Buffalo Chicken Salad

File this under chicken salad lunch ideas. It’s high protein, satisfying and flavorful, perfect for a work from home lunch or packed lunch.

When it comes to a healthy lunch meal prep, I love simple and flavorful options. Versatility is important too, and even though this a more specific recipe, it can be served multiple ways depending on what you have time for or are in the mood for. It’s also super satisfying. This is a great variation of the traditional, if you’re looking for chicken salad ideas.

I think lunch is the hardest meal to plan for. It needs to fit a lot of parameters like minimal prep and cooking, satisfying without being too heavy, the ability to pack it for later and to eat it either room temperature, cold or reheated in the microwave. I don’t often like left overs, so it leaves me two options, easy assembly or prepped ahead. Chicken salad is a simple meal prep idea because it doesn’t require much time or effort.

Ingredients in Buffalo Chicken Salad Recipes

Chicken

I baked boneless skinless chicken breasts with a little water at the bottom of the pan, so the chicken didn’t dry out. Once it cooled, I shredded it since I prefer that texture for a shredded buffalo chicken salad. You can cube it, or chop it more finely too if you prefer that texture. If you want to avoid the cooking step, you can use a rotisserie chicken.

Celery

The flavor and crunch of celery goes really in this chicken salad. I sliced the celery stalk in half longways and then thinly chopped it.

Creamy element

I used a mix of sour cream and mayonnaise, but you could experiment with using Greek yogurt and vegan sour cream too. I stirred in little at a time to get the desired creaminess, which is based on personal preference. I personally like a lot of blue cheese dressing on bites of hot wings.

Buffalo Sauce

You can use your favorite store bought buffalo sauce in this recipe. I used the brand Noble Made and really enjoyed it. The amount you’d add is also a sliding scale depending on how saucy you want it.

Blue Cheese

If you’re not a fan of blue cheese, you can definitely leave this out. I think using a good quality blue cheese is important here, so use one that you enjoy the flavor of on its own. There are so many varieties of blue cheese, some more pungent than others. I love the gorgonzola dolce from Whole Foods, it’s really creamy and smooth. You could technically use blue cheese dressing in place of blue cheese and the creamy ingredients, but I personally haven’t found an option with simple or clean ingredients that I’d recommend.

Ways to Serve Buffalo Chicken Salad

With crackers

The easiest way to enjoy chicken salad is to scoop it up with a good whole grain cracker. I love the simplicity, and added crunch too.

Lettuce Cup

Another really easy way to serve this chicken salad is adding a spoonful to crunchy lettuce leaves. Butter lettuce and little gem would be great low carb vessels.

A sandwich

A buffalo chicken salad sandwich is a well balanced way to enjoy this recipe, on good whole grain bread or toast. You can top it with crunchy greens, sliced red onion and tomato. It’s a great option on the go too.

A wrap

A wrap is a great packed lunch option. Similar to the sandwich idea, you can roll the same ingredients into a wrap. I love Angelic Bakehouse sprouted grain wraps, if you’re looking for a recommendation. A thin lavash, or even lettuce wraps, would be work well too.

On a rice cracker

Rice crackers are another great lower carb option, and they offer a satisfying crunch that complements the chicken salad well.

On a salad

To add more nutrition to the meal, you can scoop the chicken salad onto greens of your choice like spinach, romaine, or other crunchy greens. Add chopped tomato, sliced carrot, scallions or red onion and mix it altogether like a chopped salad.

Recipe for ‘Buffalo Chicken Salad’

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook time: ~20 minutes (chicken)

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound of cooked chicken

• 3 tbsp (more or less) of creamy elements - I used half sour cream half mayo

• 1/3 cup chopped celery

• 1/4+ cup of buffalo sauce

• 3 tbsp crumbled blue cheese

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. This is an easy one. Mix all the ingredients together and adjust seasoning, creaminess, and buffalo sauciness to your preferences!

2. Enjoy for an easy lunch all week.
   
   
   

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