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    Home » Recipes » Salads

    Buffalo Chicken Salad

    Published: Jan 12, 2023

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    Spicy Buffalo Chicken Salad is classic pub fare, and easy to make at home! Sure to be loved by the whole family, it's also low carb & gluten free!

    A buffalo chicken salad drizzled with ranch dressing.

    Before having to give up nightshades, I was a huge fan of basically any form of buffalo chicken.

    Beyond ordering buffalo chicken wings, buffalo chicken sandwiches - or buffalo chicken pizza - when eating at a sports pub, there are all KINDS of buffalo chicken recipes out there.

    With the big game day on the horizon, such recipes are dominating my pinterest feed: buffalo chicken tacos, buffalo chicken soup, buffalo chicken dip, even buffalo chicken casserole!

    While a buffalo chicken salad sandwich can always be done up as lettuce wraps, the vast majority of these forms of the spicy chicken dish... aren’t exactly keto friendly.

    So, here’s how I make a delicious buffalo chicken salad.

    Basically a classic chicken salad, punched up with spicy hot sauce, and accented with creamy avocado slices, crunchy celery, and ranch dressing.

    It’s a super easy buffalo chicken salad recipe, and comes together in just minutes - no marinated involved, the quick homemade buffalo sauce (2 ingredients!) cooks down to a glaze right on the chicken.

    This tangy salad not only makes for a delicious lunch, it’s a healthy meal option, coming in around 2-5 net carbs per serving, depending on how you top it!

    Anyway, let’s get to it...

    A buffalo chicken salad with buffalo glazed chicken breast on top.

    Ingredients

    This hearty salad is a SUPER simple recipe, and you’ll definitely be able to find all the ingredients in almost any grocery store.

    I tend to look at this in 3 parts - the base salad, the toppings, and the chicken. Some notes for you:

    Base Salad

    I like to meal prep several days worth of salad base bowls on grocery day - some sort of fresh greens, along with some fairly neutral fresh vegetables - Usually shredded broccoli stems, carrot, green onions, cucumber, and radish.

    1 batch makes 10 salads, so we’ve got a few days worth of base salads to adorn all kinds of different ways. (They tend to last 6-7 days in the fridge.

    It’s a pretty slick way to get a lot of vegetables into our diet, and feels like SO much less work than making full salads individually.

    See my Salad Meal Prep post for full details on how I do it.

    Want to make this salad as a standalone thing?

    You can use a base of salad greens, spring mix, baby spinach, and/or romaine lettuce. I’d add some cucumber and green onions in when making buffalo ranch chicken salad, for good measure.

    Toppings

    Before even getting to the chicken, there’s the matter of the toppings I add to the base salad, to customize it for a buffalo chicken salad.

    Vegetables, etc

    As far as fresh vegetables go, I like to slice up celery ribs, red onion, jalapeno, and avocado for this salad.

    When I have some bell pepper - red or green - on hand, I’ll toss some of that on, too.

    As far as fresh herbs go, I like fresh cilantro on this salad. If you’re not a fan of cilantro, fresh parsley works too - I prefer flat leaf.

    In terms of canned or pickled vegetables, black olives are pretty much a given when I make this salad.

    Sometimes my husband will be in the mood for canned or pickled jalapenos, so those find their way in as well.

    Cheese

    I tend to like some form of cheese on my salads, and this is no exception.

    I’m not a fan of blue cheese (AKA bleu cheese), so I tend to use shredded Monterrey jack cheese when I have it, or cheddar cheese when I don’t.

    Goat cheese is a fun option.

    Of course, if you ARE a fan of bleu cheese, blue cheese crumbles are pretty tradtional!

    Dressing

    Blue cheese dressing is traditional, but I use a creamy ranch dressing.

    While I make a lot of homemade dressing in general, I usually can’t be arsed to toss on a batch of homemade ranch dressing when making this salad.

    It’s definitely a “quick and dirty” salad for us, you know?

    Buffalo Chicken

    The spicy glazed chicken for this salad takes just a few basic ingredients:

    Boneless skinless chicken breasts (or chicken tenderloins)
    Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
    Olive Oil, or Butter
    Salt and Pepper

    I use 1 small chicken breast per person, or 1 lb of chicken breasts for every two salads, when doing a bigger batch.

    I find using raw chicken breast is the best way to do this - you can cook the sauce down into a glaze while the chicken cooks.

