Buffalo Chicken Salad

About Buffalo Chicken Salad

This healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad recipe has spicy wing sauce, rich blue cheese, tangy yogurt, crunchy celery, and chicken... all mixed together. (So it isn't a lettuce-based salad though you could certainly serve this over lettuce.)

Think Buffalo Chicken Dip in chicken salad form.

No ranch dressing, cream cheese, or mayo needed.

Chicken salad is excellent to keep in the fridge, so you always have a high protein, satisfying and delicious meal at the ready.

Each bite of this healthy buffalo chicken chicken salad has a balance of spicy, tangy, rich, and cooling flavors.

While I am not a big fan of yogurt in chicken salad (I prefer cottage cheese chicken salad), the tanginess of the plain yogurt in this recipe works so well to balance out the spiciness of the buffalo wing sauce.

Another great reason to make this recipe is for the times you have leftover buffalo wing sauce in the fridge from making Buffalo Brussels Sprouts, Buffalo Chicken Dip or Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Chowder.

Ingredients

Yogurt: Plain, strained-style yogurt in best for this recipe, like Greek yogurt, Skyr/Icelandic yogurt, or other strained-style yogurt. Regular plain yogurt will be too thin and cause your chicken salad to be watery.

Wing sauce: Use wing sauce or buffalo wing sauce and not hot pepper sauce because that will turn this into inedible peppery chicken salad.

Chicken: Chicken salad is a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken from a rotisserie chicken, roasted chicken, chicken cooked in a crock pot, or grilled chicken.

Typically, I prefer white meat chicken and use boneless skinless chicken breast for chicken salad, but honestly, any part you have works fine.

You can also easily poach the chicken or cook in a skillet and let cool & shred before stirring into the yogurt-wing sauce mixture.

Celery: Fresh diced celery gives a nice contrast of textures, and it helps freshen up the Buffalo Chicken Salad. Similar to the fresh herbs, I think it really makes this chicken salad taste great. Plus, I like to serve it with celery sticks.

Garlic: Both fresh and powdered garlic work well in this recipe. Garlic powder is easier since you don't have to peel or mince. But for more authentic garlic flavor, use fresh.

Red pepper flakes: Adding red pepper flakes is optional, so omit if you want to tone down the spiciness.

Salt: Salt is option, especially since the wing sauce already has a lot of sodium and cheese adds even more. However, I think even the smallest pinch helps enhance the flavor.

Blue cheese: A little bit of blue cheese goes a long way, and the blue cheese is so tasty in this chicken salad. In my opinion, buying a piece of blue cheese and crumbling it at home gives better flavor than buying the blue cheese crumbles. However, if you like a more mellow blue cheese flavor, the blue cheese crumbles are great in this recipe.

And while I love the kick blue cheese gives this chicken salad, if you do not like blue cheese, you can skip it. It can easily be replaced or omitted.

Herbs: Fresh parsley brightens the Buffalo Chicken Salad and in my opinion, is a must in this buffalo chicken salad recipe. Cilantro or dill can also be used, but use half of the amount of cilantro or dill than the recipe calls for and add more as needed.

Budget-Friendly Tips

• Buy chicken breast in a larger package since it usually costs less per ounce. Freeze extra chicken or make Easy Chicken and Gravy, Chicken Hash, or Chicken Apple Curry for dinner.

How to Fix a Mistake

• Too much wing sauce: add a little more yogurt and chicken.
• Tastes too salty: add more chicken, celery and/or yogurt.
• Forgot parsley: add cilantro, dill or use dried parsley. Or skip the herbs and add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon lemon zest.
• Not spicy enough: add an extra ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper.
• Lacks flavor: allow the chicken salad to sit for at least 30-60 minutes before adding more wing sauce, blue cheese, or red pepper flakes. You can also add lemon juice or additional herbs to enhance the flavor.

Make-Ahead Ideas

Chicken salad is best made ahead of time, and this chicken salad with buffalo sauce is no exception.

There's nothing special to do other than I highly recommend making a double batch, so you don't run out too quickly.

Storage Suggestions

Keep in an airtight container in a glass or plastic container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

It's best to keep this cold or on ice when not in the fridge, and make sure to not leave it out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.

I do not recommend freezing chicken salad because the consistency is not right after defrosting.

Ingredient Substitutions

Garlic: You can use one clove fresh minced garlic in place of the garlic powder.

Herbs: You can use cilantro or dill in place of parsley, but start by using half the amount and increase as needed.

If you must skip the fresh herbs, you can use dried herbs or add lemon. Use 1 teaspoon dried parsley in place of the fresh.

For the lemon, add ½ teaspoon lemon zest and/or 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice to give it a little extra flavor that will be lacking without the freshness of the herbs.

Blue cheese: Not a fan of blue cheese? Use feta or gorgonzola or omit it.

How to Make Allergy-Friendly

Depending on the wing sauce you use, this is nut free, gluten free, soy free, and egg free. Be sure to check the ingredients lists to make sure it doesn't have the allergen you are trying to avoid.

If you want to make this dairy free, make your own wing sauce and use dairy free butter. Also, use a dairy free yogurt and omit blue cheese.

Nutrition Benefits

Yogurt provides your body with beneficial probiotics to promote gut health, immunity and digestion, and it is also a good source of Calcium for strong bones.

Chicken breast is full of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Learn more about the protein in chicken breast here.

For example, chicken has Niacin which is important for cell growth and function, Vitamin B6 & Magnesium for supporting your nervous system, and Pantothenic Acid that helps your body break down macronutrients.

Serve Buffalo Chicken Salad with celery sticks & crackers for a snack, over lettuce or in lettuce wraps for a light lunch, or on bread for a Buffalo Chicken Salad Sandwich.

Or try serving in cucumber slices like these Cucumber Chicken Salad Bites.

Note that chicken salad is low in carbs, so add a serving or two of carbohydrates (like fruit, crackers, chips, bread, etc.) to make this a more substantial meal.

Final thoughts:

If you're looking for a way to liven up chicken salad, this recipe for Buffalo Chicken Salad does the trick! 

You'll love having this delicious, high-protein chicken salad on hand for the week, and it's great for meal prep.

Plus, it's a creative way to use up rotisserie chicken and leftover buffalo wing sauce.

MORE CHICKEN SALAD RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE: