Keto Special Sauce Chicken Salad
Keto Special Sauce Chicken Salad is a deliciously easy salad recipe filled with juicy chicken marinated in Sir Kensington’s Special Sauce!
Everyone loves Special Sauce, and even though I’ve never eaten a Big Mac in my life, the sauce is pretty life-changing!
When you’re trying to eat a keto diet you quickly learn how much sugar is in EVERYTHING.
Sir Kensington’s is an amazing company that has condiments that are CLEAN and low in sugar – yay!! This is not a sponsored post – I just love them that much. They have no idea who I am! 😉
If you made eating a keto diet one of your new year’s resolutions this keto special sauce chicken salad is for you! You are going to absolutely love it, and not feel like you are missing a thing!
What is in Keto Special Sauce Salad?
- Sir Kensington’s Special Sauce
- Chicken Thighs
- Lettuce
- Cucumbers
- Carrots
- Bacon
- Cheddar Cheese
If you have never eaten chicken thighs, trust me, you are missing way out.
Need some more chicken thigh recipes?!
How do you make this recipe?
Step One: we’ll start by marinating the chicken.
In a small mixing bowl, put some ‘plops’ of Sir Kensington Special Sauce, along with a couple of tablespoons of pickle juice. I like sweet pickle juice, so it’s what I had on hand. Dill juice would be just as yummy!
When I say plops, I mean, I used half the jar. The marinade is the dressing, so you want to have enough to cover your chicken and later dress your salad.
A good half cup of each the Special Sauce and the Pickle Juice will be great. If you need to thicken the dressing/marinade, add some more mayo to your bowl and whisk it in.
We’re using this as a marinade and a dressing, so be sure to reserve some for the dressing.
Step Two: pour some of the marinade over the chicken and smush it around so it’s evenly coated.
You can do this the night before, or a couple of hours ahead of time.
Marinading Tips:
- Use a glass bowl with a lid. This is so helpful to really get your tongs in there and move the chicken (or any kind of protein!) around. If the marinade is loose enough, once you have the lid on, you can just reach in the fridge and give it a good jiggle to move it around and make sure it is marinating on all sides.
- Allow the protein to really get to know the marinade. Some marinades with high acid or salt content take less time. This Steak Marinade is filled with high acid and salt, so the time doesn’t take long.
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Step Three: Pan grill your chicken
Get out your cast iron skillet and turn it to almost high. You want the pan screaming hot so when you add your chicken it will immediately start searing. Once you’ve added your chicken, you can turn the pan down to medium.
Leave the chicken alone. Don’t poke and prod at it! Just let it be, and when it’s time to flip look for these signs:
- The edges are curling up
- You can see the under side is browning
- The chicken ‘releases’ easily.
**If your chicken doesn’t release easy, just let it hang out a bit longer. It will tell you when it’s ready to flip.**
Or, if it’s not winter, go ahead and make this easy chicken recipe on the grill.
Need some quick grilling tips?
- A clean grill. Y’all I can’t stress this enough! Make sure your grill is clean. This means you’ll want to turn your grill on SUPER high heat and let it burn off all the gunk from the previous time!
- Put your meat down and let it be. Do not touch it! When it’s ready to flip, it will release from the grates. If you feel any pull, let it hang out for a bit more.
- Don’t close your grill lid until you flip the meat. When you close the grill, it begins to steam, and you want the nice caramelized grill marks before you close the lid.
Step Four: Assemble your salad ingredients
Get out your salad items:
- Lettuce
- Cucumbers
- Shredded Carrots
- Bacon
- Cheddar Cheese
- Pickles
If you’re meal prepping lunches for the week, you can mix everything together except the cheese and pickles. Leave those out so they don’t create soggy veggies.
If you’re eating this for a quick and easy supper, add your salad items to a big bowl and place one pan grilled chicken thigh on top. Yum!!
In the video, I’ve assembled the salad on a sheet pan – this is such a great way to make a lot of salads on one serving dish.
The rimmed baking sheet holds everything in, letting you add #allthethings you might need for your salad.
Drizzle lots of the dressing over this easy low carb salad recipe idea.
Y’all! This is one salad recipe that will make your skirt fly up over and over!
It’s got bright flavors from the fresh vegetables, a creaminess from the cheddar cheese and dressing, and all the crispy crunch you want from the pickles, cucumbers, and bacon.
This will definitely be a keeper – as my dad would say!
Print
Keto Special Sauce Chicken Salad
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Category: salads
- Method: stovetop cooking
- Cuisine: low carb/keto
Description
Keto Special Sauce Chicken Salad is a deliciously easy salad recipe filled with juicy chicken marinated in Sir Kensington’s Special Sauce!
Ingredients
Special Sauce Marinade + Dressing
- 1/2 cup Sir Kensington’s Special Sauce
- 1/4 cup Pickle Juice (any kind will do!)
- 1/4 +/- Mayo
Chicken:
- 4–6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
Salad Ingredients:
- Lettuce (any kind – whatever you have on hand!)
- Shredded Carrots
- Sliced Cucumbers
- Crisp Bacon Bits
- Pickles
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine the marinade/dressing ingredients. Depending on how “loose” you would like your dressing add more pickle juice or less mayo. It’s up to you!
- Pour a portion of the dressing over the chicken thighs in a bowl with a lid or a zip top bag. It shouldn’t be swimming in the marinade, but evenly coated. See the picture above!
- Let the chicken hang out in the fridge for two hours or overnight if you have the time.
- Grill on medium high heat until cooked through – usually out 4-6 minutes per side. Chicken should come to 165˚ when using a meat thermometer.
- Assemble your salad using all the ingredients and serve with dressing on the side!
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This looks like a versatile sauce I need to have on hand anytime I need to add flavor to something ! YUM!
Yes!! Definitely need to have it on hand!! It makes a great fry dip, too… Just saying! 😉
This sauce sounds so good I want to put it on everything. I love a good salad and this one is better than good, it sounds amazing!
Yes!!! Special Sauce is EVERYTHING!!
That special sauce looks like it would be good on anything! Thanks for sharing.
Oh, definitely!
This sounds like a delicious salad – I love the sound of the sauce! This sounds like a dish my whole family would enjoy too.
I’m sure they will!! Enjoy!!!
This looks like such a delicious salad recipe! Pinning for later! 🙂
Woo hoo!!
I’ve never tried Sir Kensington’s Special Sauce, but that chicken looks mouthwatering. I’ll try to see if my grocery store has them. I would love to give this recipe a go. 🙂
It is such a good sauce!!! Definitely order it if your store doesn’t carry it! 😉
This looks very good, I need to try the recipe — and the special sauce! I love the Sir Kensington’s mustards, now I need the sauce for tasty chicken like this!
Oh yeah, Sir Kensington has it going on! 😉 Thanks popping by!
The cheddar and bacon in this salad completely make it for me! Seriously can’t wait to try!!
Thanks, Chris! Bacon and cheddar make everything better. 😉
We love Sir Kensington’s ketchup and avocado mayo, I can’t believe I never realized they had a special sauce!! This meal is definitely jumping to the top of my must make list.
Woo hoo!!! Glad I could share something new with you!
I am a sucker for pickles so this dressing has my name written all over it!
Me tooooooo!!! I don’t know how many opened jars of pickles I have in my fridge… but, it’s embarasing! 😉