Buffalo Chicken Salad

This Buffalo Chicken Salad is a crave-worthy, satisfying meal that checks all the boxes. You get the bold, tangy flavor of classic buffalo wings without the deep fryer and with plenty of wholesome ingredients added to the mix. Between the crisp veggies, creamy dressing, and juicy marinated chicken, every bite brings flavor, texture, and just the right amount of heat. It’s a twist on traditional buffalo wings, but with the added bonus of nutrition, fiber, healthy fats, lean protein, and antioxidants.

What sets this salad apart is its ease of customization and preparation ahead of time. Whether you’re feeding a crowd or need a make-ahead lunch that won’t wilt by 2 p.m., this one has you covered. The buttermilk-hot sauce marinade ensures the chicken stays moist and flavorful. At the same time, the homemade dressing brings everything together with a familiar ranch-and-blue-cheese combo that we all love.

This Buffalo Chicken Salad is perfect for busy nights or casual entertaining, and it’s accommodating of shortcuts if needed. You can prepare the components ahead of time or substitute store-bought versions if that’s what the week calls for. Either way, you’ll end up with a hearty, nutrient-rich dish that tastes like a guilty pleasure—but absolutely isn’t.

Tips for Success for an Outstanding Buffalo Chicken Salad

• Cutting chicken breasts into strips before marinating allows the marinade to flavor more of the chicken in less time than if the breasts were left whole. Additionally, cooking the strips reduces the overall cooking time compared to cooking an entire breast.
• Marinate the chicken for at least an hour for the best flavor, but overnight is even better if you can plan ahead.
• Preparing the marinade in a large ziplock bag makes for easy preparation and cleanup.
• Pat the chicken dry before cooking to get a better sear and prevent steaming in the pan.
• Use both oil and butter when cooking to boost flavor and help prevent burning.
• Prep your dressing early—it tastes better after resting for a few hours, allowing the flavors to meld.
• Wait to cut the avocado until just before serving to keep it fresh and green.
• Cook the chicken in batches if needed; overcrowding the pan can cause the chicken strips to steam instead of brown, which would be a bummer.

Buttermilk and Its Substitutes

Buttermilk does a lot of heavy lifting in this Buffalo Chicken Salad recipe—it tenderizes the chicken, adds subtle tang, helps the hot sauce cling to the meat, and dresses the whole salad. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, there are a few substitutes that work okay in a pinch, but none are a perfect match.

The most common substitute is milk with lemon juice or vinegar (1 tablespoon acid per 1 cup of milk, let sit 5–10 minutes). It mimics the tang but lacks the thickness and protein of real buttermilk, so it won’t tenderize quite as well. Plain yogurt thinned with milk or water is a closer second—it has the body and the acidity, but can give a slightly different flavor. Plain Kefir is actually the best substitute in terms of texture and results—it’s fermented like buttermilk and works beautifully in marinades.

So, these subs will do the job if needed, but if tender, juicy chicken is the goal, real buttermilk or kefir yields the best results.

To that end, whenever I buy buttermilk, I use what I need and then freeze the rest in one-cup portions for future use. I use my ever-faithful, ever-useful freezer pods for this. Once thawed, if the buttermilk separates, just whisk it a bit, and it will come back together.

Food Storage Favorite

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I’ve been using Souper Cubes Freezer Storage Cubes and Pods for years! We use the 1 cup, 1/2 cup, and two tablespoon trays.

The 1 cup is perfect for lunch portions of soup, chili, and beans.

The 1/2-cup size is great for freezing buttermilk and cream. We also portion out 1/2-cup portions of our seasoned meat for our weekly nachos.

The 2-tablespoon trays are an excellent size for tomato paste and chipotle in adobo.

About Marinades

Marinades are an easy way to add lots of flavor, especially to meats that can be a little boring. It also adds moisture to meats that can normally dry out easily. The basic three components that make up most marinades include Fats, Acid, and Seasoning. For this marinade:

Fat– Buttermilk serves as the ‘fat’ in this marinade. Firstly, it helps the meat retain moisture, ensuring that the chicken breasts don’t dry out during cooking. Additionally, buttermilk offers a unique benefit that most other fats do not: it tenderizes the meat. The lactic acid in buttermilk breaks down the tissues in the chicken, making it juicier and more flavorful.

Acids do several things for meat. They help flavor penetrate the meat as well as tenderize it.  In this recipe, the hot sauce, which contains vinegar, is the acid.

Seasonings include salt and spices. In this recipe, the ranch seasoning and salt contribute to the flavor of the chicken, as well as the flavors in the hot sauce.

You Can Marinade Too Long!

Marinating chicken too long—especially in an acidic marinade like this one—can actually backfire. While the buttermilk and hot sauce help tenderize the meat, leaving it in the marinade for more than 24 hours can cause the proteins to start breaking down too much. Instead of tender and juicy, the chicken may turn mushy or develop an odd, mealy texture. For the best results, aim for a marinating time between 1 and 12 hours, with a maximum of 24 hours. That gives the flavor plenty of time to soak in without compromising the texture.

