Buffalo Chicken Salad
I love salads 💖! They’re simple and yet so delicious! Before I met my husband David, I used to have at least a couple meals of salad per week. It could’ve been a Caesar Salad, Israeli Salad, Quinoa Beet Salad, Greek Salad, Winter Citrus Salad, etc.
Not all salads 🥗 are created equally therefore when adding protein, it can turn into an amazing and substantial main dish. I think of a nice Julienne Salad with turkey leftovers, Crab Louie with delicious poached prawns, Salade Niçoise with tuna and anchovy filets, and so on.
Another one that is incredibly tasty is my Buffalo Chicken Salad! Colorful and easy to make, this is a salad that will please everyone including those little “picky” eaters 👧👱♂️! Loaded with fresh ingredients along with homemade dressing, these crispy little chicken bites are a mouthful of yumminess!
We love our wings night but I have to say, this became another one of our favorites! It’s like eating chicken wings well… without the wings! This is another way to enjoy this famous finger food without having sticky, orange fingers 🖐.
Buffalo Chicken Salad is pretty quick to make. Before starting, make sure your “mise en place” is done which means all the veggies are cut 🔪 including the lettuce. I use my Buffalo Wing Sauce which has some serious flavor to it, hence, it’s made ahead as well.
As mentioned, the recipe goes pretty fast. After the chicken cubes are dredged in a flour mixture, they’re placed on a baking sheet. To get them crispy on the outside, I use cooking spray to coat before transferring them to the oven.
From there, they’re quickly baked for 7 minutes ⏰, removed from the heat, flipped over and returned to the oven for 4 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF . They go into a large bowl where I pour my Buffalo Sauce over and stir until well coated.
The next step is not necessary but I like doing it. I put them back on the baking sheet in a single layer, return the coated chicken 🐓 to the oven for 10 minutes WITHOUT the heat on. This helps the sauce to dry out a little bit. I do the same when making my regular wings… out of force of habit I presume!
I prefer using Romaine lettuce over iceberg. When it comes to dressing, most of the time, I go for my Zippy Ranch recipe as it gives a nice balance to the dish. You can opt for my Blue Cheese if you want but remember that there’s already some crumbled blue cheese that goes on top of the salad 🥗.
With fresh ingredients along with your favorite dressing, this delectable Buffalo Chicken Salad is totally a must try! It’s a nontraditional tasty meal to enjoy anytime! I like serving it during any sporting event like the Super Bowl 🏉, the Masters 🏌️♂️, World Series ⚾, etc. or parties… even potlucks!
Bon Appétit! 🍽
Check out these other delicious salad recipes… 😀
– Pittsburgh Steak Salad
– Glass Noodle Salad
– Grilled Shrimp Summer Salad
– Spring Pea Salad
– Moroccan Potato Salad
– Cucumber Salad
– Salade Lyonnaise ~ Lyonnaise Salad
and for even more salad recipes 🥗, click on this link… Recipe Category • Salads & Dressings
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Buffalo Chicken Salad
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Ingredients
CHICKEN
- 2 large chicken breasts, cubed
- 3 to 4 tbsp. grapeseed oil (substitute canola oil), or as needed tips & tricks
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I always use mixed peppercorns)
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
BUFFALO SAUCE
- 1 cup buffalo wing sauce see Recipe
SALAD
- 8 cups Romaine lettuce, torn, washed, drained and chopped
- 1 cup red onions, diced
- 1 cup red peppers, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced tips & tricks
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and shredded
- 1 cup red cabbage, shredded
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
- 1/2 English cucumber, peeled and diced
- 1 cup blue cheese, crumbled tips & tricks
- your choice of blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing Footnote
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF and line a large baking sheet with foil that has been lightly greased with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large bowl, add chicken cubes and pour on grapeseed oil, enough to coat. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and stir well; add more oil and black pepper if needed.
- In a large re-sealable plastic bag, combine flour, garlic powder and smoked paprika.
- Working in batches, add chicken cubes to the bag, close it and shake vigorously until nicely coated. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to the prepared baking sheets.
- When all coated, spray the cubes with cooking spray and transfer to the preheated oven. Bake for 7 minutes.
- A few minutes later, remove them from the heat and flip the cubes.
- Return them back to the oven for 4 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.
- Remove from the heat and put them in a medium bowl. Pour Buffalo Wing Sauce over and stir to coat.
- Drop them in a single layer back on the baking sheet and return the coated chicken to the oven without the heat on for 10 minutes.
- To assemble… Place lettuce first, the remaining vegetables on top followed by the chicken cubes on each side of the bowl. Sprinkle on crumbled blue cheese and drizzle on either blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing.
Notes
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