I've been working on a good BBQ pulled pork salad for years. Turns out one of the secrets is taking an extra few minutes and crisping up the pork in a hot skillet. That way every bite has a little bit of caramelized edge instead of just being warmed-through and shredded. It's a small step, but it's the one that turns this from "decent" into "favorite dinner list."

This salad is especially lovely for that weird stretch between summer and fall, when you still want fresh corn but you're also craving something roasted and warm. Sweet roasted corn cut straight off the cob plus caramelized, cubed sweet potatoes gives you a little of both seasons.

This salad is relatively flexible, too. You can swap out ingredients for those you prefer, use a different type of cheese (or none at all), or add some crispy tortilla strips & avocado. If you smoke your own pork, I can't think of a better use for the leftovers.

What Makes This Pulled Pork Salad Different

Like I said -- crisping up the pork is a unique take on a pulled pork salad. Using corn straight from the cob keeps it fresher, and using pepitas instead of croutons for a little crunch keeps the salad gluten free.

Also, keeping the ranch and BBQ drizzle separated (instead of making a BBQ ranch dressing) keeps the potency of the BBQ sauce and the ranch is hanging out in the background like a creamy little groupie.

It also straddles two seasons and is perfect for late summer/early fall. Simple tweaks to the recipe could take it further in either direction.

Ingredients

For the Salad

• Smoked Pulled Pork: If you're smoking your own, BY ALL MEANS, use it. If not, you can find prepared smoked pulled pork at most grocery stores. I really like Costco's version.
• Chopped romaine: sturdy enough to hold the warm pork and hearty toppings. You could also use green leaf lettuce.
• Fresh corn: If possible. Frozen corn roasted in the oven is pretty great, too, in a pinch.
• Black beans: canned is fine, tossed with cumin and lime and warmed up
• Roasted sweet potato: I LOVED this with the sweet BBQ sauce especially. It gave the salad another hearty boost. You could also swap it for diced fresh mango to give it a more summer vibe.
• Mexican cotija cheese: This is a hard, salty cheese and reminds me of a Mexican version of Parmesan. You can use another type of cheese, like feta or Parmesan here.
• Pepitas or pumpkin seeds: I super love these. I buy the sprouted ones at Costco and use them in allll of my salads.
• Lime wedges: extra lime wedges is never a bad thing
• Jalapeno Ranch: More on this below, but you can blend any existing ranch dressing with a fresh jalapeño and *voila*, jalapeño ranch.
• BBQ sauce: Use whatever you like! If you want to make your own, I've got a few recipes here. The Balsamic BBQ Sauce is my favorite, but the Raspberry Chipotle and Honey Lime are also delicious! All three are naturally sweetened, too.

For the Avocado Jalapeño Ranch

If you're wanting to go the homemade route, I've got my homemade ranch dressing that only needs a jalapeño. Maybe a squeeze of lime if you're feeling it. I also included a quick DIY ranch recipe in the recipe notes below if you don't have ranch seasoning mix.

How do you make pulled pork crispy for a salad?

All you need is a big skillet and a little oil. I use avocado oil, but any heat-safe oil would work here. The key is to get it really, really hot and don't put too much pork in the pan at once. Let it hang out and get toasted, caramelized edges. Transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate to let some of the oil drain off.

Fire-Roasting the Corn

I toss the ears of corn on the pan with the sweet potatoes because I love when a sheet pan can do double duty. You can also use a big skillet -- like a cast iron skillet, if you have one. Just put a little oil in the skillet and sear the cob on a few sides. Both methods work with frozen corn, too.

How to Build the Salad

Usually I'm like... throw everything in a bowl, yee-haw! But, this salad is best with a little strategy.

First, toss the romaine in the jalapeño ranch. I don't want to dump it all over everything because it'll cool off the hot things too quickly.

Then, add the black beans, corn, sweet potatoes, crispy pork, pepitas, and cotija cheese.

Finally, give it a drizzle of the BBQ sauce.

