Dinner salad lovers unite! A crave-worthy meal awaits in the form of this rich and tangy Buffalo Chicken Salad. Perfectly seasoned boneless buffalo wings are nestled over a crunchy salad base finished with avocado and blue cheese crumbles. It’s creamy and satisfying while still pulling off that “light and fresh, I had a salad for dinner” happy dance feeling.
I’ve got some pretty simple culinary math for you today. No fractions or common core strategies required. Ready?
It goes something like this: kickin’ buffalo chicken bites + creamy avocado + crunchy salad/slaw situation = your new favorite dinner salad.
Easy weeknight Buffalo Chicken Salad brings ALL of the flavors and textures to the table:
- Crispy but tender boneless buffalo wings, tossed in my mom’s signature sauce
- Creamy avocado and salty blue cheese – AKA, buffalo chicken’s favorite flavor companions
- The crunchiest salad base tossed in a tangy red wine vinaigrette
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Salad
You don’t need a reservation to enjoy a crave-worthy, restaurant quality dinner salad. Crisp boneless buffalo wings are nestled atop a crunchy salad base tossed with 2-ingredient vinaigrette, blue cheese crumbles, and creamy avocado. This buffalo chicken salad is a quick 30-minute meal packed with protein and vegetables.
Crunchy salad base. Checkity check check. Grab a bowl and toss together chopped romaine lettuce, shredded red cabbage, shredded carrots, and thinly sliced celery.
Salty blue cheese? HECK YEAH. Sprinkle that on top.
Drizzle your crunchy salad situation with a few glugs of 2-ingredient red wine vinaigrette, then toss.
SCREECH. What’s that I said, vinaigrette? On a buffalo chicken salad?
Oh yes my friends, I’m going there – no ranch or blue cheese dressing is going to drag this salad down. We’re going for light, fresh, and tangy – some might even call it piquant. Fancy, eh? There’s already an ideal dose of creaminess thanks to blue cheese crumbles and avocado, and personally I found the addition of ranch dressing too heavy. The vinaigrette tossed into the salad base is perfection.
Top the salad with pan-seared boneless buffalo chicken bites – just nestle those babies right down the middle – then scatter the chopped cucumber and diced avocado next to the chicken like cozy little flavor nuggets.
Y’all this salad is SUCH a winner. You WILL become addicted. Suitable for stupid busy Tuesdays, Sunday Fundays, and everything in between.
Is This Buffalo Chicken Salad Healthy?
Instead of tossing around the word healthy like it means anything specific, let’s get acquainted with the nutritional value of this salad instead, shall we? One serving is going to give you:
- Loads of protein, about 30g
- Over half a dose of daily recommended Vitamin A
- Big contributions towards your Vitamin C needs (bye bye sniffles!), potassium (more than 1 banana!), and calcium
On the not-so-great-for-you side of the equation, this recipe is heavy on the sodium due to the bottled hot sauces. If you’re concerned about sodium intake, I found this article on low sodium hot sauces really useful.
In terms of dietary accommodations, this dinner salad is definitely on the low carb spectrum (12g net carbs per serving), is naturally gluten free, and easily translates to paleo.
How To Make This Buffalo Chicken Salad Paleo
- Use the paleo version of my buffalo chicken bites – you can find all of the details here.
- Omit the blue cheese.
- You’re done!
More Crave-Worthy Dinner Salads
- Salmon Avocado Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing
- BLT Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing
- Chicken Shawarma Salad
- Steak Fajita Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette
- Kale Chicken Salad with Apples and Warm Potatoes
DID YOU MAKE THIS BUFFALO CHICKEN SALAD?!? I’D LOVE TO KNOW HOW IT TURNED OUT! LEAVE A COMMENT AND A RATING BELOW 👇
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Buffalo Chicken Salad
Print Recipe Rate This Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1/2 recipe Buffalo Chicken Bites (Boneless Buffalo Wings)
- 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
- 1/2 c shredded carrots
- 1/2 c shredded red cabbage
- 2 stalks celery thinly sliced
- 1/3 c crumbled blue cheese
- 1 avocado diced
- 1/2 english cucumber diced
Simple Red Wine Vinaigrette
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- pinch sea or kosher salt
- pinch cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the boneless buffalo chicken bites. Follow the recipe here, but cut the portion size in half.
- While the chicken bites are browning, prepare the salad base. Toss the romaine lettuce, carrots, cabbage, celery, and blue cheese in a large bowl.
- Combine the red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper in a glass measuring cup or small bowl. Whisk until emulsified. Pour half the vinaigrette over the salad base and toss.
- Layer the diced avocado, diced cucumber, and boneless buffalo chicken bites over the salad base. Serve immediately with additional dressing on the side.
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