This is a pretty quick salad to put together. While it might sound odd at first (Shani had her doubts), all of these ingredients do go well together! I think she was most reluctant about putting BBQ sauce on lettuce. Of the 2 types of BBQ sauce that Trader Joe’s currently has, we definitely prefer the Trader Joe’s TJ’s Bold & Smoky Kansas City Style Barbecue Sauce to the Trader Joe’s All Natural Barbecue Sauce. The All Natural will do in a pinch but the Bold and Smoky has a little more of a complex flavor. (TIP: Read your BBQ sauce labels carefully as a lot of them have soy sauce as an ingredient!)
If you have the time or the inclination, you could pound out a chicken breast and grill it up. To save time, I use the TJ’s Just Grilled Chicken strips. I’ve been using them a lot since I discovered them a few months ago. I use 6 oz or so and defrost. While that’s happening, I open up a can of black beans and drain them. Dice up a 1/4 or so of red onion and defrost 1/4 cup corn kernels (I’ve also used fresh corn that I seasoned and grilled and then cut the kernels off and used them. Again, if you have the time or the inclination!)
Ingredients used:
- Just the Leaves of Romaine (Or Hearts of Romaine)
- 1/2 can drained black beans
- 1/4 cup diced red onion
- 1/4 cup corn kernels
- Gluten-free BBQ sauce
- Simple Homemade Ranch Dressing (see my other post for this recipe or you could use Trader Joe’s Light Ranch)
- 1/4 cup Quattro Formaggio
- 1/2 cup crushed tortilla strips
- 6 oz. diced chicken breast
One of the tricks I like to use here is to take the diced chicken and put it in a bowl with some BBQ sauce and mix it so that each piece gets a little of the barbecue sauce on it. (I use this same trick when I make BBQ chicken pizza and it helps insure that the great flavor of the BBQ is in every bite)
Get out a large bowl. Tear some leaves of romaine and put them in the bottom of the bowl. I like to add the corn, onion and beans in whole clumps around the perimeter of the bowl and put the chicken in the middle. I top with the cheese and tortilla strips. I also put the Ranch and BBQ sauce on the side, as I like a lot of BBQ sauce on my salad, and this way I won’t ruin it for anyone else!
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Anyone else have an unlikely salad combo to share?
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This looks great. I can’t wait to try this and your Ranch dressing. I am recently gluten free and I do most of my shopping at Trader Joe’s. I very excited about all your reciepes. They all look so good and are all the type of food I would love to eat.
Hi Pam-
Thanks for stopping by. This is one my favorite salads – I hope you enjoy it!