Easy & Healthy BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad: Your Go-To for Quick Lunch Prep

In today’s fast-paced world, finding quick, healthy, and satisfying meal options can feel like a challenge. Especially with busy schedules, like the return to school, parents and individuals alike are constantly searching for lunches that are both nutritious and simple to prepare. This delicious BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad is precisely that solution. Combining a convenient bagged salad kit with leftover rotisserie chicken and a few other fresh ingredients, this recipe comes together in minutes. It’s perfectly designed for packing into lunchboxes for the kids or layering in a mason jar for a grab-and-go meal for adults. Get ready to add this incredible BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad to your regular meal rotation!

Why This BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad is a Game-Changer for Lunchtime

With school back in full swing, and many adults returning to office or managing busy home schedules, the demand for quick, healthy, and satisfying lunch options is at an all-time high. Packing lunches day after day can feel like a never-ending task, often leading to a lack of creative ideas and repetitive meals. This is where our BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad shines. It’s not just incredibly easy to assemble, but it’s also packed with a vibrant array of healthy ingredients that come together to create a truly delicious and well-balanced meal. Forget the lunchtime rut and embrace a flavorful, wholesome, and effortless solution!

The secret to this salad’s simplicity lies in starting with a pre-made bagged salad kit. These kits, now widely available in most grocery stores, offer a convenient base of fresh greens and often include complementary toppings and dressing. For this recipe, we specifically utilize the Earthbound Farm® Organic BBQ Ranch Chopped Salad Kit, which provides a fantastic foundation of flavors. To this, we add layers of tender rotisserie chicken, creamy avocado, sharp cheese, protein-rich chickpeas, crisp bell peppers, and nourishing hard-boiled eggs. The beauty of this approach is that you’re building a gourmet-quality salad with minimal effort, transforming basic ingredients into something extraordinary. This recipe is designed to be highly customizable, allowing you to easily adapt it to your family’s preferences while still keeping prep time to a minimum.

Crafting Your Perfect BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad

Creating this satisfying BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad is a breeze. It’s all about combining fresh, wholesome ingredients with smart shortcuts to deliver maximum flavor with minimal fuss. Here’s how you can prepare and pack this fantastic meal.

Essential Ingredients for a Flavorful Salad (Serves 2-4)

• 1 Earthbound Farm® Organic BBQ Ranch Chopped Salad Kit: This kit forms the vibrant base, typically including mixed greens, crispy toppings, and a delicious BBQ ranch dressing.
• 1-2 cups Cooked Rotisserie Chicken: Shredded or diced. Using leftover rotisserie chicken is a fantastic time-saver, adding savory protein.
• 1 Ripe Avocado: Diced, for creamy texture and healthy fats.
• 1/2 cup Shredded Cheese: Cheddar, Monterey Jack, or a Colby blend work wonderfully.
• 1/2 cup Chickpeas: Rinsed and drained, adding fiber and plant-based protein.
• 1/2 Bell Pepper: Any color, finely diced for crunch and vitamins.
• 1-2 Hard-Boiled Eggs: Chopped, for extra protein and richness.
• Optional additions for customization: Cherry tomatoes, corn, black beans, red onion, a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, or even some crispy fried onions for extra texture.

Step-by-Step Assembly for Lunchboxes & Mason Jars

Whether you’re packing for yourself or your kids, the method of assembly ensures a fresh and appealing salad when it’s time to eat.

1. Prepare Your Ingredients: If you don’t have leftover rotisserie chicken, cook some chicken breasts and shred them. Dice your avocado, bell pepper, and chop your hard-boiled eggs. Rinse and drain the chickpeas.
2. Prepare the Salad Kit: Open the Earthbound Farm® Organic BBQ Ranch Chopped Salad Kit. Empty the greens into a large bowl. Reserve the dressing and any crispy toppings for later.
3. Combine Main Ingredients: Add the shredded rotisserie chicken, diced avocado, shredded cheese, chickpeas, diced bell pepper, and chopped hard-boiled eggs to the bowl with the greens.
4. Toss Gently (Optional, if eating immediately): If you plan to eat the salad right away, you can gently toss all ingredients together with half of the BBQ ranch dressing from the kit. Add the crispy toppings just before serving to maintain their crunch.
5. For Meal Prep (Mason Jar Method): This method is fantastic for keeping your salad fresh and preventing sogginess until lunchtime.
   • Start with Dressing: Pour the BBQ ranch dressing (or your preferred dressing) into the bottom of a wide-mouth mason jar (about 1-2 tablespoons per serving).
   • Add Hardier Veggies: Next, layer the chickpeas, bell peppers, and possibly the chopped hard-boiled eggs directly on top of the dressing. These ingredients can withstand being in contact with the dressing without getting soggy.
   • Add Proteins & Cheese: Follow with the shredded chicken and shredded cheese.
   • Add Softer Ingredients: Add the diced avocado here. If you’re concerned about avocado browning, you can toss it with a little lemon juice or add it just before eating.
   • Top with Greens: Finally, pack the salad greens and any crispy toppings (from the kit or homemade) on top. Ensure the greens are tightly packed to prevent air exposure.
   • Seal & Store: Close the mason jar tightly and refrigerate. When ready to eat, simply shake the jar to distribute the dressing and enjoy! The layers keep everything separated until you’re ready to mix.
6. For Lunchboxes: Pack the main salad ingredients (greens, chicken, veggies, cheese, eggs, chickpeas) in one compartment. Pack the dressing and crispy toppings in separate small containers or bags to be added just before eating.

