I crave this high protein Buffalo Chicken Salad when I want a quick and easy healthy lunch or game day recipe! It's made with shredded chicken, and buffalo sauce combined with Greek yogurt creates the base of the creamy dressing. You can even make it with leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken. Enjoy it with chips or crackers, dip celery and carrots in it, or turn it into a sandwich or wrap! 😊 It's a great option to bring to football watching parties or tailgates, too.
Quick Look: Buffalo Chicken Salad
- 🧁 Serves: 8
- ⭐ Nutrition: per 0.5 cup serving: 150 calories, 20g protein
- ⌛️ Prep Time: 5 minutes
- 🍪 Cook Time: 25 minutes
- 🕑 Total Time: 30 minutes
- 👩🍳 Skill Level: Beginner
- 🏆 Why make THIS version? The creamy dressing made with a Greek yogurt base adds protein and it's a quick recipe to put together for a heathy lunch!
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review: "Made this for lunch and both me and my husband loved it! He asked me to make it again. 😊" -Amy
As a dietitian, one of my favorite kinds of recipes to share are healthier versions of classics! Chicken salad is a convenient lunch, but it often has a heavy dressing made with lots of mayo and added sodium. For this easy buffalo chicken salad, I use a combination of buffalo sauce, Greek yogurt, and lemon to create the base of the dressing instead. It's delicious, adds a little something special beyond just plain chicken salad, AND it's healthy and high protein.
If you're looking for more chicken salad recipes, try my Crunchy Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing, Healthier Classic Chicken Salad, Creamy Southwestern Chicken Salad, or Street Corn Chicken Salad.
For more ways to use Buffalo sauce, try making buffalo chicken bowls with homemade ranch, buffalo hummus or buffalo tuna salad!
Jump to:
- Quick Look: Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Ingredient Notes and Substitution Ideas
- Recipe Variations
- How to Make Buffalo Chicken Salad (High Protein)
- Mallory's Dietitian Tip!
- Video of How to Make Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Ideas for Serving
- Expert Tips
- Buffalo Chicken Salad FAQs
- Here are some more Healthy Chicken Salad Recipes:
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Ingredient Notes and Substitution Ideas
This healthy buffalo chicken salad is made with simple ingredients. Below are some ingredient notes. Check the recipe card for measurements.
- Chicken - I use boneless, skinless chicken breast and bake it in the oven seasoned with salt and black pepper. As a shortcut, you can use rotisserie chicken. Chicken is a lean protein and also provides important nutrients including phosphorus and niacin.
- Buffalo Hot Sauce - tangy buffalo sauce is a great way to add the classic buffalo chicken flavor! I use the Primal Kitchen brand. You can find it at the grocery store or on Amazon.
- Plain Greek Yogurt - using Greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise makes this buffalo chicken salad creamy, adds protein, and has less added saturated fats. If you can't tolerate dairy, use a plain dairy-free yogurt. You can substitute it with cottage cheese or do a half mayo & half Greek yogurt mixture.
- Celery - crunchy celery is commonly served with buffalo chicken. It adds dietary fiber and the perfect crunch to this chicken salad.
- Green onions - onions add lots of flavor. You can replace green onion with red onion or shallots if you want.
- Lemon Juice - a little lemon juice to brighten it up. Don't skip this because it makes a big difference.
- Seasonings - garlic powder and paprika add flavor.
- Kosher Salt & Pepper - a bit of kosher salt and pepper to tie all the flavors together.
- Optional ingredients if you want to kick it up a notch - blue cheese crumbles, fresh herbs like fresh dill or parsley, creamy avocado, olive oil or avocado oil.
Recipe Variations
The best part about this recipe is you can customize it based on your preference. Below are some ideas.
- Deluxe - if you want more veggies, you can also add chopped carrots, bell peppers, red cabbage, cucumber, red onion, or diced cherry tomatoes.
- Buffalo Chicken Salad with Cottage Cheese - use cottage cheese in place of Greek yogurt if you like the flavor and texture better.
- Spicy - double up on the hot sauce or add crushed red pepper flakes, serrano or jalapeno pepper to spice it up.
- Potato Salad - add cooked red potatoes and blue cheese to turn it into a twist on normal potato salad.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Salad (High Protein)
Below are the instructions for how to make this recipe with photos that I hope are helpful! The full recipe can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200°C). Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Coat the chicken in olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Bake in the preheated oven on the baking sheet for 25 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165℉ (75°C). Let the chicken cool. Shred your chicken using either 2 forks or a hand mixer. You can also shred it by pulsing it in a food processor. Finely chop the celery and green onions.
- Step 2 - in a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, Greek yogurt, buffalo hot sauce, celery, green onions, lemon juice, seasonings, and salt and pepper and stir to combine.
Hint: if you like spicy food, add more buffalo sauce and cut back on the amount of Greek yogurt.
Mallory's Dietitian Tip!
