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This Buffalo Chicken Salad is a delicious, restaurant-quality salad made with tender buffalo chicken, fresh vegetables, crumbled blue cheese, and a creamy homemade buttermilk ranch dressing. It's fresh, satisfying, and ready in under 30 minutes.
If your family loves my Buffalo Chicken Taco recipe, Buffalo Chicken Pizza recipe, or Buffalo Chicken Casserole recipe, this salad deserves a spot on your weekly dinner rotation. It is hearty enough for dinner, easy enough for busy weeknights, and truly one of my all-time favorite salad recipes.
Key Takeaways: Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Serves: 4 as a hearty dinner salad and can easily be doubled for entertaining or meal prep
- Total Time: 15 minute prep + 12 minute bake
- Flavor Payoff: Spicy buffalo chicken, crisp fresh veggies, creamy ranch, and tangy blue cheese create the perfect balance of heat and freshness
- Flexible + Family-Friendly: Easy to customize for picky eaters, low-carb diets, or spice preferences
- Why This Recipe Stands Out: Baking the seasoned chicken keeps it tender while giving you time to prep the rest of the salad, helping you get dinner on the table in under 30 minutes.
Recipe Highlights
Kristen's Keys
I've been making this salad for decades, and a few small details are exactly what have made it such a reliable favorite at my house.
- Cut the chicken into even pieces. Uniform 1-inch cubes cook quickly and stay juicy instead of drying out.
- Prep veggies while the chicken bakes. This simple multitasking move keeps the recipe firmly in the easy weeknight dinner category.
- Think "salad bar" when serving. Set all the toppings out and let everyone assemble their own salad so that there are no complaints. I even set aside a few pieces of seasoned chicken WITHOUT buffalo sauce for my picky daughter.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
5-Star Reader Review
Wow! I knew I had to try this because my family loves anything buffalo chicken and it was even better than I imagined! So easy to make too. Thank you! -Sheila
Notes on Ingredients
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs work equally well.
- Flour: I recommend tossing the cubed chicken in a bit of all-purpose flour, along with the seasonings. This helps to lock in the moisture. Omit if gluten-free or low-carb.
- Hot Sauce + Honey + Butter: simplified version of my homemade buffalo wing sauce recipe, that finishes the seasoned baked chicken with classic buffalo flavor. Feel free to replace it with store-bought buffalo wing sauce.
- Lettuce: I recommend a fresh, crisp lettuce such as hearts of romaine or iceberg. Adding shredded red cabbage is also a nice addition for added crunch and color.
- Veggies: Cucumbers, carrots, green onions,and celery are classic pairings to buffalo chicken. I also love to add sweet bell peppers and tomatoes. Feel free to mix and match as desired.
- Ranch Dressing: My homemade buttermilk ranch dressing truly makes this salad feel restaurant-worthy, but feel free to use your favorite store-bought version. To make the dressing you will need plain Greek yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, and ranch seasoning mix.
- Blue Cheese Crumbles: Optional but classic.
Recipe Modifications
- Low-Carb + Gluten-Free: Skip the flour coating and season the chicken directly with spices before baking.
- Shortcut Option: Use store-bought or leftover homemade rotisserie chicken and bottled ranch dressing for a 15-minute version.
- Swap the Dressing: Blue cheese dressing works beautifully if you love classic buffalo wing flavors.
- Adjust Heat: Use a mild buffalo sauce for less heat or increase the spice with extra hot sauce or cayenne pepper.
- Top with Fries (my FAVORITE!!) Top it with oven-baked fries, crispy air fryer fries, or air-fryer potato cubes. They add a salty, crispy element that will make you forget about croutons permanently.
- Make a Copycat Chili's Buffalo Chicken Salad: Toss baked homemade chicken tenders or baked frozen breaded chicken strips in a bit of buffalo sauce, dice them into bite-sized pieces, and assemble salad as directed.
- Optional Additions: Feel free to add shredded or cubed cheddar cheese or crumbled oven baked bacon.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Salad
While you can find the full details in the recipe card, I have provided the following step-by-step directions and photos (and a few tips) to help you make the best version of a Buffalo Chicken Salad at home.
- Whisk together the ranch dressing ingredients until smooth and creamy. Cover and refrigerate while preparing the salad. The chilling time helps the seasoning hydrate and deepens the flavor.
- Remove any fat or grizzle from the chicken, then cut into 1-inch cubes. You don't have to break out a ruler, but you do want to aim for consistently sized pieces of chicken.
- Combine flour, paprika, garlic powder, and salt and pepper in a shallow dish or large resealable bag.
- Toss the chicken cubes with the seasoned flour until evenly coated.
- Shake off the excess flour and place the seasoned chicken onto a greased rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake, flipping after 6 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and lightly golden. This is typically about 12 minutes.
- While the chicken is baking, use that time to wash, dry, and chop the lettuce and vegetables for the salad.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine hot sauce, melted butter, and honey, or add a bit of your favorite prepared buffalo sauce.
