Satisfy your craving for barbeque with these Keto BBQ Chicken Salad Bowls while using up leftovers in the fridge!
We all have our irrational little pet peeves. Those things that make us want to flip our lids even though – in the grand scheme of things – they’re the smallest non-issue “issues” ever.
I have an aunt (if you’re reading this, I love you!) who shouted down my sister a few years ago for not rolling the toothpaste tube after she used it. A very dear friend of mine feels the need to be 45 minutes early to every single meeting/event/appointment/function (even if it’s just a meetup for coffee). Which isn’t really a problem until he imposes his weird need to be early on me and calls me late when I’m on time, lol. But I have plenty of quirks too.
It drives me nuts to see 20 different small containers of various leftovers in my fridge. And it also makes me bananas to see a huge jar of pickles with just a single lonely pickle floating inside. It just feels wrong; it feels like I should just eat the dang pickle and get rid of the jar already.
Not long ago I found myself in exactly this predicament; 1/4 of a wedge of cheese, a little bit of BBQ chicken, half a bag of lettuce. A few glorious pickles taunting me from inside a huge jar. Homemade ranch dressing beckoning to be used. It was fate, I tell you; this salad had to happen.
For a salad, there are quite a few components going on here, but don’t let that deter you. The thing is, you can make substitutions based on what you prefer, or what you have on hand. If you have scallion instead of red onion, go ahead and use it. If you don’t have avocado, but you have a tub of guacamole, use a dollop of it. Any bacon you like will work, and so will any kind of cheese.
The biggest surprise item of this salad is probably the croutons, mostly because I think they do a pretty darn good job of simulating real croutons. I mean, I wouldn’t say you’ll confuse them with bread, but for what they are (nourishing and low-carb!), they taste pretty darn good. You can use any keto bread you have on hand to make them; I’ve been playing with a recipe and I want to test it a few more times to make sure it’s 100% where I want it before I share it here.
And perhaps the best part of this salad was that it helped me use up the bottom of a huge jar of pickles. It really doesn’t take much to make me a happy girl.
What are some of your pet peeves?
- 2 slices bacon, chopped
- ½ cup of keto bread cubes (from about 1 small slice of homemade keto bread)
- A pinch of garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper
- 3 cups chopped lettuce or baby spinach
- 1 oz/30 g sharp Cheddar, cut into small cubes
- ½ cup leftover pulled keto BBQ chicken (I use AlternaSweets Sweet & Smoky Original BBQ Sauce)
- ½ avocado, sliced
- ¼ small red onion, thinly sliced
- 4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 2 tablespoons sugar-free pickles (I use bread and butter pickles, but dill are also good)
- 2 tablespoons homemade Low-Carb Ranch Dressing
- Cook the bacon in a small skillet over medium to medium-high heat until crispy, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a small bowl and set aside.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add the bread cubes (add a drizzle of avocado oil if you used turkey bacon; if you used pork bacon, you probably won’t need additional oil). Season the bread with a pinch of garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Cook until the bread is light golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Cool.
- To arrange the salads, add the lettuce to the bottom of a large salad bowl. Place the cheese, chicken, avocado, onion, tomato, pickles, croutons, and bacon on top.
- Serve along with the ranch dressing.
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I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Love that you added pickles to this salad! I love dill pickles, and love that you used sugar free. Thank you so much for sharing! Can’t wait to make these bbq bowls at home!