This grilled chicken salad with a creamy buffalo dressing is delicious, spicy, crunchy and makes a great salad with some heft. Made with crisp fresh vegetables, creamy buffalo dressing, earth blue cheese and spicy buffalo grilled chicken, it makes a perfect lunch to pack or enjoy anytime on a warm summer’s day. It is light yet filling with ;lots of fresh crisp veggies, some protein from the chicken and blue cheese and a delicious spicy buffalo salad dressing.
Make the Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Chicken: for this salad recipe you’ll need boneless skinless chicken breast, I aimed for 4-5 ounces per person about one pound for 4. We’ll make a delicious marinade which also mimics in the dressing. First we combine the ingredients, marinate for at least an hour or overnight. Simply add all the ingredients, massage the marinade into the chicken. Refrigerate it.
- After the chicken marinates, grill it. Grilling adds a nice smoky flavor.
- Dressing: Combine the dressing ingredients, whisk and set aside.
- Vegetables: while the chicken marinates and grills prep the veggies. Next assemble the salad. To a large serving bowl or plate, layer the romaine first. Place all he veggies neatly; shredded carrots, celery, corn, red bell pepper, green onions, avocado and crumbled blue cheese. Then top the grilled chicken and generously drizzle with the dressing.
- Blue Cheese Substitution: I know not everyone is into blue cheese. If you aren’t a fan of blue cheese, try goat cheese, feta, shredded, cubed cheddar, or Colby Jack cheese. You can also skip the cheese as there are plenty of other delicious toppings you won’t miss it.
Ingredients Needed
- Chicken Breasts: boneless skinless works the best.
- Hot Sauce: classic Franks Hot Wing Sauce is the best, but these days there are many brands with various degrees of heat to suit your preferences. I love WholeFoods brand.
- Spices: Ground Cumin, Smoked Paprika, Garlic powder, Onion powder, Dried Dill.
- Blue Cheese: classic, but if you’re not into blue cheese cheddar, goat work well or simply skip it.
- Greek yogurt : we skipped mayo and used greek yogurt, it works beautifully.
- Vegetables: Romaine lettuce, Carrots, Celery, Red bell pepper or mini peppers, Roasted Corn, Onions, Avocado.
- Toppings: Green Onions, Chives and Cilantro: for freshness.
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Marinaade
Salad
- 1 cup shredded or grated carrots
- 7-8 cups shredded romaine
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 medium avocado sliced
- 1 bell pepper or handful of mini bell peppers
- ½ medium red onion sliced
- 2 stalks green onions
- ½ cup blue cheese crumbled
- 2 tbsp chopped chives
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
Dressing
- ¼-½ cup hot sauce start with ¼ and add more if you prefer spicier sauce
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried dill leaves
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp sugar/honey or maple syrup
- salt and black pepper if needed
Instructions
Grilled Chicken
- Mix all the ingredient for the marinade and add the chicken breasts to a bowl or resealable freezer bag. Refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
- Preheat the grill to 400° F. Brush or spray grates with olive oil. Place the marinated chicken on the grill and don’t disturb the chicken for 6 minutes on the first side. Flip the chicken and cook another 6-7 minutes or until the internal temperature has reached 165° F. Transfer to a plate or chopping board and allow the chicken to rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing it.
Dressing
- Add all of the ingredients for the dressing to a screw top mason jar, shake until combined. Add a tablespoon of water at a time to the dressing to thin it out if needed. Taste for seasoning. Add salt only later if needed. I found the dressing dissent need any salt.
Assemble
- On a large platter or bowl place the chopped romaine lettuce. Neatly arrange all the veggies and the blue cheese. The top it with sliced grilled chicken. Serve dressing drizzled on top or on the side.
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