Name: Buffalo Chicken Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1-2 pounds chicken breasts, cut or pounded thin (or chicken cutlets); 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon onion powder; salt and black pepper, to taste; 1 tablespoon oil; 1/2 cup Frank's hot sauce; 1/4 cup melted butter; 3 tablespoons honey; 1 cup mayo or plain Greek yogurt; 2-3 tablespoons milk; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped; 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped; 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/4 teaspoon onion powder; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; 1 bunch romaine, chopped; 2 celery stalks, chopped; 1 avocado, sliced; 1/2 English cucumber, chopped; 1/2 cup shredded carrots; 1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped; 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

30 Minutes or Less

Buffalo Chicken Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing

By Samantha Russo February 23, 2023

Surprisingly simple, but totally delicious buffalo chicken salad! Complete with a homemade ranch dressing, this healthy recipe is FULL of delicious flavor. Quick and easy to make, it’s perfect for meal prep!

overhead image of buffalo chicken salad in a bowl with homemade ranch dressing and buffalo sauce on the side.

What You’ll Need to Make Buffalo Chicken Salad

Chicken – Start by either slicing and pounding chicken breasts until thin, or make your life super easy and buy pre-cut chicken cutlets! Or, if you’re not up for the extra step and can’t find chicken cutlets, then simply cook whole chicken breasts for your salad. If taking this option, you’ll likely need to cook the chicken for 4-5 additional minutes each side. To check if your chicken is fully cooked, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of a breast. Once the thermometer reads 165° Fahrenheit, then you’re chicken is cooked through and ready for this salad recipe!

Buffalo Sauce – I make my own buffalo sauce for this buffalo chicken salad because it’s truly so easy. However, you can totally buy pre-made buffalo sauce instead, if you’d like. For the homemade buffalo sauce, all you’ll need is hot sauce, melted butter, and honey – that’s it!

Ranch Dressing – Again, I made my own ranch dressing for this salad. But you can buy bottled ranch instead, if that’s more your thing. If I’m short on time or looking for a short cut, I use this Primal Kitchen Vegan Ranch Dressing – it’s lighter and healthier than most other ranch dressings on the market!

Blue Cheese – Salty, tangy blue cheese crumbles are the cherry-on-top of this buffalo chicken salad! Though you can totally add any kind of cheese you’d like to this meal. Or, for a non-dairy salad, leave the blue cheese out altogether.

homemade ranch dressing being poured over a buffalo chicken salad.

Tips and Tricks

Meal prep this buffalo chicken salad ahead of a busy week! It’s the perfect grab-and-go lunch recipe. To do this, prepare the salads, then store the buffalo sauce and ranch dressing separately. When ready to eat, dress the salads and enjoy!
Feel free to switch out/swap in any ingredients you’d like! This salad is super simple, and easy to customize – so have fun with it and don’t be afraid to make it your own.
I always recommend dressing this salad right before serving! Leftover salad (without dressing) will stay fresh in the fridge for up to four days.

buffalo chicken salad in a bowl with a fork.

Adjust This Recipe to Your Dietary Needs

Make it Dairy-Free: For a dairy-free salad, leave out the blue cheese and make the homemade ranch dressing with mayonnaise, instead of Greek yogurt.

Make it Vegan/Vegetarian: Make some simple plant-based swaps to turn this into a vegan buffalo salad recipe! Replace the chicken with chickpeas – toss them in the chicken seasoning, then roast them in the oven at 350° Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes, or until crispy. Also, leave out the blue cheese and use a vegan mayo or plain vegan Greek yogurt to make the ranch dressing.

Buffalo Chicken Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by Samantha Course: MainDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Total time

15

minutes

Surprisingly simple, but totally delicious buffalo chicken salad! Complete with a homemade ranch dressing, this healthy recipe is FULL of delicious flavor. Quick and easy to make, it’s perfect for meal prep!

