If You Love Spicy Buffalo Chicken, You’ve Got to Make This Salad
Spicy Buffalo chicken, sliced veggies, blue cheese and lettuce – yes, please!
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Who says salads have to be boring? Just a try a bite of our Spicy Buffalo Chicken Salad, and you’ll be blown away by its flavor. This isn’t your typical salad by any means; it’s all about the sauce and the layer of protein-packed chicken that top this leafy green dish.
Our Spicy Buffalo Chicken Salad is meant to evoke all of the classic taste of Buffalo chicken. But it’s even better for you, since we’ve added in a whole bunch of veggies. We didn’t stray too far from those chicken wing staple pairings, celery and carrots. Both are thinly sliced and shredded and tossed in the mix of butter lettuce, red cabbage and crumbles of blue cheese so you feel like you’re chowing down on wings. It’s all the same flavors, with extra vitamins and minerals.
When it comes to the chicken, we’ve DIY-ed our own clean version of classic Buffalo sauce and tossed ground chicken in it. This take on Buffalo sauce is just as delicious (and hot!) as the stuff that’s drizzled over chicken wings. To make our version, we used the OG: Frank’s Red Hot. However, you can choose and use any Buffalo sauce you like to get just the right balance of heat and flavor.
But we didn’t stop there. We also created a sweet, avocado mayo dressing that’s bright, herby and a little tangy to enhance that classic Buffalo flavor. As an added bonus, you can make the dressing in advance to save time later in the week. It keeps perfectly in your fridge – and once you’ve made a batch, you can pour it over other salads, or even your plain proteins too.
Need more Buffalo sauce in your life? Try one of these delicious recipes after you’ve made this Spicy Buffalo Chicken Salad:
- Buffalo Cauliflower with Tempeh Ranch Salad
- Buffalo Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
- Buffalo Chicken Twice-Baked Potatoes
Spicy Buffalo Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1⁄2 cup avocado oil mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 1⁄2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1⁄4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
- 3⁄4 tsp raw honey
- 1⁄8 tsp each sea salt and ground black pepper
Buffalo sauce/chicken
- 6 tbsp Buffalo hot sauce (TRY: Frank’s Red Hot)
- 4 tbsp organic unsalted butter
- 1 lb ground chicken, thoroughly patted dry
- 1⁄2 cup panko
- 1⁄2 tsp sea salt
- 1⁄4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
Salad
- 7 oz chopped butter or iceberg lettuce (about 5 cups)
- 3 ribs celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal
- 2 carrots, shaved with a peeler or shredded
- 1 cup red cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 oz blue cheese, crumbled (about 1⁄4 cup)
Preparation
- Prepare dressing: In a small skillet, combine olive oil and garlic. Place on low heat and cook until mixture sizzles. Let sizzle for 30 seconds, then transfer to a small bowl to cool. In a small food processor, combine mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, parsley, dill, honey, salt and pepper. Add garlic mixture; blend until smooth. (MAKE AHEAD: Make dressing up to 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate. Whisk well before using.)
- Make sauce: To a small skillet on low, add hot sauce and butter; stir until melted and combined. Pour into a bowl and cool slightly.
- Make burgers: In a large bowl, combine chicken, panko, salt and pepper. Add 2 tbsp of the hot sauce mixture. Using your hands, mix gently but thoroughly. Form into 4 even patties, about 1⁄2 inch thick. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high, heat oil. Cook burgers until lightly browned on the outside and cooked through (an instant-read thermometer stuck into the center of a burger should read 165°F), 4 to 5 minutes per side.
- In a large bowl, toss together lettuce, celery, carrots and cabbage. Add desired amount of dressing; toss. Divide among bowls. Crumble or slice 1 chicken patty on top of each serving and drizzle with desired amount of butter-hot sauce mixture. Top with blue cheese.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size ¼ of recipe
- Calories 654
- Carbohydrate Content 9 g
- Cholesterol Content 163 mg
- Fat Content 59 g
- Fiber Content 2.5 g
- Protein Content 24 g
- Saturated Fat Content 16 g
- Sodium Content 1,396 mg
- Sugar Content 4 g
- Monounsaturated Fat Content 35 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat Content 7 g