This method ensures that your salad remains crisp and vibrant, making lunchtime something to look forward to!

Beyond the Recipe: Supporting Kids’ Health with Produce for Kids & Jump with Jill

This fantastic BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad is not just about a delicious meal; it’s also part of a larger, incredibly meaningful initiative. This recipe is proudly created in partnership with Produce for Kids, an organization dedicated to empowering families to make healthier choices. This fall, Produce for Kids has teamed up with Meijer and Jump with Jill to launch a vital campaign. Their collective goal is to raise funds to bring the dynamic Jump with Jill nutrition education program directly to local schools within the Meijer operating area. This partnership underscores a commitment to fostering healthy habits from an early age, making a tangible difference in communities.

The Mission of Produce for Kids

Produce for Kids is a leader in encouraging families to eat healthier. They work with produce companies, grocery retailers, and health organizations to create programs that inspire healthier lifestyles for children. Their campaigns offer valuable resources, delicious recipes, and fun activities that make healthy eating accessible and enjoyable for kids and parents alike. By connecting with initiatives like Jump with Jill, they amplify their impact, ensuring that critical nutrition education reaches those who need it most.

Jump with Jill: Making Nutrition Education Rock!

The concept behind the Jump with Jill program is truly inspiring and highly effective. It’s a unique, music-based health program specifically designed for kids that transforms nutrition education into a high-energy, rock & roll experience. Imagine a live concert where learning about healthy food and active living is the main event! The program offers captivating live concerts, engaging recorded music, interactive video experiences, and cross-curricular classroom activities, all aimed at celebrating healthy habits.

Known globally as “the world’s only rock & roll nutrition show,” Jump with Jill utilizes the universal appeal of music and dance to make learning about healthy choices exciting and memorable. Instead of dry lectures, kids are immersed in a vibrant concert atmosphere where healthy is not just an important concept, but the coolest thing to be. Now celebrating its tenth year, the Jump with Jill show has achieved an incredible milestone, having been performed nearly 3,000 times for over a million children across the United States, Canada, and Europe. This widespread reach demonstrates its success in captivating young audiences and delivering vital health messages.

The program was meticulously created by Registered Dietitian and professional musician Jill Jayne, MS, RD. This unique combination of expertise ensures that Jump with Jill is both scientifically sound in its educational content and utterly captivating in its delivery. It’s a program that is behaviorally-focused and research-proven, creating an environment where choosing healthy options feels like a fun, empowering, and celebrated choice for kids.

How Your Purchases Make a Difference at Meijer

Participating in this wonderful initiative is simple and directly tied to your everyday grocery shopping. Throughout September, by purchasing products from specific participating brands at Meijer stores, you contribute to a consumption-based donation that directly supports the Jump with Jill program. This means that every time you choose one of these partner brands, you are helping to fund nutrition education for children in local schools. It’s a powerful way to turn your grocery list into a tool for positive community impact, promoting healthier futures for kids while you stock your pantry.

Featured Brands Making a Positive Impact

By consciously choosing these brands during your Meijer shopping trips this September, you’re directly contributing to the funds raised for the Jump with Jill program. Your support helps bring vital nutrition education to schools and children in need. Look for these participating brands:

• Avocados From Mexico
• DOLE® Packaged Salads
• Earthbound Farm® Salads
• Highline Mushrooms®
• Marzetti® Dressings & Caramel Dip
• SUNSET® Tomatoes
• Green Giant® Fresh Klondike Rose® & Red Potatoes
• Stemilt Lil Snappers® Bartlett Pears & Gala Apples

Get Your Groceries Delivered: Shipt Partnership

In addition to these great initiatives, we understand that time is often a luxury. Why spend precious hours at the grocery store when you can have fresh ingredients, including those for your BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad, delivered right to your door? Our partners at Shipt offer a convenient grocery delivery service that simplifies your life and helps you stick to your healthy eating goals. For all our valued readers, Shipt is extending a special offer! Head over to shipt.com/offer and enter the exclusive code 6A3CB9A9K6B to receive a two-week free trial and enjoy a generous $25 off your very first order. This fantastic promotion is active throughout September, from September 3rd to September 30th, making it the perfect time to try out the convenience of grocery delivery and free up more time for what matters most.

Why We Love This BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad

This BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad truly embodies the ideal quick and healthy meal. It’s incredibly versatile, perfect for meal prepping a week’s worth of lunches for yourself, or packing delicious and nutritious school lunches that kids will actually enjoy. The combination of savory BBQ chicken, fresh crisp greens, and a medley of colorful, wholesome ingredients creates a flavor profile that’s both exciting and deeply satisfying. Beyond its delicious taste and ease of preparation, remember that by enjoying this salad and supporting the featured brands at Meijer, you’re also contributing to the impactful Jump with Jill nutrition education program. It’s a simple, delicious way to nourish your family and support a great cause simultaneously. So go ahead, whip up this salad, enjoy a wholesome meal, and feel good about the positive ripple effect you’re creating!

Recipe used with permission from Produce for Kids. While this recipe is for a BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad, it’s inspired by the spirit of healthy, easy meals promoted by Produce for Kids.

Today’s post is sponsored by Produce for Kids. As always, all opinions expressed are 100% my own and reflect my genuine enthusiasm for healthy eating and community support!