Buffalo Chicken Chopped Salad. This is one of my favorite salads when I am just really craving a salad – the cheese, the crunch, extra dips of your favorite dressing. This chopped salad is simple and also customizable. Have a few extra minutes? Roast some sweet potato cubes to throw in. Low carb or you just want to get it all done in 15 minutes? Chop the raw veg and cook up your chicken in 10 minutes or less. This salad has the taste and texture of eating a big pile of buffalo wings (carrots, celery, blue cheese crumbles) The kicker in this salad is the wing sauce. You won’t make wing sauce any other way.
The Salad Base: Ingredients
The opportunities are endless when it comes to what to add to this salad, but here’s my thought process:
- Carrots & Celery: I love celery in a salad. It’s so fresh and crunchy. And the combo of carrots and celery just make me think of buffalo wings – and all the times I used them as a way to eat extra blue cheese.
- Romaine Lettuce: I will use a spinach or spring mix if I am looking for nutritional value, but there are tons of veggies in this salad and I am just looking for more green and crunch. Romaine is a good choice.
- Sweet Potato: I am always looking for balance. This is my “I need to add a carb” option. But it also adds like 25 minutes of roasting time in the oven. I often make this salad without the sweet potatoes because of how quick it is to throw this salad together when I don’t. I also love adding them when I am in the mood.
- Cucumber: Nick loves cucumbers and I wanted a little more bright crunch. This is also a good substitute for my carrot or celery haters.
- Avocado: I just love avocado. It’s fatty and cuts through the wing sauce and crunch. But I know this salad can get a little “everything but the kitchen sink” so I understand if you skip the avo!
- Green onion: One of my favorite flavors and herby items. You can also use chives!
Home Cook’s Notes – FAQ
What is a chopped salad?
In a chopped salad, the veggies, meat and whatever you are putting in the salad are already chopped and cut into similar sized pieces. Everything is cut up, and the salad always really well and has lots of good texture. You make a chopped salad by cutting all of the meats & veggies before assembling and tossing them all together with the dressing.
Can I add dressing?
I made this salad so the cheese crumbles would be like the blue cheese and the wing sauce (light and clean but still delicious) acts as the dressing. But when I tell you – if you skip the crumbles and do part wing sauce part blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing, you are going to experience something amazing!
How to cook the chicken?
I love a boneless, skinless chicken thigh on the cast iron. You can also throw them on the grill following the same instructions of about 5 minutes on each side. Make sure to put the chicken on a HOT pan or a hot grill grate or grill pan to really get some delicious crusty bits and lots of flavor development.
Buffalo Wing Sauce
You know I hate to be modest! This wing sauce is my favorite and an absolute go to for any buffalo-style recipe of mine. My next move is to use it in my Best Buffalo Chicken Dip. I do believe my wing sauce is perfect and my buffalo chicken dip is the best, but you be the judge and let me know! As for the wing sauce, just toss everything in a bowl and whisk until combined.
You know what I just thought of? How good this would be on a wrap…
If you make this Buffalo Chicken Chopped Salad, please let me know your thoughts or what you added or changed! I love to hear your questions & comments. Or you can tag me on Instagram @quartersoulcrisis .
Buffalo Chicken Chopped Salad
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb chicken thighs boneless, skinless
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 medium sweet potato (optional for carb) cubed
- 1 tbs olive oil
- kosher salt & black pepper
- 2 hearts romaine lettuce chopped
- 2 small carrots thinly sliced
- 1-2 mini cucumbers optional* see notes
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 2 celery ribs thinly sliced
- 1 cup blue cheese crumbles
Buffalo Wing Sauce
- 1/2 cup franks red hot sauce
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2-3 dashes worcestershire
Instructions
- If cooking sweet potatoes, Preheat oven to 425° with baking sheet inside the oven Prep all the veggies & make sure they are chopped! In a medium bowl, add sweet potatoes if using & toss in olive oil , salt & pepper. When oven and baking sheet are preheated, add sweet potato cubes carefully to baking sheet. Roast 20-25 minutes until cooked through & browning, tossing sweet potatoes after first 10 minutes. If baking chicken, add it to the sweet potatoes with about 15 minutes to go.
- Cook Chicken: Meanwhile, pat chicken breasts dry with paper towel. Season with salt, garlic powder & paprika. Rub seasoning into chicken. Grill on high until cooked through (about 5 minutes on each side) or Cook in Cast Iron skillet or pan by heating 1tbs of oil until just smoking. Cook chicken about 5 minutes each side until cooked through. Rest 5 minutes & cut into cubes.
- Make Wing Sauce: In a small bowl, whisk Franks Red Hot, melted butter, ¼ garlic powder, apple cider vinegar & Worcestershire together.
- Assemble: In a large bowl, add romaine lettuce, carrots, celery, cucumbers, green onion, chopped chicken, blue cheese crumbles and any other veggie (like roasted sweet potatoes, cucumbers or avo). Drizzle with wing sauce & toss. Serve. Serves 3ish people. Add more blue cheese or wing sauce if desired.
Home Cook’s Notes
- Storing: Store all of the chopped veggies separate. The carrots, celery & lettuce will all hold up together well stored in an air tight container for a few days. I like to add the cucumber, chicken or any other warm ingredients right before serving. If you are meal prepping, leave the sturdier veggies on top and place the chicken on top of it. The carrots and celery can hold up longer to warm or wet chicken compared to the lettuce.
- See Home Cook’s Notes or Ingredient notes in the blog post for tons of diff options for the salad base. I make this salad all the time with different veggies!
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