Recipes

Buffalo Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Spicy oven-baked buffalo chicken over crunchy greens with pickled carrot and celery and a lighter blue cheese dressing.

By Lincoln Moore2 min read

Buffalo chicken salad with celery, blue cheese and carrots

All the flavor of buffalo wings in a salad you can eat for lunch: chicken baked and tossed in hot sauce, over crunchy greens and cabbage with quick-pickled carrot and celery, finished with crumbled blue cheese and a lighter blue cheese dressing.

Ingredients

For the buffalo chicken

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 400 g)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper
  • 1/4 cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s RedHot)
  • 1 tbsp melted butter or olive oil

For the salad

  • 4 cups mixed greens or chopped romaine
  • 1 cup shredded cabbage
  • 1 carrot and 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp white vinegar and a pinch each of sugar and salt
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cucumber, sliced
  • 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

For the lighter blue cheese dressing

  • 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 small garlic clove, grated
  • A splash of milk or water to thin

How to make it

  1. Heat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Rub the chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the thickest part reaches 74°C (165°F). Rest for 5 minutes.
  2. While it bakes, toss the carrot and celery with the vinegar, sugar and salt to quick-pickle.
  3. Mash the blue cheese into the yogurt with the lemon and garlic, and thin with milk until spoonable.
  4. Slice the chicken and toss it with the hot sauce and melted butter.
  5. Arrange the greens, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber and pickled vegetables in bowls, top with the buffalo chicken and blue cheese, and drizzle with the dressing.

Make it a wrap

Chop the chicken smaller, toss everything with a little dressing, and roll it in a large warm tortilla. It is a great way to use leftover chicken.

Why it works

Lean chicken breast makes this a high-protein salad, and baking it instead of frying keeps the fat down while the hot sauce brings all the flavor.

Greek yogurt replaces most of the mayonnaise and sour cream in a classic blue cheese dressing, so you keep the tang with far less richness.

Make it your own

  • Vegetarian: roast cauliflower florets instead of chicken and toss them in the same sauce.
  • Ranch instead: swap the blue cheese in the dressing for chopped dill and chives.
  • Shortcut: use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, shredded and tossed in the sauce.

More salads and wraps: Kale Caesar, Thai Salad, Mediterranean Mezze Bowl, Buffalo Chicken Salad and Avocado Burrito. Or see every salad and wrap.

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