Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad
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This Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad recipe is creamy, spicy, and packed with crunchy veggies and lean protein. It’s a filling salad on its own but can be used it to make lettuce wraps, sandwiches, or loaded baked potatoes. A great option for meal prep, high-protein lunches, or using up leftover rotisserie chicken!
Looking for more chicken lunch recipes? Try my Korean Chicken Wrap, Sweet And Spicy Thai Chicken Salad, or my Mango Chicken Salad Sandwich.
About This Recipe
This healthy buffalo chicken salad recipe brings the classic buffalo chicken flavor you love in a lighter, protein-packed form.
Instead of sour cream or blue cheese dressing, I’m blending low-fat cottage cheese with a little mayonnaise and buffalo sauce to create a creamy base that’s loaded with flavor.
I always make this salad with leftovers from my juicy and tender Air Fryer Chicken Breast. It’s already deliciously seasoned, but feel free to use any cooked chicken you have left from dinner the night before or store-bought shredded rotisserie chicken. It’s such a delicious yet easy recipe for lunch or a light dinner and has 37.7 grams of protein per serving!
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
- Meal prep friendly. It keeps well in an airtight container for up to 4 days. It’s also perfect for using leftover cooked chicken.
- Bold flavors, light ingredients. A tad bit of mayo, low-fat cottage cheese, and spicy buffalo sauce gives it a creamy texture and flavorful kick while still keeping it light.
- Crunchy veggies add texture. Red onion, green onions and celery give it extra crunch and lots of flavor.
- Versatile. Serve in lettuce cups, over romaine lettuce, in sandwiches, with tortilla chips, or enjoy as a filling salad.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutes
- Cottage Cheese: Blended until smooth, this high-protein cheese keeps the salad creamy without needing heavy mayo or blue cheese dressing. You can use 2%, whole milk, or fat-free. Use any leftovers to make my Cottage Cheese Egg Salad or Cottage Cheese Overnight Oats.
- Mayonnaise: I’m using just a spoonful for richness. Use your favorite brand (I love Kraft).
- Buffalo Sauce: Frank’s Red Hot Original is my go-to for the best flavor. But feel free to use your favorite hot sauce or buffalo wing sauce.
- Shredded Chicken: This recipe is a great way to use leftover chicken breast, rotisserie chicken, or meat from chicken thighs.
- Onions: I’m using a combination of red onion and spring onion (green onions/scallions). They add sharpness and brightness. Feel free to use yellow onions instead if that’s what you have on hand.
- Celery: It’s a must for that classic buffalo crunch. You can swap it for mini bell peppers or add some cucumbers for more veggie power.
Full ingredient amounts are in the recipe card below.
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How To Make Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad
Below is a step-by-step overview on how to make this recipe. Keep scrolling down to get to the recipe card below with the full recipe and detailed instructions!
Serving Suggestions
This spicy chicken salad is endlessly versatile. Here are a few of my favorite ways to enjoy it:
- Lettuce wraps or cups. Spoon into crisp romaine lettuce leaves for a low-carb option.
- Buffalo chicken salad sandwich. Pile it on whole grain bread, a toasted bun or croissant, similar to my Spicy Asian-Cajun Chicken Salad Croissandwich.
- Buffalo salad bowl. Serve over leafy greens with fresh vegetables and maybe some blue cheese crumbles.
- Stuffed into baked potatoes. A super comforting and tasty lunch or dinner option! Or serve it on top of my quick Air Fryer Potato Wedges. It’s so good!
- With crackers or tortilla chips. Great for a game-day snack or easy lunch.
Storing Instructions
- Storing. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3–4 days. Stir before serving as the dressing may release a small amount of liquid over time.
- Freezing. Although it’s not suitable for freezing, it’s perfect for prepping at the beginning of the week for grab-and-go meals.
Cook’s Tips
- Finely chop the veggies. It creates the perfect texture and gets the best flavors in each mouthful.
- Season chicken. If your cooked chicken isn’t seasoned, sprinkle in black pepper, garlic powder, or hot smoked paprika for extra flavor.
- Combine well. Make sure everything is evenly coated in the creamy dressing, so each bite delivers a bold, cohesive flavor.
Variations
- Make it dairy-free. Use dairy-free Greek-style yogurt and skip the cottage cheese. Or you can use a dairy-free/lactose-free cottage cheese.
- Add more veggies. Bulk it up with shredded carrots, cucumbers, or chopped bell peppers.
- Optional Add-ins. Fresh herbs like dill or parsley, blue cheese crumbles, cherry tomatoes, or a squeeze of lemon juice or lime juice add different flavors and textures.
FAQs
Use two forks, a hand mixer, or even your stand mixer with a paddle attachment. You can also shred by hand if preferred.
Absolutely! Thanks to cottage cheese, lean protein and crunchy veggies, it’s a high-protein healthy meal.
Yes, it’s great for meal prep. Store in an airtight container and stir before eating.
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More High Protein Lunch Salads
Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad
This Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad recipe is creamy, spicy, and packed with protein thanks to cottage cheese! Use in lettuce wraps, sandwiches, loaded baked potatoes. A great option for meal prep, high-protein lunches, or using up leftover rotisserie chicken!
Ingredients
- ½ cup / 115 grams Low Fat Cottage Cheese, blended (I used 2%, fat-free or whole milk cottage cheese works too)
- 1 tablespoon / 15 grams Mayonnaise (full-fat preferred, I love Kraft Mayo)
- ¼ cup / 60ml Buffalo Sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce)
- 2–3 cups / 11 ounces cooked shredded Chicken (I used 1 batch of my Air Fryer Chicken Breast – note 1)
- ½ cup / 50 grams Red Onion – finely chopped
- 1 cup / 115 grams Celery – diced
- 2 stalks / 20 grams Spring Onion (Scallion/Green Onion) – finely chopped
Instructions
- Make the sauce: Mix together the blended cottage cheese, mayonnaise and buffalo sauce in a large mixing bowl until combined well.
- Make the buffalo chicken salad: Add the red onion, celery, spring onion, and shredded chicken and mix well to combine.
- Serve: Enjoy in lettuce wraps, sandwiches, over a salad, with crackers or in loaded baked potatoes.
Notes
- Chicken and seasonings: My air fryer chicken breast is seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper, hot smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Feel free to add these seasonings to taste to the buffalo chicken salad if you are using unseasoned poached or cooked chicken. Alternatively, use Baked Chicken Breasts, store-bought shredded rotisserie chicken, or any leftover cooked chicken you have on hand.
- Storing. Store leftovers in a sealed airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Give it a good stir before serving as it may release a little liquid over time in the fridge.
- See the ‘Variations’ section in the post above to customize this healthy buffalo chicken salad for specific dietary needs and flavor/texture preferences.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/3 of recipe
- Calories: 268
- Sugar: 3.3g
- Sodium: 550mg
- Fat: 9.1g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 6.5g
- Fiber: 1.3g
- Protein: 37.7g
- Cholesterol: 109.8mg
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