Buffalo Chicken Salad
This Buffalo Chicken Salad is made with tender, seasoned chicken, crisp greens, crunchy vegetables, creamy avocado, blue cheese or feta, and a flavorful creamy buffalo dressing. It is fresh, satisfying, and easy enough for lunch, dinner, or game-day entertaining.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 491kcal
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 pound thinly sliced chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the Creamy Buffalo Dressing
- ½ cup Frank's RedHot Sauce - more or less to taste
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup ranch dressing - or blue cheese dressing
- 1 teaspoon fresh dill - minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro - minced
For the Salad
- 6 cups fresh greens - chopped, see notes
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro - chopped
- ½ English cucumber - chopped
- ½ cup celery - diced
- ½ cup green onions - chopped
- ½ cup blue cheese - or feta cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup tortilla strips
- 1 apple - diced
- 1 large avocado - sliced
- Ranch or blue cheese dressing - for drizzling
- Frank’s RedHot Sauce - for drizzling
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season both sides with the paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Once hot, add the chicken and cook for 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until golden brown and cooked through.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate or cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes, then cut it into bite-sized pieces.
- While the chicken rests, make the creamy buffalo dressing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the Frank's RedHot Sauce, sour cream, blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing, fresh dill, and fresh cilantro until smooth.
- Add the chopped chicken to the bowl of dressing and toss until evenly coated.
- Arrange the chopped greens in a large serving bowl or platter. Top with the cilantro, cucumber, celery, green onions, cheese, tortilla strips, diced apple, and sliced avocado.
- Spoon the buffalo chicken over the salad and drizzle with extra ranch or blue cheese dressing and additional hot sauce, if desired.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Thin-sliced chicken breasts cook quickly and work best for this recipe. If needed, slice larger chicken breasts in half horizontally before seasoning.
- Ranch dressing is my preferred choice for the creamy buffalo dressing because it blends smoothly and has a milder flavor, but blue cheese dressing is delicious if you want a bolder, more classic buffalo-style taste.
- Blue cheese gives this salad a more traditional buffalo chicken flavor, while feta is a great alternative if you prefer something creamier and less pungent.
- Romaine is a great choice for the greens, but green leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, spring mix, arugula, or baby spinach also work well.
- Wait to add the tortilla strips until just before serving.
- Cut the apple and avocado just before assembling the salad.
- To make ahead, cook the chicken up to 3 to 4 days in advance and prepare the dressing up to 4 days ahead. Store the components separately in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Leftovers are best stored unassembled. Keep the chicken, dressing, and salad ingredients in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Calories: 491kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 106mg | Sodium: 1600mg | Potassium: 1106mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1743IU | Vitamin C: 49mg | Calcium: 173mg | Iron: 2mg
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