Buffalo chicken salad with blue cheese crumbles is cool and creamy, with a bit of spicy zip, and seriously crave-worthy. It’s just 6 ingredients and 10 minutes to put together.
It’s salad week here on Family Food on the Table.
Earlier this week I shared BBQ salmon salad, which is full of fresh veggies and roasted BBQ-basted salmon, plus a creamy dressing to top it all off.
Today, we’re doing yet another take on one of my very favorite kinds of salads.
Previously I’ve shared my go-to healthy chicken salad, but also harvest chicken salad and curry chicken salad. Oh, and my basil chicken salad with walnuts.
Can we say obsessed, much?! Totally guilty as charged.
My newest twist is this super fun buffalo chicken salad that is like a flavor bomb for your mouth.
It’s cool and creamy, with a bit of a spicy zip to it, and it’s seriously crave-worthy.
You’ll be counting down the minutes until lunchtime when you’ve got this waiting for you!
Also, it’s just 6 ingredients and only takes about 10 minutes to put together. It’s perfect for throwing together and keeping on hand for the week.
And it’s so darn tasty, you’ll be making it again and again like I’ve been doing!
(Oh and if you love these flavors, check out this buffalo chicken dip appetizer that can be served cold or baked and served warm.)
OK, let’s get cooking.
Now, I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions coming up below on how to make buffalo chicken salad. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Notes on making buffalo chicken salad:
- The chicken for this recipe needs to be cooked and cooled, so please plan accordingly. (See notes below about how to cook the chicken if you don’t have some ready.)
- The recipe calls for a combination of mayonnaise and Greek yogurt. You can certainly use all mayo if you prefer. (And regular or a light mayo are fine, as is nonfat Greek yogurt.)
- Use your favorite buffalo sauce for this recipe. And if you want to spice it up even more, choose a spicy buffalo sauce.
OK, let’s discuss the actual chicken part. We’ve got options here on what to use.
About the chicken in buffalo chicken salad:
- You’ll need about 2 cups of cooked, chopped chicken for this recipe.
- You can take 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and place them in a pot of boiling water on the stove. Lower the heat slightly but maintain a boil (a rolling boil is fine as long as you’re not going to bubble over).
- They’ll take 25-35 minutes to cook through, depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts. Then use some tongs to remove them from the pot of water and set the cooked chicken aside to cool. Once it’s cool enough to handle, chop the chicken into small pieces, let it all cool completely and then you’re ready to make the salad.
- Or you can absolutely substitute a rotisserie chicken if you prefer. Or even some leftover baked or grilled chicken.
- I often use crockpot shredded chicken or Instant Pot shredded chicken and just chop it instead of shredding it.
Also, you can chop your chicken as chunky or as finely as you like.
It’s really your personal preference whether you want big meaty pieces of chicken or if you want them diced small so everything is more uniform and smooth.
(Though it also depends a bit on how you’re going to serve it. The size of your cut chicken won’t matter if you’re making sandwiches or wraps, but if you’re serving this as an appetizer or with small crackers, you’re going to want a smaller dice. So consider that part too.)
OK, let’s get ready to dig in!
I’ve got a few ideas for you on ways to serve this up. It’s super versatile, which I love.
Serving ideas for buffalo chicken salad:
– The salad can be scooped and served on salad greens as an actual salad. Sliced cucumbers and carrots are good additions here too.
– Serve it with crackers for scooping and eating. Or even tortilla or corn chips.
– Make a buffalo chicken salad sandwich with some whole grain bread and extra mayo, or mustard, spread on it. A sandwich is great with baby spinach or fresh greens as well.
– Or make an open-faced sandwich of sorts with some toasted baguette slices and the chicken salad piled on top.
– Use your chicken salad for a wrap with whole wheat, spinach or regular tortillas. Or use a lettuce wrap for a low-carb option.
– Spoon the chicken salad into mini phyllo cups or wonton cups for serving as an appetizer.
– Or make sliders with this buffalo chicken salad - it would be great for game day snacking!
So many ways to enjoy it!
It’ll definitely have you coming back for more and more and more.
Finally, let’s talk about how to store this salad.
How to store leftover buffalo chicken salad:
- Chicken salad will keep, covered, in the fridge for 4-5 days.
- You can store it in a plastic container with a lid or in a bowl with a top or covered in plastic wrap.
I hope you give this a try if you want a zippy twist to your regular lunch time routine.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked, finely chopped chicken
- ⅓ cup chopped celery (from 1-2 stalks)
- ⅓ cup blue cheese crumbles
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt (or more mayo)
- ¼ cup buffalo sauce
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, celery and blue cheese crumbles.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt and buffalo sauce and stir well.
- Add the mayo mixture to the chicken mixture and stir until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve as desired immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- The salad can be scooped and served on salad greens as an actual salad. Sliced cucumbers and carrots are good additions here too.
- Serve it with crackers for scooping and eating. Or even tortilla or corn chips.
- Make a buffalo chicken salad sandwich with some whole grain bread and extra mayo, or mustard, spread on it. A sandwich is great with baby spinach or fresh greens as well.
- Or make an open-faced sandwich of sorts with some toasted baguette slices and the chicken salad piled on top.
- Use your chicken salad for a wrap with whole wheat, spinach or regular tortillas. Or use a lettuce wrap for a low-carb option.
- Spoon the chicken salad into mini phyllo cups or wonton cups for serving as an appetizer.
- Or make sliders with this buffalo chicken salad - it would be great for game day snacking!
Nutrition
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