Buffalo Chicken Salad Shortcuts or Time-Savers

• Substitute crispy chicken tenders or premade grilled chicken for the marinated chicken. Drizzle extra hot sauce to get the buffalo chicken flavor.
• You can use store-bought ranch or blue cheese dressing, or a combination of both, in place of making your own dressing.
• The dressing can be made and stored up to 1 week in advance.
• The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours. Do not allow it to go any longer than 24 hours.
• The chicken can be prepared and cooked the day before, cooled, stored in the refrigerator, and sliced just before adding it to the salad.
• The veggies, such as celery, carrots, and onion, can be chopped and stored in an airtight container for one to two days before making the salad
• Carrots can be bought already grated.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Bold, tangy, and packed with fresh veggies, this Buffalo Chicken Salad combines marinated chicken, creamy dressing, and crunchy toppings in every bite.

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Cook Mode

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Dish Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings 4 people

Calories 1190 kcal

Ingredients

  

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For the Chicken Marinade:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (approx 1.5-2 lbs), cut into long strips about 1 ½ inches wide
• ½ cup Frank's Red Hot or similar hot sauce
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk
• 3 teaspoons ranch seasoning divided (1 teaspoon for the marinade, 2 teaspoons for cooking)
• 2 cloves crushed garlic pressed in a garlic press or minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter for cooking
• 1 tablespoon oil such as avocado vegetable, or canola, for cooking

For the Salad:

• 2 heads of romaine lettuce torn or chopped
• 2 ribs of celery chopped
• ½ cup 1-2 whole carrots, grated
• ¼ red onion thinly sliced
• 1 English cucumber thinly sliced
• 2 avocados sliced or cubed
• 15-20 cherry tomatoes cut in half or into quarters
• ¼ cup Blue cheese crumbles

For the Dressing:

• ½ cup Buttermilk (possibly more depending on desired consistency)
• ½ cup Sour cream
• ½ cup Mayo
• 1 ¾ teaspoons Ranch Seasoning
• 2 tablespoons Blue cheese crumbles

Ranch Seasoning Mix:

• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried chives
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper

Instructions

 

• Start by making the ranch seasoning. It will be used in the marinade, the cooking of the chicken, and in the dressing.
• Next, cut the chicken breast into 1 ½ -inch-thick long strips.
• Place the chicken in a large ziplock type bag or glass container with a lid. Add the marinade ingredients (½ cup of hot sauce, 1 ½ cups buttermilk, 2 pressed garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of ranch seasoning, and 1 teaspoon of salt) to the chicken . If using a bag, close the top and squish the contents around until the chicken is covered with the mix and the mix is incorporated. If using a bowl, mix the contents together until incorporated and chicken is covered and place the lid on the bowl. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Let the chicken sit in the marinade for 1 hour to overnight (Minimum time 1 hour, maximum time 24 hours).
• While the chicken is marinating, prepare the dressing. Combine ½ cup buttermilk, ½ cup sour cream, ½ cup mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon of ranch seasoning, and 2 tablespoons of blue cheese crumbles. The dressing will be thick and creamy. To create a thinner dressing, you can add more buttermilk. Start with ¼ -⅓ cups, adding a little at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
• To prepare the salad, prep the vegetables by chopping the celery, grating the carrots, thinly slicing red onion, slicing a cucumber, and tearing or chopping 2 heads of romaine lettuce. Wait to cut the avocado slices until just before serving to prevent browning.
• To cook the chicken, remove the strips from the marinade and pat them dry. Sprinkle the chicken on both sides with 2 teaspoons of ranch seasoning and ½ teaspoon of salt.
• In a medium or large pan, over medium heat, place 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of oil. Place the chicken in the pan once the butter and oil have melted and cook the chicken for 5-7 minutes on each side or until the internal temperature is 165°F. You may need to cook the chicken in batches to prevent overcrowding.
• Let the meat rest for 5 minutes before cutting it into bite sized cubes. The chicken can also be cooled and refrigerated for later use.
• In a large bowl or 4-6 individual bowls, place the lettuce, chopped vegetables, avocado, and chopped chicken. Optional: add blue cheese crumbles. Drizzle the prepared dressing as well as a drizzle of hot sauce over the top to taste and enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 1190kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 108gFat: 70gSaturated Fat: 20gPolyunsaturated Fat: 18gMonounsaturated Fat: 27gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 316mgSodium: 3041mgPotassium: 2758mgFiber: 9gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 5870IUVitamin C: 38mgCalcium: 326mgIron: 6mg

Keyword blue cheese, buffalo, buttermilk, chicken, healthy, hot sauce, ranch, salad

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