- Add the baked chicken (or leftover cooked chicken) to the mixing bowl with the buffalo sauce and gently toss to evenly coat the chicken.
- Right before serving, add the prepared buffalo chicken and tomatoes. Serve with ranch dressing and crumbled bleu cheese on the side.
Storage Tips
- Refrigerate: Store the buffalo chicken, chopped veggies, and dressing separately for up to 3 days.
- Meal Prep Tip: Prep all the components ahead and assemble right before serving to keep everything crisp and fresh.
- Reheat Chicken: Warm the buffalo chicken gently in the microwave or skillet before serving over the salad or enjoy cold.
- Stretch Leftovers: Roll everything into a large flour tortilla for an easy lunch or meal-prep option.
Buffalo Chicken Salad FAQs
That depends on your buffalo sauce. Use a mild buffalo sauce for less heat or increase the spice with extra hot sauce or cayenne pepper.
Absolutely. Rotisserie chicken is a fantastic shortcut and cuts the prep time nearly in half. You can even bake frozen chicken nuggets or chicken strips for added texture and ease.
Surprisingly, no. I often season the chicken, bake as directed, and toss SOME of the chicken with buffalo sauce and leave some plain or toss with BBQ sauce. That allows my kids to enjoy a mild salad (similar to my BBQ Chicken Salad), while Mom and Dad enjoy the buffalo version.
More Delicious Chicken Salad Recipes
A hearty, fresh salad topped with chicken is exactly the kind of dinner I crave when the temperatures warm up. That is why this Buffalo Chicken Salad recipe, along with the recipes below, are some of my most repeated summer recipes.
- BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad
- Southwest Chicken Salad
- Waldorf Chicken Salad with Grapes
- Caribbean Chicken Salad
- Copycat Panera Greek Salad + Marinated Greek Chicken
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Video
Ingredients
For the Buffalo Chicken
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, or thighs
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup hot sauce, like Frank's Red Hot
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
For the Salad
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
- ½ cup shredded red cabbage, optional
- 2 large carrots, peeled and shredded
- 1 medium English cucumber, diced
- 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 medium red or yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- ⅓ cup crumbled blue cheese, optional
For the Ranch Dressing
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt, or mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning
- ¼ cup buttermilk, or regular milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Ranch Dressing
- In a small mixing bowl, combine ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt, ¼ cup sour cream, 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning, ¼ cup buttermilk, and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice together until well combined. Cover and refrigerate while you are preparing the remaining ingredients.
For the Salad
- Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃). Spray a rimmed sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a shallow dish, whisk together the ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- Remove and discard any fat or grizzle from the chicken and then cube into 1-inch pieces.
- Once cubed, add to the flour mixture and toss to coat the chicken. Shake off the excess flour from the chicken and place the seasoned chicken onto the greased pan.
- Bake for 6 minutes, flip the chicken, and return to the oven and bake for 4-6 minutes, or until the chicken reaches 165℉ (74℃), or the juices run clear.
- While the chicken is baking, mix together the ¼ cup hot sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted) together in a small bowl.
- Once the chicken has baked, add it to the hot sauce mixture and toss to evenly coat.
- Toss together the romaine, red cabbage, carrots, celery, celery, peppers, and green onions together in a serving dish.
- Remove the chicken from the hot sauce mixture and add to the salad base.
- Top the salad with grape tomatoes, crumbled bleu cheese, and drizzle with the prepared ranch dressing. Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! Maybe next time I'll add a smidge more honey to the dressing for my kids who said it was a little too hot for them. Man, I loved it though. Buffalo sauce, yum yum.
So happy to hear you enjoyed, Erica! I typically leave a few of the chicken strips plain after baking for my daughter. That way she won't complain it is too spicy. That is an idea too!
Happy Birthday Kristen,
I hope you had a wonderful day, and don’t mind getting older.
Thank you for sharing all of your favourites, we love this recipe!
Thanks so much Sami! I appreciate the birthday wishes and hearing you enjoy this salad.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Hope you're having an awesome day!
Thanks, Paul! So glad you enjoy this Chicken Salad as well!
Happy Birthday!!🎉🎊🎂 Thank you for all the wonderful recipes! Hope your day is wonderful❤️
Thank you so much, Carol!
SUUUUPER good! We made this for a quick lunch today and now it's going to be a new favorite in our house. Thank you!
Awesome! This Buffalo Chicken is a favorite here as well!
This salad was just perfection! Loved the flavor of the chicken and the homemade creamy ranch dressing was fabulous. Leftovers tasted great as well!
Fabulous! I love hearing you enjoyed!
Wow! I knew I had to try this because my family loves anything buffalo chicken and it was even better than I imagined! So easy to make too. Thank you!
Awesome to hear! I am so happy you and your family enjoyed the salad 🙂