Make It Your Own — Variations

• Fall/winter swap: Use diced fresh mango or pineapple in place of the roasted sweet potato for a summer vibe.
• Add rice or farro underneath for a grain bowl version
• Swap cotija for sharp cheddar for a more classic Tex-Mex feel
• No smoker? Use store-bought BBQ pulled pork, toss with a little chipotle powder before crisping if it isn't already smoked.
• Make it a wrap: roll everything into a large tortilla or collard green wrap for a portable version.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Leftover Pulled Pork Ideas

If you want to make your own pulled pork, I've got a great Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork recipe to get you started.

I don't have a robust pork section on my site, but this BBQ Pulled Pork Spaghetti Squash Bake is delicious!

Here are a few other ideas:

• Pulled Pork Nachos
• Pulled Pork Quesadillas
• Carnitas-style tacos (I did this recently and the crispy pork was REALLY good as a taco filling with just a squeeze of lime and a little salt.)

I have another salad coming shortly that I'll link to here!

If you make one of my recipes, I'd love to see! Post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!

Continue to Content

BBQ Pulled Pork Salad with Jalapeño Ranch

Yield: Serves 4

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Crisping the pork in a skillet adds such a better texture in a salad! I love the mixture of tex-mex flavors here -- black beans, charred corn, and cotija with a super easy jalapeno ranch dressing. In my humble opinion, this is the best possible use of leftover smoked pork.

Print

Ingredients

• 2 cobs of corn
• 1 large sweet potato
• Sea salt
• Avocado oil
• 2-3 heads of Romaine lettuce
• 1 pound smoked pulled pork
• 1 can black beans, drained
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 limes
• 1 cup prepared ranch dressing (see note)
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers
• ½ cup BBQ sauce (see note)
• Cotija cheese & pepitas for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 450F.
2. Shuck your corn and cut the sweet potatoes into ½-inch pieces. Lay them on a large, parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with a couple tablespoons of avocado oil and sprinkle with salt. Use your hands to coat the potatoes and corn in the oil. Roast for about 20 minutes, turning everything halfway though cooking, until the potatoes are cooked through and have deeply golden edges and the corn is a little browned in spots. Remove and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, chop the romaine and spin it dry, if you have a salad spinner. It's important to get all the water off the lettuce.
4. Drizzle 2-3 Tablespoons of avocado oil into a large skillet. Break up the pulled pork and add some to the skillet. don't add too much -- you'll want to be able to see the bottom of the skillet in places. Use tongs to flip the meat around. Cook for about 5-7 minutes until you have darker, crispy edges. (It'll get more crispy as it cools.) Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to cool.
5. Put the black beans in a small saucepan along with the cumin and the juice from one lime. Cook over medium heat until the beans are warmed through. Cut the other lime into wedges and reserve for serving.
6. Cut the corn off the cobs.
7. Put the ranch in a blender. Seed the jalapeno (if you want) and put it in the blender with the ranch. Blend until smooth.
8. When everything is finished cooking and you're ready to assemble the salads, put the romaine in a large bowl and add ⅓ of the ranch dressing. Toss to combine. Divide the lettuce among individual bowls and add pork, sweet potatoes, corn, beans, cotija cheese, pepitas, a drizzle of BBQ sauce and more ranch dressing, if desired.

Notes

1. You can prep the lettuce & ranch, crisp the pork, cook the corn & sweet potatoes a few days ahead of time.
2. You can use any ranch dressing you like. If you have a Mexi ranch (like jalapeno or avocado) you can skip step 7. I made a quick homemade version with ½ c mayo, ¼ c Greek yogurt, ⅓ cup milk, a squeeze of lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon each of dried dill, granulated garlic, onion powder, and sea salt. Sometimes I use TJ's ranch seasoning or some of my own dried ranch seasoning blend.
3. Same with the BBQ sauce. You can use whatever brand you prefer. If you want to make your own, I highly recommend my Homemade Balsamic BBQ Sauce. It's my favorite!

Nutrition Information

Yield 4 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 657Total Fat 34gSaturated Fat 6gUnsaturated Fat 28gCholesterol 56mgSodium 1649mgCarbohydrates 69gFiber 9gSugar 36gProtein 22g

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.