Buffalo Ranch Chicken Salad
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This buffalo chicken salad recipe makes the most flavorful wraps, sandwiches and salads. With homemade dressing with a buffalo ranch flavor, shredded chicken and crunchy celery, this chicken salad is a great way to meal prep at the beginning of the week.
Rather than using olive oil, sour cream or full-fat dairy products, I made this creamy ranch dressing with plain Greek yogurt, non-dairy-milk and Frank’s red hot sauce for the spicy buffalo sauce flavor. This dressing is every bit as flavorful and creamy as traditional chicken salads only a lighter in calories and fat. Make extra to try it on Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders or a Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowl.
I love to make this as meal prep to have for the week. For more dishes featuring buffalo or ranch flavors try my Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Tenders, Buffalo Chicken Pasta or Mississippi Chicken Casserole.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- 42g of protein per serving.
- Make into salads, sandwiches or wraps.
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Ingredients and Substitutions:
These are the main ingredients and substitutions. See recipe card below for full ingredients list and instructions for Buffalo Ranch Chicken Salad.
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: can be substituted with rotisserie chicken.
Red Onion: You can omit it entirely if needed.
Celery: for added crunch.
Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk: any non-dairy unflavored milk.
Non-fat Yogurt: can be substituted with low fat cottage cheese
Hot Sauce: Frank’s is my favorite but any will work.
Lemon Juice
Dijon Mustard
Variations and Substitutions
- Add green onions or blue cheese crumbles.
- Omit the hot sauce for a homemade ranch dressing.
- Use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken to make this even easier.
Dietary Modifications
- This recipe is gluten-free as written.
- To make dairy-free, I suggest using a non-dairy yogurt of your choice. Forager makes a great dairy free yogurt that has a similar flavor and consistency to Greek yogurt.Â
How to make the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Salad:
Step 1: make the dressing
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the almond milk, yogurt, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, dried dill, dried parsley, onion powder, salt and pepper until smooth and creamy. Leave as is for ranch dressing and add the hot sauce to make it into buffalo ranch sauce.Â
Taste the dressing and adjust seasonings as needed. Transfer the dressing to a jar or airtight container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.Â
Step 2: cook the chicken
Add the raw chicken to a pot and cover with enough water to cover the top of the chicken. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, lower heat to medium. Let the chicken boil for 20 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink. Once cooked, remove the chicken from the water and shred with 2 forks.
Step 3: combine chicken salad
In a medium bowl, combine the shredded chicken, buffalo ranch dressing, celery, red onion, parsley, chives, salt and pepper. Mix everything well to combine.
Step 4: assemble
Toast your bread or use lettuce cups, if you prefer. Place a lettuce leaf on the bottom half of each bread slice, if using. Spoon the buffalo ranch chicken salad on top. Serve immediately with some extra dressing.
Serving and storing info
Make into a sandwich with bread, creamy avocados, tomatoes and a slice of cheddar cheese. Add on top of a bed go greens for a high protein hearty salad. Grab a tortilla and make into buffalo chicken tacos. The possibilities are endless!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
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Buffalo Ranch Chicken Salad
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Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1/2 cup Buffalo Ranch Dressing 120g
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 1/4 cup red onion chopped
- 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley chopped
- 2 Tbsp. fresh chives chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Buffalo Ranch Dressing
- 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk or other non dairy alternative 120ml
- 1/2 cup plain unsweetened non fat Greek yogurt 112g
- 1/4 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp. dried dill
- 2 tsp. dried chives
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the almond milk, dairy-free yogurt, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, dried dill, dried parsley, onion powder, salt and pepper until smooth and creamy. Leave as is for ranch dressing and add the hot sauce to make it into buffalo ranch sauce.Â
- Taste the dressing and adjust seasonings as needed. Transfer dressing to a jar or airtight container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.Â
- Add the raw chicken to a pot and cover with enough water to cover the top of the chicken.Â
- Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, lower heat to medium. Let the chicken boil for 20 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink. Once cooked, remove the chicken from the water and shred with 2 forks.
- In a medium bowl, combine the shredded chicken, buffalo ranch dressing, celery, red onion, parsley, chives, salt and pepper. Mix everything well to combine.Â
Notes
- Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary with substitutions.Â
- For plain ranch, omit the Frank’s Hot Sauce.Â
- Use rotisserie or leftover chicken to make this even easier.Â
I really couldn’t believe how fast the chicken cooked – made this so easy! And delish. I paired with siete wraps from Costco.
This was super easy and delicious! I was pleasantly surprised at how well the flavors balanced each other out! The dressing was DELICIOUS and truly made the dish!
This was simple and delicious for a family dinner on a busy night. I cooked the chicken in the instant pot (my favorite way for shredded chicken) as I tend to like it better that way vs boiled. And I made about 3 lbs of chicken at once, but only 1x the dressing, and had plenty of dressing for the whole batch of chicken. Quick dinner + leftovers for lunches during the week, in one simple recipe, is a huge win for busy families.