Let’s talk about this Crispy Rice BBQ Chicken Salad – a dish so overachieving, it basically meal-preps itself. We’ve got golden, crackly sesame-crusted rice that brings the crunch louder than your neighbor’s Bluetooth speaker. Then there’s the BBQ rotisserie chicken – because we’re not slow-roasting anything for 8 hours when Costco already did the Lord’s work.
And the dressing? Oh, just a creamy, dreamy ranch made with the fitness world’s current obsession: cottage cheese. That’s right. The protein-packed curd that’s been rebranded by TikTok as a superfood miracle. It’s ranch, but make it macro-friendly.
This salad is the kind of chaotic good you didn’t know your lunch break needed. Crispy, creamy, tangy, smoky, and weirdly balanced, like your favorite unhinged friend who somehow always pulls it together. It’s high-protein, low-effort, and just bougie enough to make you feel like you’ve got your life together.
Crispy Rice Barbeque Chicken Salad
4
servings15
minutes40
minutes480
kcalIngredients
For the Salad:
1 head living lettuce, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (approx. 3 cups)
For the Dressing:
2 cups cottage cheese (low-fat recommended)
3 tbsp ranch seasoning
2 tbsp BBQ sauce
For the Crispy Rice:
2 cups cooked rice (day-old preferred)
3 tbsp sesame oil
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Toss cooked rice with sesame oil and spread onto a baking sheet in a thin layer. Bake for 35–40 minutes, flipping halfway, until golden and crispy.
- In a blender or food processor, blend cottage cheese, ranch seasoning, and BBQ sauce until smooth and creamy. Chill until ready to use.
- In a large bowl, combine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, corn, black beans, and shredded rotisserie chicken.
- Add crispy rice on top just before serving for max crunch. Drizzle generously with the cottage cheese ranch dressing. Serve immediately.