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This Buffalo Chicken Salad is packed with bold flavor and fresh, crunchy ingredients like crisp veggies, creamy avocado, tender chicken, and crumbled bleu cheese, then finished with a creamy buffalo dressing. It completely customizable and the perfect main-dish salad or game-day side.
Today I’m sharing how to make my all-time favorite buffalo chicken salad. It’s big, fresh, and loaded with bold buffalo flavor in every bite. Packed with spicy buffalo chicken, bacon (yes, bacon!), and crunchy veggies, it’s the kind of salad that feels like comfort food (but still counts as a salad). The best part? It’s completely customizable. So pile on all the toppings, or don’t. It’s entirely up to you!
Buffalo Chicken Salad – Why This Recipe Works
This salad has everything: crisp veggies, spicy buffalo chicken, creamy dressing, and just the right amount of tangy cheese to bring it all together. It’s absolutely worth serving at your next barbecue, potluck, or game day party. Here’s what makes it so good, and why you’ll want to make it on repeat:
- Big buffalo flavor: The chicken gets tossed in a creamy buffalo mixture made with bleu cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce, which also doubles as a quick dressing. That means you get heat and tang in every bite (not just the bites that catch extra sauce).
- Crunchy and fresh: Crisp greens and fresh veggies balance the heat and keep the salad from feeling heavy.
- Tangy cheese: A tangy, crumbly cheese like bleu cheese, feta, or gorgonzola takes this salad from good to absolutely irresistible (I’m still team feta most days, but bleu cheese is having a moment).
- Easy to customize: Add avocado, corn, tortilla strips, bacon bits, diced apples, hard-boiled eggs, or chickpeas to make it your own. Want a vegetarian twist? Swap the chicken for crispy air fryer buffalo cauliflower bites and omit the bacon.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
Note: You can find the complete list of ingredients + measurements in the recipe card at the end of this page.
- Bacon (optional): I like to cook a few slices of bacon in the air fryer until crisp, then crumble it over each bowl right before serving. Not a bacon fan? Skip it, or swap in roasted chickpeas for crunch or hard-boiled eggs for extra protein.
- Chicken: Thin chicken cooks quickly and stays tender, so chicken breast cutlets (thin-sliced breasts) are ideal. You can buy cutlets or slice a chicken breast in half horizontally yourself. Shortcut options work great here: use leftover baked buffalo chicken, or chop rotisserie chicken and toss it in the buffalo mixture (no need to cook from scratch).
Want a meatless option? Swap the chicken for Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Bites (crispy and breaded) or my Baked Buffalo Cauliflower (no breading) for a vegetarian buffalo chicken salad twist.
- Seasonings: This salad gets big flavor from a simple blend of paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Want it extra spicy? Add a pinch of cayenne pepper or a few dashes of hot sauce to the chicken while it cooks.
- Buffalo Dressing/Sauce: This is where the magic happens: Frank’s RedHot Sauce + sour cream + bleu cheese dressing makes a creamy, tangy coating for the chicken that can double as a quick dressing for the whole salad. If you’re not into bleu cheese dressing, ranch dressing is the best substitute. You can also use Greek yogurt in place of sour cream for a slightly lighter option.
- Salad Base + Veggies: You cab make this buffalo chicken salad with a base of chopped romaine lettuce for crunch and structure (it holds up well under the dressing). From there, add your favorites: avocado, corn, shredded carrots, diced celery, and green onions are my go-to mix for texture and freshness. No romaine? Swap in spring mix, arugula, iceberg, or shredded green cabbage for extra crunch.
- Crumbled Blue Cheese: Crumbled bleu cheese adds a flavorful salty, tangy bite that tastes like classic buffalo wings. If you’re not a bleu cheese person, swap in feta (my usual pick), goat cheese for creaminess, or gorgonzola for a bolder punch.
- Tortilla Strips: Tortilla strips add saltiness and crunch, which I love. Croutons also work, and homemade croutons are a great way to use up day-old bread. For a gluten-free option, use gluten-free tortilla strips or crushed corn tortilla chips.
- Ranch dressing: You can keep it simple with store-bought ranch, or try my creamy, herb-packed homemade ranch dressing recipe. If you like extra dressing (I do), serve ranch on the side so everyone can drizzle to taste.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Salad
1. Cook the bacon: Add the bacon to a large skillet set over medium heat and cook until crisp and the fat is rendered – about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving about 2 tablespoons of rendered bacon grease in the pan.
2. Season the chicken: As the bacon cooks, coat the chicken with the olive oil and seasonings in a medium bowl.
3. Pan-sear the chicken: Set the same skillet that was used to cook the bacon over medium heat (adding additional oil if necessary). Once hot, cook the chicken for 4-6 minutes on both sides or until golden and cooked through.
4. Let the chicken rest: Remove the cooked chicken breasts from the skillet and allow them to rest for 5 minutes, then chop the chicken into 1-inch pieces.
