January 4, 2020

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad (Whole30, Paleo, Gluten-Free)

This easy and healthy buffalo chicken salad makes a great lunch or protein-packed snack. Made with tangy buffalo sauce and plenty of fresh herbs, this chicken salad is full of that buffalo wing flavor you know and love. Not only is this chicken salad recipe delicious, it’s also Whole30 compliant, gluten-free, and Paleo-friendly. 

Quick and Easy Whole30 Buffalo Chicken Salad

Buffalo wings in the form of a chicken salad? I’ll take it!

Buffalo sauce is personally one of my favorite condiments. I love the tang and the little bit of kick from the heat, it’s just so good.

Naturally then, I love buffalo chicken anything (wings, chopped salads, you name it…) and this buffalo chicken salad is another one of my favorite ways to use buffalo sauce.

This chicken salad is a little spicy, tangy, creamy, and crunchy, everything you want in a chicken salad. It uses a combo of mayo, fresh herbs, buffalo sauce, and seasonings to give you the flavor of a buffalo wing dipped in ranch dressing. Keep reading to get all of the details on how to make this delicious chicken salad!

How to Prepare Your Chicken

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad (Whole30, Paleo, Gluten-Free)

This recipe calls for a little over two cups of shredded or diced chicken breast. One of the most common questions I get is how to make the chicken for chicken salad. There are a couple of different ways you can prepare the chicken for this recipe and they are all great options. Here are a few great ways to make your chicken:

  • Roast bone-in split chicken breasts – this is my favorite way to prep the chicken. I season two bone-in split chicken breasts with salt, pepper, avocado oil, garlic powder, and onion powder and then roast them at 400 degrees for around 40-45 minutes until completely cooked through. Once they have cooled, I remove the skin, pull the meat from the bones, and dice up the meat.

  • Bake boneless skinless chicken breasts – if you have some boneless skinless chicken breasts on hand, this another great option. Drizzle the chicken with oil and season the breasts with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and onion powder. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Once cooled, dice up the meat.

  • Poach boneless skinless chicken breasts – if you prefer, you can poach your chicken breasts in boiling water until they are cooked through.

  • Use leftover roasted chicken – another great (and easy!) option is just to use leftover chicken from a whole roasted chicken. You could even use a combination of white and dark meat if you like.

Buffalo Chicken Salad Ingredients

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad (Whole30, Paleo, Gluten-Free)

This base of the chicken salad is obviously chicken breast, but there are a few more key ingredients that work together to give it that buffalo wing flavor.

Celery: I really like to add extra texture to my chicken salads by incorporating fresh veggies and celery is a great option. It has a nice crunch and the perfect flavor that compliments the buffalo sauce.

Mayo: This ingredient adds a bit of creaminess and helps to bind everything together. Be sure to check your labels if you are doing a round of Whole30 to ensure that the mayo you are using is Whole30 compliant. If you are not a fan of mayo, you could also substitute plain Greek yogurt.

Buffalo Sauce: Of course you cannot have buffalo chicken salad without the buffalo sauce. This is my favorite brand of Whole30 compliant buffalo sauce.

Green Onion: Fresh green onion really helps to amp up the flavor in this recipe and makes everything taste so good.

Fresh Dill: This fresh herb is a must-have in buffalo chicken salad. It helps give the chicken salad the flavor of ranch or blue cheese dressing that we all love to dip our buffalo wings in. Don’t leave this out and feel free to sprinkle a little extra on top for good measure.

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad (Whole30, Paleo, Gluten-Free)

How to Serve Your Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad

There are several different ways you can serve your buffalo chicken salad. You can serve it on its own with fresh celery and carrot sticks, or try making a lettuce wraps with bibb lettuce leaves. Another option is to make a collard green wrap with fresh collard green leaves. You can also use your favorite bread to make a traditional sandwich with lettuce and tomato.

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad (Whole30, Paleo, Gluten-Free)

More Delicious Chicken Salad Recipes to Love

Print

Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad (Whole30, Paleo, Gluten-Free)

  • Author: Ashlea Carver
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Scale:
  • Author: Ashlea Carver
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

  • 3 cups cooked chicken breast, diced or shredded
  • 1/2 cup Whole30 compliant mayonnaise (I used this kind)

  • 1/2 cup Whole30 compliant buffalo sauce (this one is Whole30 compliant)

  • 1/2 cup diced celery

  • 1/4 cup chopped green onion

  • 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

  • 1 tsp salt (plus more to taste)

  • 1 tsp garlic powder

  • 1 tsp white vinegar

  • juice of one lemon

Method

  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until well combined.

  2. Serve immediately or store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Keywords: healthy buffalo chicken salad, whole30 buffalo chicken salad, buffalo chicken salad

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    15 comments
  1. I’ve made a few different Buffalo Chicken Salad recipes but I keep coming back to this one – it’s just the best! The first time I made it, I wasn’t sure about adding dill but I miss it in the other recipes I’ve tried, it adds a little something that just works so well with the other ingredients. I usually mix in shredded carrot and top with cherry tomatoes and avocado but really it’s delicious as is.

  2. This was awesome! So much FLAVOR! I even cut down on the Mayo since I’m doing WW. Thank you! Adding this to my lunch rotation!

  3. This recipe was so easy to make and full of flavor. It was a hit with my husband. Can’t wait to make it again! 🤤

  4. This recipe is amazing! I substituted the mayo for Greek yogurt as suggested and it was perfect. I actually ended up making more after my fiance and I finished the first batch. Excellent lunch option and macro-friendly with the yogurt. This is probably my favorite chicken salad recipe to date. I ate it by itself but my fiance chose to make it into a wrap. 10/10 for sure.

  5. This was so delicious! We made a little too much sauce for the amount of chicken that we cooked so we made the chicken salad into a salad by adding some lettuce and it was perfect. Quick and easy to make – definitely becoming a staple meal for our list.

  6. So good! I’ve made several Whole30 buffalo chicken salad recipes before. This is my new favorite! Spicy and tangy without being too mayo-y. That’s a thing for me. I only tolerate mayo to make yummy dishes like this! 🙂

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