    This is not as much an option for pre-cooked chicken, as it’ll tend to overcook.

    That said, if you’re less concerned about cooking it down into a thick glaze, you can toss leftover rotisserie chicken or pre-cooked boneless buffalo wings in the buffalo wing sauce, and call it a day.

    This is not high cuisine, more like some loose guidelines!

    A buffalo chicken salad drizzled with ranch dressing.

    How to Make Salad

    The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post. Here is the pictorial walk through, with step-by-step photos and some more detailed information where necessary.

    Prepare your topping ingredients - Slice the avocado, onions, jalapenos, and olives if using. Chop the cilantro, shred the cheese, etc.

    Arrange desired salad ingredients on top of the prepared salad - or salad greens.

    A 2 part image showing thinly sliced jalapenos on a cutting board, and the base salad with additional ingredients on it.

    I like to get this part out of the way, before contaminating the cutting board with raw chicken.

    Slice chicken into bite sized pieces, season with a little salt and pepper.

    Heat oil or butter in a small nonstick pan. (Use large skillet if you’re doing multiple sevrings).

    Add chicken to the pan, cook over medium-high heat until browned, but not cooked through.

    Add hot sauce, turn stove top down to medium heat continue cooking until chicken is cooked through, and sauce has cooked down to a glaze on the chicken.

    A 5 part image showing the chicken breast being sliced, cooked, coated in hot sauce, and cooked to a glaze.

    Arrange buffalo chicken on top of the prepared salad. Serve immediately, with ranch dressing.

    A buffalo chicken salad with buffalo glazed chicken breast on top.

    More Keto Main Dish Salad Recipes

    Looking for more low carb salad recipes that are substantial enough to serve as a meal? Look no further, I have a ton of delicious recipes for you!

    Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad
    Cobb Salad
    Italian Sub Salad
    Keto Mediterranean Orzo Salad with Chicken
    Keto Taco Salad
    Mediterranean Chicken Salad
    Salad Meal Prep
    Seafood Cobb Salad
    Seared Tuna Salad
    Sesame Ginger Chicken Salad
    Shawarma Chicken Salad
    Steak Salad with Creamy Wasabi Dressing
    Thai Pesto Salmon Salad

    A buffalo chicken salad drizzled with ranch dressing.

    Share the Love!

    Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @LowCarbHoser - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

    Also, be sure to subscribe to my free email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

    ... and hey, if you love the recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and comment! (Sharing the post on social media is always appreciated, too!)

    A buffalo chicken salad drizzled with ranch dressing.

    A buffalo chicken salad drizzled with ranch dressing.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    5 from 1 vote

    Buffalo Chicken Salad

    Buffalo Chicken Salad is classic pub fare, and easy to make at home! Sure to be loved by the whole family, it's also low carb & gluten free!
    Prep Time5 minutes mins
    Cook Time7 minutes mins
    Total Time12 minutes mins
    Course: Main Course, Salad
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free
    Servings: 1 Salad
    Calories: 161kcal

    Equipment

    Nonstick Pan

    Ingredients

    Buffalo Chicken

    • 1 Chicken Breast
    • Salt and Pepper
    • 1 tablespoon Olive Oil or Butter
    • 2 tablespoon Frank’s Red Hot

    Salad Assembly

    • Base Salad or 2 cups of salad greens
    • Avocado
    • Shredded Monterrey jack cheese
    • Slice Red onions
    • Sliced Jalapenos
    • Black Olives
    • Cilantro
    • Ranch Dressing

    Instructions

    • Slice chicken into bite sized pieces, season with a little salt and pepper.
    • Heat olive oil or butter in a small nonstick pan. Add chicken to the pan, cook over medium high heat until browned, but not cooked through.
    • Add hot sauce, continue cooking until chicken is cooked through, and sauce has cooked down to a glaze on the chicken.
    • Arrange desired salad ingredients on top of the prepared salad - or salad greens - and top with buffalo chicken.
    • Serve immediately, with ranch dressing.

    Notes

    Actual nutritional information will depend on which ingredients you use for your salad, and how much of them you use.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 161kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 1201mg | Potassium: 148mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 972IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg

    A buffalo chicken salad with buffalo glazed chicken breast on top.

    A buffalo chicken salad drizzled with ranch dressing.

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