This healthy buffalo chicken salad is one of my favorite easy lunches to make during busy weeks. I layer a classic salad filled with lettuce, tomatoes, celery, onion, and avocado with pan-seared buffalo chicken breasts and top the whole thing with ranch dressing. The homemade buffalo sauce really takes this salad to the next level!
Sure, you could make this healthy buffalo chicken salad with bottled buffalo sauce, but my easy homemade recipe comes together in a snap and really makes this salad! It tastes just like my favorite buffalo chicken wrap without the extra carbs.
What’s in This Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad Recipe?
- Butter: Unsalted butter is preferred to keep the buffalo sauce from being too salty.
- Hot Sauce: Use whatever your favorite hot sauce is! Any brand will work well. I used Frank’s RedHot.
- White Distilled Vinegar: This is needed to give the buffalo sauce the necessary tang.
- Worcestershire Sauce: This gives the necessary savory note to the buffalo sauce.
- Seasonings: You’ll need onion powder and salt for the buffalo sauce.
- Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts are my favorite to use for this salad recipe.
- Shredded Lettuce: Swap this with any other leafy green that you prefer.
- Tomatoes: Cherry or grape tomatoes work best since they’re easy to cut in half and pierce with a fork.
- Celery: Make sure to rinse your celery before chopping, as celery tends to have residue on it from where it was farmed.
- Red Onion: The bold flavor of a red onion complements the buffalo flavor perfectly.
- Avocado: Make sure your avocado is fresh by giving it a gentle squeeze prior to cutting. It should have a little give to it but not be too soft.
- Ranch Dressing: For the best results, consider using my homemade ranch dressing!
Note: This recipe is one of those few exceptions on our site that has more than 10 ingredients. We try to keep things VERY easy around here, and limiting ingredients and time spent is one of our favorite ways. That being said, this recipe is too delicious to leave out of our recipe box! It’s an exception that is so flavorful and worth the extra ingredients if you have the time and resources to make it.
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How to Store
Once this healthy buffalo chicken salad is tossed together with the dressing, I recommend serving it right away. Store any leftovers in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for 3 days. The chicken can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes and Tips
- Control the heat by the amount of glaze you brush on the chicken after it is cooked. More glaze, more heat; less glaze, less heat.
- You can cook the chicken and chop the veggies ahead of time. Store them in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.
- Feel free to get creative with your veggies! Corn, cucumbers, cauliflower and more are all great additions.
Buffalo Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the Buffalo Sauce
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (½ stick)
- ½ cup hot sauce such as Franks RedHot
- 2 teaspoons white distilled vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 pinch kosher salt
For the Chicken
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
For Salad Assembly
- 6 cups shredded romaine lettuce
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ cup celery diced
- ¼ cup red onion sliced thin
- 1 whole avocado pitted and sliced thin
- ½ cup ranch dressing
Instructions
For the Buffalo Sauce
- Add butter to a small, heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat.4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Once butter is melted, add the remaining sauce ingredients, whisk.½ cup hot sauce, 2 teaspoons white distilled vinegar, ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, ½ teaspoon onion powder, 1 pinch kosher salt
- Remove from heat, set aside.
For the Chicken
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Pat chicken breasts dry and lay on a baking sheet.1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Brush the chicken with ½ of the buffalo sauce.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165°F.
- Remove chicken from oven.
- When it is cool enough to handle, slice chicken into 1” strips.
- Add chicken strips to a bowl, toss with the remaining buffalo sauce.
- Put in refrigerator to cool, at least 10 minutes.
To Assemble the Salad
- Divide the lettuce into 4 large salad bowls.6 cups shredded romaine lettuce
- Top each bowl with ¼ of the buffalo chicken strips.
- Divide the tomatoes, celery, red onion, avocado, and blue cheese evenly between the bowls.1 cup cherry tomatoes, ½ cup celery, ¼ cup red onion, 1 whole avocado
- Drizzle with ranch dressing.½ cup ranch dressing
- Instead, you can toss everything together in a large salad bowl and serve from there.
What do you use for the “hot sauce”?
You can use any hot sauce you’d like 🙂