This crispy Buffalo Ranch Chicken Salad is made with crispy oven-baked chicken, fresh greens, buffalo sauce, creamy pepper jack cheese, and a herby homemade ranch. You’ll love it!

Why You’ll LOVE This Crispy Buffalo Ranch Chicken Salad

It’s full of flavor – the combination of tangy buffalo sauce, fresh greens, crispy flavorful chicken, and herby ranch is just too good!
The crispy chicken is baked not fried – crispy chicken is the star of this salad and the flavorful cutlets are baked not fried!
It’s so easy to make – trust me, this salad is so easy to make. In just a few simple steps you’ll have a hearty salad that everyone will love!

Watch How to Make This Recipe

Buffalo Ranch Salad Ingredients

Chicken Breast: you’ll need one pound of boneless skinless chicken for this recipe. I prefer to use chicken cutlets for this recipe because they are thinner and cook more evenly than larger chicken breasts.

Panko Breadcrumbs: to give the chicken that crispy crunchy coating, we’re using toasted panko breadcrumbs.

Eggs and Almond Milk: these make up the base of the mixture that is used on the chicken to ensure that the breadcrumbs stick to the chicken.

Buffalo Sauce: to add a little bit of extra flavor to the chicken coating we’re adding a bit of buffalo sauce to the egg and almond milk mixture.

Herbs: for this recipe you’ll use a combination of dried herbs in the chicken breading and plenty of fresh herbs in the dressing.

Salad Greens and Toppings: for the base of the salad we’re using crunchy romaine lettuce and then piling on the toppings like diced celery, shredded carrots, cucumber, radishes, tomatoes, and avocado.

Pepper Jack Cheese: last but not least, we’re adding a little shredded pepper Jack cheese, which of course is optional, but so delicious!

The Best Herby Ranch

A creamy ranch dressing, filled with fresh herbs, ties everything in this salad together! Thankfully, the dressing could not be easier to make. Just add all of the ingredients to a high powered blender or food processor and blend or process until well combined.

Here’s what you need:

Whole milk Greek yogurt
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Fresh dill, chives, and parsley
Fresh garlic
salt and pepper

Ingredient Substitutions and Variations

Greek yogurt – I prefer to use whole milk Greek yogurt in this recipe but feel free to use low-fat or non-fat if you prefer. You could also substitute the Greek yogurt for sour cream, non-dairy yogurt, or mayo if you prefer.

Fresh Herbs – don’t have fresh herbs? you can substitute them for dry. For every tablespoon of fresh herbs use one teaspoon of dried.

Breadcrumbs – need to keep this recipe gluten free? you can use gluten free breadcrumbs for the coating.

Veggies – this salad is so easy to customize! have extra veggies you need to use? add them in!

Helpful Kitchen Tools

How to Make This Buffalo Ranch Chicken Salad Recipe

Step One: Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees.

Step Two: Add the eggs, almond milk, and buffalo sauce to a mixing bowl and whisk until well combined. Add the chicken cutlets to the mixing bowl and press down until completely submerged and coated.

Step Three: Add the panko breadcrumbs to a food processor and pulse until fine, two or three times. Pour the breadcrumbs into a mound on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add a tablespoon of avocado oil to the breadcrumb mound and stir until the oil is well incorporated. Spread the breadcrumbs into a single layer on the baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Transfer the toasted breadcrumbs to a shallow bowl, then add in the seasoning and spices. Stir until the seasonings and breadcrumbs are well combined.

Step Four: Grease a wire baking rack and place it over a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

Step Five: Remove the chicken cutlets, one at a time, and transfer to the breadcrumb mixture. Use your fingers to toss the chicken in the breadcrumbs until well coated, pressing the breadcrumbs into the chicken to help them stick. Transfer the coated chicken to the wire rack. Bake the chicken nuggets at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown and a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. Remove from the oven and let rest before slicing.

Step Six: add Greek yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, dill, chives, parsley, garlic, black pepper, and salt. Blend or process until smooth and creamy.

Step Seven: Once the chicken and ranch dressing are done, assemble your salads. Start with a base of romaine lettuce and then add the sliced chicken, celery, cucumber, carrots, radish, tomato, avocado, and pepper jack cheese. Drizzle over the ranch and serve!

Make Ahead Prep Tips

Want to do a little bit of prep in advance for this recipe ? Here are my favorite tips:

Make the dressing: make the dressing in advance and then store in an air-tight container like a mason jar for up to 4-5 days.
Chop and store your veggies: make throwing your salad together extra easy by chopping your veggies in advance and then storing in air-tight containers in the fridge.
Toast the breadcrumbs: you can easily toast the breadcrumbs for the crispy coating in advance and then store in an air-tight container or storage bag.

How to Store

Store any leftover salad in an air-tight container in the fridge for 1-2 days. If you have leftover chicken I would store it separately so that you can reheat in the oven or air fryer before adding it to the salad.

More Delicious Salad Recipes to Try

I hope you give this Crispy Buffalo Ranch Chicken Salad a try! They are so easy to make and delicious! If you do give this recipe a try, let me know!

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