Buffalo Chicken Salad
Updated Feb 04, 2026
A simple buffalo chicken salad recipe made with pre-shredded chicken, Greek yogurt, hot sauce, and crunchy celery, great for lunch or dinner.
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My Buffalo Chicken Salad is So Good!
I really love the flavor of Buffalo wings, but I don’t always want to eat them in wing form. This buffalo chicken salad recipe tastes just like Buffalo wings flavor-wise, but lighter and less messy. I use hot sauce and mayonnaise to make the dressing, which is very traditional. That being said, I can’t help but lighten it up by replacing some of the mayo with Greek yogurt. I add in some dried dill and garlic and toss it all together with shredded chicken. (I like to use my Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipe for this.) I think the best part for me though is adding the buffalo chicken salad on top of lettuce, because it just makes it more fresh and crunchy!
Buffalo Chicken Salad Ingredients
- Chicken salad: Cooked shredded chicken breast, celery, green onions. Any cooked chicken works here, but finely shredded mixes best. Finely cut the celery so you don’t end up with big chunks..
- Buffalo yogurt dressing: Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, hot sauce (like Franks Red Hot), lemon juice, dried dill, garlic powder, salt. The yogurt keeps it lighter while the mayo keeps the flavor right. You can adjust the hot sauce up or down depending on how spicy you like it and Full fat Greek yogurt is wat I prefer but you can use low-fat..
- For serving: Boston bib or iceberg lettuce, crumbled blue cheese. Softer lettuce works best for cups, and the blue cheese is optional but very on-brand for a buffalo chicken salad if you like it.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Salad
Buffalo Chicken Salad Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups cooked chicken breast shredded
- 2 celery stalks thinly sliced
- 4 green onions sliced
- 1 head Lettuce Boston Bib or iceberg lettuce, about 16 leaves, for serving
- Crumbled blue cheese for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the greek yogurt, mayonnaise, hot sauce, lemon juice, dried dill, garlic powder and salt.
- Add the shredded chicken, celery and green onions on top of the dressing and stir well to combine.
- To serve, fill the lettuce cups with 3-4 tablespoons of the chicken salad mixture.
Notes
- My Top Tip: Add your chicken last. It’s important to emulsify the dressing first to create a smooth and creamy sauce before adding the chicken and the veggies. That way, your dressing won’t separate!
- Storage: Store your buffalo chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Tips
- Shred your chicken into extra-small pieces. This will help ensure that your shredded chicken is fully coated with the Buffalo ranch dressing!
- Save your celery leaves. When slicing your celery, you might be tempted to toss the celery leaves, but they can add so much flavor to your Buffalo chicken salad. Try washing them, chopping them up, and using them to garnish your lettuce cups.
- Let it chill. For the best flavor, let your salad sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before serving. This will really help all your flavors meld together!
Serving Ideas
- Make a Buffalo chicken sandwich. If you don’t feel like serving this Buffalo chicken in salad format, try wrapping it up in a flour tortilla for a Buffalo chicken wrap, adding it to a brioche bun with ranch dressing, or making a Buffalo chicken melt on toast with shredded cheese.
- Add to a grain bowl. Buffalo chicken is delicious served on top of a grain bowl with quinoa, or lemon rice! Or, for a carb-y alternative, try making a loaded baked potato with your chicken.
- Serve with fresh bread. I love how this Buffalo chicken salad tastes with greens, or crackers, but it’s also delicious spread on my homemade dinner rolls, my air fryer bread, or my easy flatbreads.
FAQs
Your Buffalo chicken salad may come out watery if your celery releases too much moisture or if the chicken wasn’t fully cooled before mixing. Make sure to pat the celery dry and use well-drained, completely cooled shredded chicken.
Comments
I am so in love with your website. It started with the stuffed peppers, date&pecan tarts, zucchini enchiladas (TWICE) and now this delightful dinner that fed 5 hungry teens (my 3 and 2 of their friends) plus me and my hubby…. the plates were clean! Thank you so much for producing such great content of healthy, colorful, and flavorful foods Yumna. We’re grateful
Aww that makes me so happy!! Appreciate you taking the time to share that sweet comment with me. It made my day!! Thank you!!
It’s delicious keep them coming. I’m a diabetic and I could really use ur recipes.
Do u have recipes for diabetes?
Glad these are helpful! I don’t have them specifically mentioned as diabetes friendly unfortunately.
Was looking for a healthy recipe for lunch and found this one! It was delicious. This was my second, VERY yummy recipe from this site. Will search for others!
So happy to hear that!! Thank you!
Love this recipe! I will definitely be making again! I used green onions and cilantro in the sauce and used an immersion blender to mix it all up. Super easy and healthy. 5 stars from me!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for sharing!
My family has been trying to eat healthier and love anything buffalo chicken. I was a little afraid of the Greek yogurt because I am normally not a fan. I was pleasantly surprised. These tasted great. I’m glad to now have a healthier option when it comes to buffalo chicken.
So glad you were pleasantly surprised! Thank you!
Tried this recipe.It turned out super delicious .
I didn’t have Red cabbage so instead of red ,I added green cabbage.
So glad to hear it!! Thanks so much for sharing!