BBQ Sauce Is Your Secret For A Totally Upgraded Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is a refreshing fan favorite, and its innate versatility means you can get pretty creative with the ingredients you use to make it. While additions like celery, grapes, and sliced almonds are common, there are a whole lot more spices and dressings you can use to elevate this classic fare. One such underrated choice you should try mixing into your next batch of chicken salad is barbecue sauce.

The rich and tangy complexity of barbecue sauce can add a smoky edge to chicken salad, as well as provide an unexpected sweetness that ties this usually mild and fresh dish together. There are many different variations of barbecue sauce too, so whether you want more depth, pepper and spice, or richness, there's probably a barbecue sauce out there that can easily provide what you're looking for.

One of the best parts of this addition? It's super easy to incorporate, so if you've got a bottle ready to go in the fridge, why not spare a few extra seconds to add some of this beloved dressing to your next chicken dish?

There are many different ways you can incorporate barbecue sauce into chicken salad, but we'll touch on two of the best and most simple methods. For starters, when it comes time to make your salad recipe, mix some barbecue sauce in with your other wet ingredients to taste. Actual measurements will depend on your salad, but we recommend starting with 1 tablespoon and adding on from there. Another way to incorporate barbecue sauce into your chicken salad is to use it as a marinade. Coat your raw chicken in barbecue sauce and let all the flavors soak in by placing it in the fridge overnight. The next day, cook your chicken as normal and let it cool. Then, make your chicken salad per the recipe.

Barbecue sauce would pair well with most other chicken salad additions like mayonnaise, corn, celery, and tomato, but it would not do so well with other ingredients like sliced grapes or almonds. Consider what your desired flavor profile is before you dive into this dish to avoid those dissident flavor combinations. Then, after you've built your ideal barbecue chicken plate, get ready to garnish and serve. 

While serving a classic chicken salad on a plate over a bed of lettuce is standard, you can get creative with how you feature this dish too. Much like a barbecue sandwich, this unique take on chicken salad would taste delicious on a toasted bun. Slather some additional sauce onto each half of the bun for some extra tang, and for a really comforting twist, warm your chicken salad before serving it for some added smokiness and depth. 

Wraps are another similar good choice for this salad, perfectly encapsulating this salad in a portable shell, as is regular sandwich bread. Lastly, similar to a smoky buffalo chicken dip, this chicken salad would do well as a party dip served alongside crackers, cucumbers, or pita chips.

Chicken salad is a crowd-pleasing dish perfect for anything from a bustling summer barbecue to a dinner party. While you might be pretty familiar with this dish at this point in life, there's always a way to jazz up a classic with exciting new flavors. And adding barbecue sauce to a chicken salad is a perfect way to do just that.