Buffalo Chicken Salad has all the Buffalo Wings flavor only in salad form! Topped with juicy Buffalo Chicken, purple onion, cherry tomatoes, bleu cheese, and ranch dressing, this salad won’t get messy like wings! And they’re not only for game day! Meal prep them for healthy power bowls or salads throughout the week (Paleo, Whole30, and Keto!)
Frank’s Red Hot Sauce works as a fantastic chicken marinade! Try our Buffalo chicken that’s cooked in the slow-cooker for the juiciest chicken salad! Love Buffalo Chicken? Try our Buffalo Chicken Dip for a mid-day snack or tasty Appetizer!
Buffalo Chicken Salad
First things first, make the Buffalo Chicken! I have a slow cooker recipe, that simmered in Frank’s Red Hot Sauce for extremely juicy Chicken breasts. However, it can be made in 4 different ways including the Instant pot, Stovetop, Oven, or Slow Cooker-style. Whichever way you want to cook your Buffalo chicken is up to you, but I must say cooking it slowly over high heat for 2 hours is perfect! It won’t quite be like shredded chicken but better because you’ll have chunks or even slices of chicken meat over your salad.
Then comes the easy part of making a Buffalo chicken salad. Assembling the salad. You can certainly make your own Ranch dressing but I used Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. Mix-in different greens like fresh spinach or arugula and don’t forget the Bleu Cheese! This Chicken Salad is not that spicy and even got requested from my 7-year old! The salad toppings make the perfect melody of Buffalo flavors and are simple enough to meal prep throughout a busy week.
Buffalo Chicken Salad is healthy, Whole30, Keto, and Paleo Approved! Plus it doesn’t taste like boring diet food! It’s so tasty and good-for-you, which makes it easy to serve guests or bring along to a potluck!
How To Make Buffalo Chicken Salad:
Q&A
What is Buffalo Chicken Salad?
Inspired by Buffalo Wings, Buffalo Chicken Salad is a boneless take on wings and less mess! Topped with all your favorite Buffalo flavors this salad is sure to satisfy the wings craving!
- To Assemble salad: layer your iceberg lettuce first (can use Romaine or other mixed greens.)
- Top with avocados, purple onion, Buffalo chicken, halved cherry tomatoes, and crumbled blue cheese.
- Drizzle creamy ranch dressing over the salad and serve.
- To Meal Prep: divide into containers and drizzle lemon juice over the avocados to prevent browning. Drizzle with ranch dressing before serving.
How To Make Ranch Dressing?
Not a fan of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing? Making homemade ranch dressing is easy!
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried dill
- pinch salt and pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Blue Cheese or Bleu Cheese?
I was caught on guard on this one too! Apparently there are 2 ways you can pronounce the blue aged cheese. Wiki even refers to it under the two names. So, either Blue Cheese or Bleu Cheese would be correct.
What is Franks Red Hot Sauce?
Frank’s Red Hot Sauce is a flavored cayenne pepper sauce. Seasoned with spices like paprika, garlic powder, and salt this sauce is more flavorful than Tabasco, making it the key ingredient to Buffalo Wings!
How To Serve Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken?
There are so many ways to serve buffalo chicken, whether it’s cooked longer for shredded chicken or is at its peak of 2 hours for sliced chicken, there is a recipe for you!
- Lettuce Wraps
- quesadillas
- Tacos
- Wraps
- egg rolls
- party dip with cream cheese
- Mac and Cheese
- Bun Sandwiches
- Salads with crumbled blue cheese and Ranch Dressing!
Add Buffalo Chicken to any recipe when craving extra heat! It adds flavor!
Can I use Chicken Thighs?
This recipe calls for chicken breast and can easily be interchanged with chicken thighs.
What Size Crockpot?
I used a 2-quart slow cooker which can easily fit 2-3 chicken breasts. To exceed any more chicken breasts, look for a 5-quart slow cooker.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken 4 ways?
A Slow Cooker isn’t the only way to cook chicken breasts with Red Hot Sauce! You can bake it in the oven, stovetop, or even grill it!
Slow Cooker Instructions: place chicken breasts and hot sauce into a 2-quart slow cooker. Cook over high for 2 hours or for shredded chicken cook over low for 4-6 hours.
Stovetop Instructions: marinade in the hot sauce then discard and sear in a skillet on both sides until cooked through. Can also simmer with some marinade at the end until tender.
Oven Instructions: place chicken breasts into a baking dish and pour hot sauce over the top. Cover and bake 25 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes.
Instant Pot Instructions: place chicken breast and Frank’s Red hot sauce into an Instant Pot and select the slow cooker button. Follow the recipe time as a guide for the cooking time. Note: if cooking with pressure, add 1/2 cup more of hot sauce to prevent the burn signal to come on.
Can I use a different Hot Sauce?
Frank’s Red Hot Sauce has only been tested with this recipe. However, sauces like Cholula, Tabasco, Crystals, and Sriracha can be other hot sauces to consider. Go for a Louisiana-style hot sauce mainly produced by cayenne peppers for a flavorful sauce.
Tips for Buffalo Chicken Salad:
- Make the Buffalo Chicken Recipe first!
- For fall-apart chicken, cook longer and shred with forks.
- Double recipe and use for meal prep.
- Use cooked Buffalo Chicken for dips, salads, sandwiches, and wraps!
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Equipment
- bowls
Ingredients
Buffalo Chicken Salad:
- 4 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
- 2 oz blue cheese (crumbled)
- 1 avocado (sliced)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 1/2 red onion (diced)
- 1/2 cup ranch dressing (Hidden Valley)
Instructions
How To Make Buffalo Chicken:
- Prepare my Buffalo Chicken recipe and cut or chunk into pieces. Set aside.
- Assemble the salad: scoop 1 cup of lettuce into each bowl. Top with 1/4 of an avocado, purple onion, cherry tomatoes, buffalo chicken, and blue cheese.
Notes
- Serving Suggestions: recipe can make 4 salad bowls or 1 large salad.
- Dressing Suggestions: drizzle 2 tbsp over each cup of lettuce with toppings.
- Blue Cheese: has a strong aroma, do not exceed serving suggestions if you prefer it more on the mild side.
- Mix-ins: mix in 2 cups of fresh spinach or arugula.
- Meal Prep: evenly divide salads into containers. Drizzle lemon juice over the avocados to prevent browning. Drizzle with dressing before serving.