Buffalo Chicken Salad

Buffalo Chicken Salad is great all year long.  With piles of juicy shredded buffalo chicken, over a bed of crisp and fresh lettuce, carrots, corn kernels, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes, all covered in a homemade ranch dressing, you may never want a regular salad again!  If you are on the hunt for more amazing salad recipes, make sure to check out my jalapeno chicken salad, and my favorite cheeseburger salad!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

If you are looking for an amazing way to sneak more vegetables into your diet, then you are in the right spot.  This buffalo chicken salad is packed with so much flavor, your taste buds will thank you!  But what can top endless piles of fresh veggies and perfectly moist buffalo shredded chicken?  Homemade ranch dressing of course!  This salad is good all year long because you can serve the chicken cold or hot.

Easy Buffalo Chicken Salad

The hardest part about making chicken salad is chopping the ingredients.  Nowadays, you can buy most of this stuff already chopped at the supermarket.  I like to hand pick my veggies though, which means holding each one and inspecting it to make sure it is the best quality.  Here are a few tips for picking the best:

• Spring Mix – Some of this is a no brainer.  When buying a salad mix make sure to look for wilting, yellowing or brown spots.  Those are all signs the mix is on the way out the door.  Instead, try to find vibrant colors and crisp greens.
• Carrots – In this recipe, you will grate the carrots yourself.  You can buy carrots already cut this way, OR, you can save yourself some money and do this yourself with a simple cheese grater.  When I buy carrots, I always go with organic and look for firm carrots with a bright orange color and smooth skin.  I always stay far away from carrots if they are black near the tops.  Those are not fresh.
• Cucumber – Believe it or not there are many different varieties of cucumber.  We used an English cucumber for this salad, which is typically a bit longer.  No matter which type you buy, the advice I will give you is the same.  Avoid cucumbers with yellow spots or wrinkles.  They should be firm and without bulges (bulges indicate large seed pockets).  A medium sized cumber is better than a large one.  The bigger the cucumber, the more seeds you will find inside.
• Cherry Tomatoes – Choose cherry tomatoes with a firm, bright skin, and a fresh, tomato-y scent, and whatever you do, do NOT store them in the refrigerator.  Cherry tomatoes can stay out on the counter.  The cold will negatively affect their flavor and texture.

Shredded Buffalo Chicken

The cornerstone of this amazing salad is the shredded chicken.  You can, of course, purchase shredded chicken at your local supermarket.  You could also purchase a pre-made rotisserie chicken as well.  OR, you can make it yourself two different ways.  Here is a recipe for DIY rotisserie chicken and here is a recipe for perfectly moist and lightly seasoned shredded chicken.  I typically make a big batch of shredded chicken at the beginning of the week to use in meals like buffalo chicken wraps or BBQ Chicken Grilled Cheese.

How to Prepare Buffalo Chicken Salad

Start with one large bowl or four medium-sized bowls.  Add to each bowl lettuce, corn, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, shredded chicken (feel free to serve this ingredient up hot or cold), and then, top with blue cheese crumbles.  Finally, top with Ranch dressing and toss to combine.

Looking for More Salad Recipes?

Make sure to check out some of my personal favorites!

Jalapeno Chicken Salad

Cheeseburger Salad

Summer Chicken Salad

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Buffalo Chicken Salad is great all year long.  With piles of juicy shredded buffalo chicken, over a bed of crisp and fresh lettuce, carrots, corn kernels, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes, all covered in a homemade avocado ranch dressing, you may never want a regular salad again!

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Ingredients

Chicken

• ▢ 2 cups shredded chicken
• ▢ ¼ cup hot sauce
• ▢ ½ tablespoon Dry Ranch Seasoning

Salad

• ▢ 4 Baby Spring Salad Mix
• ▢ 1 Medium Carrot,  Grated
• ▢ 1 can sweet corn kernels
• ▢ 1 cucumber, sliced
• ▢ ¼ Blue Cheese Crumbles
• ▢ 12 Cherry Tomatoes,  quartered

Instructions

Chicken

• In a medium bowl, mix the chicken, hot sauce, and the dry ranch seasoning. Set aside.

Salad

• In a large bowl or 4 small bowls, add spring mix, grated carrot, corn kernels, blue cheese, and cherry tomatoes, and avocado ranch dressing, toss to combine.
• Place the chicken atop each salad and serve.

Course: Main Course, Salad

Keyword: Buffalo Chicken, Buffalo Chicken Salad, Chicken Salad

Servings: 4

Author: Amanda Rettke

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