Ingredients

For the chicken:
1-2 pounds chicken breasts, cut or pounded thin (or chicken cutlets)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon oil
For the buffalo sauce:
1/2 cup Frank’s hot sauce
1/4 cup melted butter
3 tablespoons honey
For the ranch dressing:
1 cup mayo or plain Greek yogurt
2-3 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For the salad:
1 bunch romaine, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 avocado, sliced
1/2 English cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Directions

Pat chicken breasts dry with a paper towel, then season on both sides with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then sear chicken breasts 4-5 minutes per side or until cooked through.
Make the buffalo sauce by whisking together the hot sauce, melted butter, and honey in a small bowl.
Make the ranch dressing my whisking together all dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
Assemble the salad with romaine, celery, avocado, cucumber, carrots, blue cheese, and the cooked chicken, then top with a drizzle of buffalo sauce and ranch dressing.

Recipe Video

Did you make this recipe?

Share it and tag @samdoesherbest on Instagram!

Like this recipe?

Follow us @samdoesherbest on Pinterest

View Post

30 Minutes or Less

Green Blender Juice (How to Make Juice Without a Juicer)

By Samantha Russo January 5, 2022

The quickest and easiest way to make your own green juice in a blender – no juicer necessary! A refreshing blend of green veggies, a touch of ginger, and a hint of green apple make this homemade juice not only palatable, but actually delicious. No fancy equipment or juicer is needed for this simple and super healthy recipe!

green blender juice being poured into a glass, garnished with a lemon slice

What You’ll Need For This Recipe

Blender – I used my for this green juice recipe. It’s certainly an investment, but my gosh is it powerful! The is a total work horse and if you ask me, worth EVERY penny. I even purchased mine “reconditioned,” which is just a fancy way of saying “used,” and it’s so far lasted me four years and three moves! However, if you don’t have a Vitamix and don’t feel like investing in one at the moment (I get it), you can simply use whatever blender you have. And if your blender isn’t large enough to fit all the fruit and veggies at once, simply split the recipe up into two batches.

Nut Milk Bag or Fine Mesh Strainer – I purchased my very inexpensive nut milk strainer bag off Amazon 5+ years ago. If you don’t own a nut milk bag, you have two options. You can either buy one, which happens to be my recommended option, since it’s also an important tool in my dairy-free coffee creamer recipe! Or, you can use a fine mesh metal strainer instead. Though beware, a metal strainer won’t catch nearly as much pulp as a nut milk bag will, resulting in a grainier green juice.

Fresh Vegetables – Any and all fresh vegetables are welcome to this green blender juice party! The specific ones we use are cucumber, celery, kale, fresh ginger, lemon, and some green apple for a hint of sweetness. I highly recommend purchasing organic produce for this recipe, since there’s no cooking involved to kill off any gnarly chemicals. Also, since everything’s being blended together – simply give the vegetables a couple quick chops, nothing too precise.

Top Tips

Store the fresh fruits and vegetables in the fridge before making your juice. This’ll ensure it blends up extra cold and refreshing! Warm green juice is OK, but definitely not nearly as enjoyable as cold green juice.

Get innovative with the pulp from your green blender juice! Add it to smoothies, popsicles, or I’ve even seen people use it in baked goods. It’s always a goal of mine to be as low-waste as possible in the kitchen, so if all else fails, I’ll simply add my leftover pulp to the compost pile.

Any fresh, homemade juice is best enjoyed immediately after making! This is when the most vitamins and minerals are available, leading to more nutrients to fuel your body and leave you feeling amazing. However, you can store any leftover green juice in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.

Other Tasty Additions

Feel free to add or substitute your favorite fruits or veggies, such as:

Carrots
Beets
Oranges
Pineapple
Lime Juice
Strawberries
Blueberries
Pears
Turmeric

Green Blender Juice (How to Make Juice Without a Juicer)

0 from 0 votes

Recipe by Samantha Course: DrinksDifficulty: Easy

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Total time

10

minutes

The quickest and easiest way to make your own green juice in a blender – no juicer necessary! A refreshing blend of green veggies, a touch of ginger, and a hint of green apple make this homemade juice not only palatable, but actually delicious. No fancy equipment or juicer is needed for this simple and super healthy recipe!