It seems basic, but it's so easy to forget that when it comes to sticking with healthy eating, having easy lunches like this high protein buffalo chicken salad meal prepped and ready to go is so helpful.
Using Greek yogurt as the base of the dressing is an easy way to add protein while keep the creamy consistency we all crave in a chicken salad. 😊
Video of How to Make Buffalo Chicken Salad
Here's a short video of how to make this recipe.
Ideas for Serving
Once you have a batch, there are so many different ways you can serve buffalo chicken salad! Here are some of my favorites.
- Buffalo Chicken Salad Sandwich or Wrap - turn this chicken salad into a balanced meal by serving it between two slices of sourdough or whole wheat bread with some crunchy romaine lettuce.
- In Lettuce Wraps - if you're looking for a gluten-free option, serve this buffalo chicken salad recipe in fresh lettuce wraps. Romaine lettuce works great for this.
- Green Salad - add a couple of scoops of this buffalo chicken dip on top of spring mix and add your favorite fresh vegetables and some blue cheese on top!
- Buffalo Chicken Tacos - wrap it up in a tortilla and enjoy buffalo chicken tacos.
Expert Tips
- Be sure to season the chicken well since it will have an impact on the flavor of this buffalo chicken salad.
- One of the easiest ways to shred chicken for chicken salads is to shred it by pulsing it in a food processor or with a hand mixer.
- For the best flavor, I suggest using fresh lemon juice instead of bottled lemon juice if possible.
Buffalo Chicken Salad FAQs
While healthy means something different to everyone, this buffalo chicken salad is a nutrient-rich option. Chicken is a high-quality lean protein and also provides other important nutrients including iron and vitamin B6. This recipe contains Greek yogurt, which provides more protein, phosphorus, and calcium.
I use Primal Kitchen's Buffalo Sauce made with avocado oil.
This recipe is not dairy-free since it uses Greek yogurt. You can make this recipe dairy-free by replacing the Greek yogurt with a plant-based yogurt! Just be sure to use plain flavored yogurt.
You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. I don't recommend freezing this recipe because of the yogurt texture.
Here are some more Healthy Chicken Salad Recipes:
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! I would love to hear from you! If you made this recipe, please leave me a review below or tag me in a photo or story on Instagram. Your reviews help support me and make it possible for me to continue to create the recipes you know and love. 🙂 IG: @mallorythedietitian
📖 Recipe
Buffalo Chicken Salad, High Protein and Healthy
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast (or 4 cups shredded cooked chicken)
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
- 4 stalks green onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- ⅓ cup Buffalo sauce (I use Primal Kitchen brand)
- ½ large lemon, juice of
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt (more to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200°C). Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Coat the chicken in olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Bake in the preheated oven on the baking sheet for 25 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165℉ (75°C). Let the chicken cool.
- Shred your chicken using either 2 forks or a hand mixer. You can also shred it by pulsing it in a food processor. Finely chop the celery and green onions.
- In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, Greek yogurt, buffalo hot sauce, celery, green onions, lemon juice, seasonings, and salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Hint: if you want it more spicy, add more buffalo sauce and cut back on the amount of Greek yogurt.
Video
Notes
- Be sure to use a chicken you like the flavor of since it will have an impact on the flavor.
- One of the easiest ways to shred chicken for chicken salads is to shred it by pulsing it in a food processor or with a hand mixer.
- For the best flavor, I suggest using fresh lemon juice in the dressing instead of bottled lemon juice if possible.
- Refrigerator - store leftover Buffalo Chicken Salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. I don't recommend freezing this recipe because of the yogurt texture.
Al
Love this recipe! SO easy to make, very flavorful, & the macros are fantastic! Will definitely make again.
Mallory
Hi! Thank you so much for taking time to leave a rating and review!! I'm soo happy to hear that you liked it and especially honored that you'll be making it again. Happy you're here! -Mallory
Denise
My daughter in-law shared this recipe with me I am dieting this was delicious will definitely make it again!
Mallory
Hi Denise, thank you SO much for taking time to leave a rating and comment!! I'm so happy to hear that you liked it and can't wait for you to make it again! -Mallory
Nicole
Tried this today and used canned chicken breast because that’s what I had on hand. Turned out delicious! Thank you!
Mallory
Hi Nicole, thank you so much for taking time to leave a review and comment!! ❤️ I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe!!! And great to know it works well with canned chicken too - makes it even easier! I hope you have a great day. -Mallory
Marybeth McIntyre
My favorite email so far!!!
Going to try several of these recipes!
Thank you!
mb
Mallory
Hi Marybeth!! thank you SO much for taking time to leave me such a kind comment. 😊 I'm so excited you're going to try some of the recipes and I hope you enjoy them!! -Mallory
Amy
Made this for lunch and both me and my husband loved it! He asked me to make it again. 😊
Mallory
Hi Amy,
I'm so happy to hear that you both loved it! Thank you so much for taking time to leave a comment and rating. It truly means so much to me. 😊 -Mallory