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This Crispy Buffalo Chicken Salad features crispy buffalo chicken tenders served over crisp lettuce, carrots, celery, cheese, avocado and topped spicy ranch dressing. It’s a satisfying meal that brings the heat while keeping things fresh.
Salads aren’t just a side dish—they can be a satisfying, hearty dinner that’s both nourishing and easy to make. With the right mix of protein, fresh veggies, and flavorful toppings, a salad can be hearty enough to stand on its own. And that is exactly what this Crispy Buffalo Chicken Salad is!
This Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wrap is another must if you are a buffalo chicken fan as well. Almost all the same ingredients folded into a tortilla makes a great lunch.
If you love buffalo chicken you will love these Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches!
What You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Romaine Lettuce – I like romaine because it is super crispy, but you can use any type of lettuce or greens that you like.
- Carrots – store bought shredded carrots are super easy for this
- Celery
- Avocado – optional, but I think avocado belongs on most things
- Cheese – I use shredded cheddar because that is what I like. But Blue Cheese crumbles can be a great alternative
- Chicken – store bought crispy chicken nuggets or tenders are great for this.
- Buffalo Sauce
- Ranch Dressing – a bottle of store bought is great or my Homemade Ranch Dressing makes this extra tasty.
The thing about making a salad is you can make it a million different ways to customize to your own taste. Like for this one, I used cheddar cheese because it is what I prefer. My husband would rather have bleu cheese, so when he makes his, that is what he uses. So you pick what you like and use it!
More Salad Topping Ideas
- Corn Kernels
- Bell Peppers
- Green Onions
- Red Onions
- Bleu Cheese
- Croutons
How To Make Buffalo Chicken Salad
- The first step here is to cook the chicken, and you really can do this multiple different ways, depending on your preference. You can see for the pictures that I used crispy chicken. That is because buffalo chicken is traditional fried, so I used store bought chicken tenders, baked them according to the package directions and topped them in sauce. But you could also use a rotisserie chicken, or grill/bake a piece of chicken or even use your Air Fryer Chicken Breast recipe and just toss with buffalo sauce after it is cooked.
- While the chicken is cooking you can load up your salad. Fill a large bowl with chopped romaine lettuce and then arrange your toppings.
- Make the spicy ranch dressing by whisking together ranch dressing with buffalo sauce until it is well combined.
- Once the chicken is cooked and tossed with the buffalo sauce, add it to your salad.
- Serve with the dressing and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Grilled Chicken. If you want to make this a little healthier for you, use grilled chicken. Just cooked it and then toss with buffalo sauce. It works great with the pre-cooked chicken you can buy at the store as well. I like to heat it up a little, toss with the sauce and add to the salad.
- Croutons. If you are using grilled chicken, add a few croutons to the salad to give it some crunch! Homemade Croutons make for the best salads.
- Hold The Dressing. Do not add the dressing until you are ready to serve. The salad will get soggy and not be as good.
- Cheese Swaps. If you like bleu cheese, use it instead of cheddar. Or use bleu cheese dressing instead of the spicy ranch. The best thing about making a salad like this is you can pick and choose what you like and use it.
- Buffalo Sauce. I am partial to Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce. It has been around forever, and just what I always use. But you can use whatever brand you like.
If you are looking for ways to use up the leftover buffalo sauce in your fridge try this Buffalo Chicken Burger, Buffalo Chicken Sliders, and even this Buffalo Chicken Pasta – so many great ways to get that delicious flavor!
More Tasty Salad Recipes
- Chicken Caesar Salad
- Grilled Chicken Antipasto Salad
- Southwest Cobb Salad
- BLT Salad
- Dorito Taco Salad
- Chinese Chicken Salad
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 cup matchstick carrots
- 1 stalk celery, sliced
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, or bleu cheese crumbles
- 1 pound chicken tenders
- 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon buffalo wing sauce
- 1/2 cup ranch dressing
Instructions
- Cook chicken according to package directions or if using chicken breasts, grill until it is cooked through. Let rest for a few minutes, and cut into bite sized pieces. Toss with 1/4 cup of buffalo wing sauce.1 pound chicken tenders, 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon buffalo wing sauce
- Meanwhile make the dressing by whisking together ranch dressing with 1 Tablespoon of buffalo wing sauce until well combined. Taste and add more sauce if desired.1/2 cup ranch dressing
- In a large bowl or platter arrange chopped lettuce, carrots, celery, avocado, and cheese. Plus add whatever other toppings you desire.8 cups chopped romaine lettuce, 1 cup matchstick carrots, 1 stalk celery, 1 avocado, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
- Once the chicken is cooked add it to the salad.
- Serve with the dressing drizzled on top or on the side.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Definitely gonna share with a friend who was just asking about a salad like this!
It doesn’t get better than this! I love interesting salads full of flavor like this. I’m so over iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots. LOL
Using store bought chicken tenders is genius! This salad was delicious.
One of our all time favorite salads. Perfect for a quick lunch or dinner.
wow! Such a great idea! This salad has everything I love!
Such a fantastic salad!! Everyone at my house loved it!
I could eat this daily!!