BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad in a Jar

My husband likes to grill on the weekends since he gets home too late from work to do so during the week. I look forward to his delicious grilled creations and the break from making family dinner. He came us with the idea for this salad which combines two of his favorite flavors - bacon and ranch. He threw on some extra chicken breasts and corn on the grill so that I could use it to make salads for both of us for the week.

This recipe makes eight salads. Feel free to cut the recipe in half if just making salads for yourself! The order of ingredients in this salad is different than what you would normally do for jarred salads - the chicken is the first layer after the dressing. This prevents the barbecued chicken from drying out and adds to the flavor by letting it marinate in the dressing throughout the week.

BBQ RANCH CHICKEN SALAD IN A JAR RECIPE

Makes: 8 jars

Time: 10 minutes to assemble

Salad Ingredients

- 16 cups mixed greens - I used kale, red kale and romaine

- 4 cups grilled chicken, cubed

- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

- 1 jicama, sliced in thin strips

- 3-4 ears corn, grilled

- 1 cup bacon bits

- 1 cup sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded

- 1 cup mild cheddar cheese, shredded

- 1 cup tortilla strips (optional)

- 1 cup BBQ ranch yogurt dressing

Dressing Ingredients

- 1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt

- 1 tbsp olive oil

- 1/4 cup barbecue sauce

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp onion powder

- 1/4 tsp garlic powder

- 2 tsp parsley

- 1/2 tsp dill weed

- 4 tbsp water

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients of dressing.

2. Measure and add about 2 tbsp of the dressing to each jar.

3. Add 1/2 cup chicken to each jar.

4. Add 1/4 cup each of cherry tomatoes, jicama and corn in that order to each jar.

5. Add about 2 tbsp crumbled bacon.

6. In a medium bowl, combine the sharp white cheddar and mild cheddar.

7. Add 1/4 cup of cheese mix to each jar.

8. Top with about 2 cups mixed greens.

9. Optional - add 2 tbsp tortilla strips*

10. Place top on jar and tighten.

11. Store in refrigerator and eat within 5 days.

*Tortilla strips become soggy in the jars so it is recommended to add these only on the day of consumption.

Nutrition (no dressing)

Dressing