Healthy Buffalo Chicken Salad

This healthy buffalo chicken salad recipe is easy, lighter than most chicken salad recipes and tastes like buffalo chicken dip in chicken salad form. It uses a tasty Greek yogurt base and spicy buffalo sauce for a healthy recipe you’ll love.

Why you’ll love this buffalo chicken salad

This buffalo chicken salad recipe is one of my favorite easy chicken salad recipes.

It’s a great option for a quick delicious lunch with lots of flavor, and perfect for meal prepping to enjoy next day too- if you love a little bit of heat, you’ll love my Spicy Chicken Salad and Jalapeño Chicken Salad too! Why you need to try this one:

• It’s easy! You can make it even easier by grabbing a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store, using leftover chicken breasts from dinner or using my Air Fryer Shredded Chicken.
• SO good. If you’re a fan of buffalo anything like me, you’re just going to love this. It tastes like buffalo chicken dip- is there anything better? Speaking of, make sure you try my High Protein Buffalo Chicken Dip next, or my Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole.
• Meal-prep friendly. You can make a batch or two of this at the beginning of the week for an easy protein to have with sandwiches, salads, wraps, or for snack plates. It’s a great easy-to-grab protein for a healthy meal. This along with my Grinder Salad are probably my top two favorite lunches!
• High protein. With over 20 grams of protein per serving, this chicken salad is a great way to help you hit your protein goals.

Here’s what you’ll need. Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.

1. Cooked and shredded chicken: You can use any cooking method you like, but you’ll need cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs. Buy a rotisserie chicken or make my Air Fryer Shredded Chicken (my foolproof method!) to save time.
2. Celery and green onion: Celery and green onions add the perfect amount of crunchy veggies. You could also sub in red onion or sweet onion.
3. Buffalo sauce: My favorite buffalo sauce is Primal Kitchen buffalo sauce, but you can use your favorite brand. I also like the Frank’s RedHot Buffalo sauce. You can use regular hot sauce too or any other buffalo wing sauce, too.
4. Plain Greek yogurt: This recipe replaces most of the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt, and you’ll barely notice! It adds protein, creaminess and a little bit of tang. I prefer to use full fat over fat free yogurt, but either will work. Just make sure it’s plain, we don’t want vanilla-flavored chicken salad!
5. Mayonnaise: Use whatever mayo you prefer. Sir Kensington’s is my favorite.
6. Garlic powder: This recipe calls for just a little bit of garlic powder, but you can add in any other spices that you enjoy too like onion powder or even everything but the bagel seasoning.

Recipe Variations

• Add blue cheese. If you like the traditional buffalo blue cheese combination, add blue cheese crumbles or a drizzle of blue cheese dressing.
• More veggies. Add more crunchy fresh vegetables like diced red bell peppers.
• No Greek yogurt? Use sour cream instead. You can also use all Greek yogurt, or all mayo if you prefer.
• Add fresh herbs. Fresh parsley cilantro or even fresh dill would be delish.
• Buffalo tuna salad. Replace the chicken with tuna for an easy
• Add a squeeze of lemon. Fresh lemon juice adds just a bit more brightness and lemony tang.
• Buffalo ranch chicken salad: Add a tablespoon or two of ranch seasoning powder.

How to store

Store leftover salad in an airtight container for up to 4 days. This recipe is excellent for making ahead because it stores so well and there’s no reheati]ng required. I love prepping this ahead and storing in these clear 2-compartment containers with sliced veggies or crackers.

How to serve

There are so many different ways to enjoy this one. Here are my favorite ways to serve this high protein buffalo chicken salad:

• As a sandwich: Serve between two slices of your favorite bread with lettuce and tomato for a quick meal.
• Buffalo lettuce wraps: Use romaine lettuce hearts to serve in lettuce wraps or as lettuce cups.
• Buffalo tortilla wrap: Serve in a tortilla with cheese and lettuce for an easy wrap.
• Buffalo ranch salad: Top fresh lettuce with this buffalo chicken and drizzle with dressing like my Buffalo Ranch Sauce, Cottage Cheese Ranch Dressing (my favorite homemade ranch dressing!), or Poblano Ranch Dressing!