Football season is finally here and this buffalo chicken salad recipe is a “salad spin” on game day food. (Nothing gets me in the mood to do research for my fantasy football league teams more than some game day food – but made healthy-ish). It satisfies that fried food craving while keeping things a bit lighter. Check out more of my favorite game-day foods in my full guide here.
Crispy fried chicken is diced and served with a vinegar and oil-based homemade buffalo sauce as a light dressing. The buffalo chicken salad is tossed with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, celery, carrots and blue cheese – all the fixings included in a typical buffalo wing setup. The herbs included in the salad are also the main elements included in a classic buttermilk ranch dressing. Keep things light with the buffalo sauce dressing or add a drizzle of ranch dressing. While I use homemade fried chicken this flexible salad can easily be made with leftover fried chicken, fast food chicken tenders or frozen chicken!
Fried Buffalo Chicken Salad
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
- Chicken – I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in this recipe. As you fry the chicken, it remains tender and doesn’t dry out like a lean meat typically would. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs can also be swapped in.
- Blue cheese – Blue veined cheeses have a characteristic sharp, salty flavor and creamy texture. They complement the acidic buffalo sauce and crisp lettuce. If you aren’t a big fan of blue cheeses try this recipe with Gorgonzola dolce, which is a young, milder and creamy variety of the cheese. I recommend buying a wedge of blue cheese and breaking it into blue cheese crumbles rather than buying it pre-crumbled.
- Cherry Tomato – Cherry tomatoes are a small, juicy variety of tomato with a thicker skin. They are much sweeter than other varieties of tomatoes.
- Celery – Shaved celery adds a satisfying crunch to the salad.
- Carrots – Thinly sliced carrots or shaved carrots add another vegetable element to the salad.
- Buffalo sauce – I love making my own buffalo sauce because it only requires a few ingredients that should already be in any well-stocked kitchen but in a pinch any store-bought sauce will do.
How to Make Fried Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Make the dredge. Fill a large cast iron pan with vegetable oil so it reaches 2″ (5cm) up the pan. Heat the oil to 350°F (180ºC). In a medium shallow bowl add the flour. Whisk the buttermilk and egg together in another medium bowl. Season chicken with salt and pepper. One piece at a time, dip chicken in the buttermilk mixture then dredge in the flour.
- Fry chicken. Shake off any excess flour and fry in the oil, flipping once, until the chicken is golden brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove the chicken and allow to drain on a paper towel-lined plate or baking cooling rack.
- Make the buffalo sauce. In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the butter, olive oil, hot sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire and garlic until combined. Set aside until ready to use.
- Add the lettuce to a large salad bowl. Add the romaine to a large salad bowl with the tomatoes, celery, and carrots and toss to combine.
- Chop the chicken and toss in buffalo. Chop the chicken into cubes and add to the bowl and toss with ½ cup of the buffalo sauce, adding more if needed.
- Assemble and serve. Add the blue cheese, parsley, dill and chives and toss once more. Divide among bowls and serve immediately.
Tips and Tricks for This Recipe
Swaps and substitutions
- For a quick weeknight dinner the homemade fried chicken can be foregone for a favorite fast food or grocery store fried chicken. I also like buying frozen fried chicken tenders for easy air frying or baking to use in this salad. For a lighter version you can also use shredded rotisserie chicken.
- Try adding some slices of avocado to this buffalo chicken salad.
- Rather than just using buffalo sauce as the dressing, try adding a drizzle of ranch dressing as well.
- Try adding a grain like quinoa to make the salad more filling.
How to Reheat Fried Chicken
Reheat and re-crisp with a quick broil in the oven or heating in an air fryer before chopping it up to add to the salad. For the oven, heat oven to broil on high and arrange the chicken in an even single layer on a baking sheet. Broil until crispy, about 2 minutes. Flip and repeat. To reheat in an air fryer, preheat it to 400ºF (200ºC) then cook for about 4 minutes, flipping halfway through until heated through and crispy.
Other Recipes to Try
If you enjoy this fried buffalo chicken salad recipe, I recommend checking out some of these:
Fried Buffalo Chicken Salad
Pin
Serves 4
For the fried chicken:
- Vegetable oil, as needed, for frying
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 1 pound, sliced in half lengthwise
- Kosher salt, as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper, as needed
For the buffalo sauce:
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup hot sauce of choice, (I use Frank’s Red Hot®)
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
- 1 clove garlic, minced
For assembly:
- 3 hearts of romaine, chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup thinly sliced celery
- ½ cup thinly sliced carrots
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese
- ¼ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1 teaspoon chopped dill
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
For the fried chicken:
-
Fill a large cast iron pan with vegetable oil so it reaches 2″ (5cm) up the pan. Heat the oil to 350°F (180ºC).
-
In a medium shallow bowl add the flour. Whisk the buttermilk and egg together in another medium bowl. Season chicken with salt and pepper. One piece at a time, dip chicken in the buttermilk mixture then dredge in the flour.
-
Shake off any excess flour and fry in the oil, flipping once, until the chicken is golden brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove the chicken and allow to drain on a paper towel-lined plate or baking cooling rack.
For the buffalo sauce:
-
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the butter, olive oil, hot sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire and garlic until combined. Set aside until ready to use.
For assembly:
-
Add the romaine to a large salad bowl with the tomatoes, celery, and carrots and toss to combine.
-
Chop the chicken into cubes and add to the bowl and toss with ½ cup of the buffalo sauce, adding more if needed.
-
Add the blue cheese, parsley, dill and chives and toss once more. Divide among bowls and serve immediately.
DID YOU MAKE THIS?
TAG ME ON INSTAGRAM TO BE FEATURED ON MY STORIES!
@cookingwithcocktailrings
This page may contain affiliate links. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support so I can continue to share recipes with you!
