Buffalo Chicken Salad

Buffalo Chicken Salad with crispy chicken coated in spicy buffalo sauce tossed with crisp lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, and celery. Add a creamy blue cheese dressing, and you get a filling salad! Use frozen breaded chicken to make it really easy, and dinner is ready in about 30 minutes.

overhead shot of the salad on a platter with a bowl of dressing.

This buffalo chicken salad is how I like to salad: It has lots of veggies to make it feel “healthy,” but the flavor and textures are all about treating yourself. In this case, crispy breaded chicken coated in buffalo sauce with plenty of blue cheese dressing and cheese crumbles to finish it off.

Think of it as a chicken wings platter with a salad make-over. It has it all – the veggie sticks, spicy chicken, and dipping sauce mixed up in a hearty, filling, delicious, comforting salad. 

Yes, a comforting salad – there is such a thing and this spicy chicken salad is it. Plus, it’s easy! 30ish minutes easy, making it great for weeknight dinners.

a salad in a bowl.

Recipe Notes

I love some crispy chicken in a salad, but feel free to use cooked chicken breasts to make it lighter. You can cook them in a pan while you prep the salad and then dice and toss them with the sauce. Or, skip the cooking and use shredded rotisserie chicken. It all works.

We’re making a homemade blue cheese dressing and I highly recommend it. That said, you can use your favorite bottled dressing if you want to make it easy.

There’s some prep with this recipe, but you can do most of it while the chicken bakes so the salad is ready in about 30 minutes.

ingredients for the salad.

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Ingredients

  • Frozen breaded chicken tenders
  • Buffalo sauce
  • Sour cream
  • Mayonnaise
  • Onion powder
  • Kosher salt
  • White pepper
  • 2% milk
  • Chopped parsley
  • Blue cheese crumbles
  • Chopped romaine lettuce
  • Coleslaw mix
  • Diced celery
  • Sliced green onions
  • Diced cucumber
  • Cherry tomatoes sliced in half

Dressing Tip: Not a blue cheese fan? I’ve made this salad with ranch dressing and crumbled feta and it’s delicious.

Make-Ahead Tip: You can make the dressing ahead and keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

photo collage showing the chicken and sauce and a bowl with the salad being mixed.

How to Make It

Bake the chicken tenders and then slice them into bite-sized pieces. Place them in a bowl and drizzle the buffalo wing sauce over the top.

While the chicken bakes, mix the sour cream, mayo, seasonings, milk, and parsley in a bowl. Leave it in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the salad.

photo collage of the salad being assembled.

To make the salad, place all of the veggies in a large bowl. Toss them together. Add the dressing and lightly toss to coat the veggies. Pile the buffalo chicken on top along with a sprinkle of blue cheese crumbles.

Serving Tip: You can serve this salad in a big bowl all tossed together. Or, serve it on a platter with the dressing on the side and everyone can help themselves.

overhead shot of buffalo chicken salad in a bowl.

If you want to satisfy a craving for buffalo wings with something that feels like a dinner instead of an appetizer – this salad is for you. It has all the spicy buffalo flavor and chicken-y goodness wrapped up in a filling salad. I hope you try it soon!

Happy salad making,

April
overhead shot of a serving of salad.

More Buffalo Chicken Recipes

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Buffalo Chicken Salad

buffalo chicken salad.

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5 from 1 review

Buffalo Chicken Salad with crispy chicken coated in spicy buffalo sauce tossed with crisp lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, and celery. Add a creamy blue cheese dressing, and you get a filling salad! 

  • Author: April Anderson
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Salads
  • Method: Assemble
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • 12 ounces frozen breaded chicken tenders
  • 1/2 cup buffalo sauce
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1 tablespoon 2% milk
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese, divided
  • 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  • 2 cups coleslaw mix
  • 2 celery ribs, diced
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 1 cucumber, diced
  • 10 cherry tomatoes, halved

Instructions

  1. Cook the chicken tenders following the package instructions. Once they are cooked, slice them into bite-sized pieces and then place them in a bowl. Pour the buffalo sauce over the top and then stir gently to coat the chicken evenly.
  2. For the dressing, combine the sour cream, mayo, onion powder, salt, pepper, milk, parsley, and 1/2 cup of cheese in a large serving bowl. Pile the lettuce, slaw, celery, green onions, cucumber, and tomatoes on top of the dressing. Toss the salad together so the dressing is evenly coating the salad.
  3. Pile the buffalo chicken on top of the salad and sprinkle 1/4 cup of blue cheese crumbles over the top. Toss it all together again and it’s ready to serve.

Notes

You can make the dressing ahead and keep it in the refrigerator.

Instead of tossing the salad, you can layer the lettuce with the rest of the ingredients on top and drizzle the dressing on top. Or serve it on the side and let everyone help themselves.

Nutrition

  • Calories: 522
  • Sugar: 6.1g
  • Sodium: 1563.1mg
  • Fat: 38.7g
  • Saturated Fat: 11.4g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 23.3g
  • Trans Fat: 0.2g
  • Carbohydrates: 24.5g
  • Fiber: 4.9g
  • Protein: 21g
  • Cholesterol: 68.4mg

Do you love this recipe? Don’t forget to leave a comment and your recipe star rating!

The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.

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One Comment

  1. I have made this several times and it is easily one of the best salads I’ve ever had. Easy to make, big on flavor. I foresee this being a staple in my meal planning.






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