5. Make the buffalo dressing/sauce: In a separate bowl, add the buffalo sauce, sour cream, and blue cheese dressing and whisk to combine well. Reserve about 1/2 cup of this mixture if you’d like to use it for dressing.
6. Add the chicken: Add the chopped chicken to the dressing mixture and toss to fully coat. Set it aside.
7. Assemble the salad: Add the chopped lettuce to a large salad bowl as the base for this buffalo chicken salad, followed by the chicken, avocado, corn, carrots, celery, green onions, blue cheese crumbles, tortilla strips, cooked and crumbled bacon, and ranch dressing. Serve and enjoy!
Serving Ideas
This buffalo chicken salad is hearty enough for dinner with a side of sweet cornbread and a fresh fruit salad, but it also works perfectly for parties and casual get-togethers. Here are a few of my favorite ways to serve it:
- Game Day Salad Bar: Set everything out buffet-style: greens, chopped veggies, buffalo chicken, bacon, tortilla strips, and both ranch and bleu cheese. It’s fun, customizable, and an EASY way to feed a crowd without making multiple main dishes.
- Wraps and Pitas: Turn this into an easy handheld lunch by stuffing the salad into a tortilla wrap or soft pita bread. Add extra romaine for crunch, then drizzle with ranch or the creamy buffalo sauce before rolling.
- Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps: Skip the salad and serve the saucy buffalo chicken mixture in crisp romaine or butter lettuce leaves. Top with green onions, crumbled cheese, and a few tortilla strips for crunch.
- Serve With Wing Night Sides: Pair with celery sticks, carrot sticks, and a small bowl of extra ranch or bleu cheese for dipping. If you want something warm to serve alongside it, fries, baked sweet potato fries, or garlic roasted potatoes are always a hit.
Hosting an outdoor potluck or BBQ? My easy grilled veggie skewers are a great side dish or salad addition.
Make-Ahead Tips
Whether you’re entertaining, meal-prepping, or just looking for faster assembly, these make-ahead tips will help to get this buffalo chicken salad on the table in minutes.
- Buffalo Dressing/Sauce: You can whisk together the hot sauce, bleu cheese dressing, and sour cream ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. Give it a quick stir before using, then toss with the chicken right before serving so the salad stays crisp.
- Ranch Dressing: Homemade ranch can be made up to 5 days ahead and stored in a sealed jar or container in the refrigerator.
- Bacon and Chicken: Cook the bacon and chicken ahead of time, then refrigerate until you’re ready to assemble. You can also save time by using leftover baked chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken (just chop and toss with the buffalo dressing before serving).
- Fresh Veggies: Wash, chop, and prep your salad toppings in advance (romaine, celery, carrots, green onions, etc.) and store them in separate airtight containers. For the best crunch, line the containers with a paper towel to absorb moisture and keep everything crisp for up to 2-3 days. Add avocado right before serving so it stays fresh and doesn’t brown.
Storing Leftovers
This buffalo chicken salad is best served right after assembling so the greens and crunchy toppings stay crisp and don’t turn soggy.
For leftovers, store the components separately. Keep the buffalo chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, and store any extra dressing in a separate airtight container or jar for up to 5 days.
More Favorite Salad Recipes
Keep the buffalo party going with my Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Dip (cheesy and creamy), Buffalo Chicken Sliders (perfect for sharing!), homemade buffalo sauce (simple, 5-minute recipe), and Buffalo Chicken Soup (warm, cozy, and packed with classic wing flavor).
Buffalo Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon, chopped
- 1 pound chicken breasts, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup buffalo sauce
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup blue cheese dressing, or ranch dressing
- 6 cups Romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 large avocado, sliced
- ½ cup corn
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup celery, diced
- ½ cup green onions, diced
- ½ cup blue cheese, or feta cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup tortilla strips
- ½ cup ranch dressing
Instructions
- Cook the bacon: Add the bacon to a large skillet set over medium heat and cook until crisp and the fat has rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving about 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the skillet.
- Season the chicken: While the bacon cooks, add the chicken to a medium bowl and toss with the olive oil, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper until evenly coated.
- Cook the chicken: Set the same skillet back over medium heat (add a little extra oil if the pan seems dry). Once hot, cook the chicken for 4-6 minutes per side, or until golden and cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes, then chop into 1-inch pieces.
- Make the creamy buffalo dressing: Whisk the hot sauce, sour cream, and blue cheese dressing together in a medium bowl until smooth. (Optional: reserve about ½ cup to use as dressing.)
- Coat the chicken: Add the chopped chicken to the bowl and toss until evenly coated in the creamy buffalo mixture.
- Assemble and serve: Build each salad starting with lettuce, then add the buffalo chicken, avocado, corn, carrots, celery, green onions, crumbled blue cheese, tortilla strips, and bacon. Drizzle with the reserved dressing (or ranch) and serve immediately.
Notes
- This salad is best served immediately after assembling.
- Store leftover chicken separately in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I didn’t make it exactly like the recipe, but the combo of Buffalo chicken, blue cheese, avocado and bacon set the tone for a wonderful salad. Thanks for the inspiration!