but we do really love going to The Cheesecake Factory. It’s where we fell in love with so many of our favorite foods (cuban sandwich, we’re looking at you).
One of my favorites is the Barbeque Ranch Chicken Salad. We decided to re-create the recipe at home since I’ve been on such a salad kick lately, and one of the things I knew the recipe had to have was that delicious BBQ Ranch Dressing.
We made it a little differently here at home, using what we had available and I liked ours just as much. That certainly won’t stop me from ordering it when we go out, but in between fixes, this will certainly do.
Loaded with chopped romaine, chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, green onion, cucumber, and avocado, then finished with onion rings and homemade barbecue ranch dressing, this big-time salad is going to blow your mind.
You can certainly play with the recipe–if you like, you could use the French’s crispy onions or make your own onion strings, add in a little cheese (cotija, queso fresco, or pepper jack would be nice), leave out the chicken or even use crispy chicken tenders.
- ½c sour cream
- ½c mayonnaise
- ¼-1/2c milk or buttermilk (add ½ Tbsp vinegar if using milk)
- ¼c your favorite barbecue sauce
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp dried dill
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2-3 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 2 ears’ worth of corn (or about 1c or so frozen or canned)
- ¾c baby tomatoes or diced Roma tomatoes
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 (14.5oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 green onions, diced
- 3-4 Tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
- 1-2c cooked diced chicken
- barbecue sauce
- optional: frozen onion rings, cooked (we used Alexia’s brand)
- In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients until smooth. Add additional milk if necessary to make dressing more pourable. Dressing will keep in the refrigerator covered for about 1 week.
- In a large salad bowl, toss together romaine, cucumber, corn, tomatoes, avocado, black beans, green onions, and cilantro. In a medium bowl, toss chicken with enough barbecue sauce to coat. Add chicken to the salad.
- If serving all at once, toss salad with enough barbecue ranch dressing to coat. If serving individual servings, drizzle individual portions with desired amount of dressing.
- Top with warm onion rings and serve.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow. I need too make this ASAP!! I LOVE Cheesecake Factory!
I think this is a salad I could get my husband to eat as a meal, especially if I get a little heavy-handed on those onion rings
Mmmm. Good things today is grocery day!
Make this again tonight! Husband just requested some nice crusty bread to go with it this time which I have no problem with. LOVE this recipe.
This is amazing! I need to make this!
Oh, this looks so yummy and refreshing!
I need to make this one soon! I like the idea of fried onion strips as well as the original. Thanks for sharing such great recipes!
This made a very tasty salad, and the dressing is delicious! Thanks!
This is one of my go to salad recipes. I love your dressing recipe (didn’t try it yet), and I’m going to make your dressing next time I make this salad. I also make this as a potluck dish, but I layer the ingredients (mimicking the 9 layer dip), and I used a thicker dressing to layer towards the top. I put black beans & mexican blend cheese on top of the dressing and then the onion rings. For a party I use the French Onion Rings, for home I make homemade or the Alexia brand too!
I love homemade salads. I read through all the ingredients and this sounds like my kind of salad, minus the avocados. I will add some jalapeno juice to the dressing to give it a little kick.