Grilled Buffalo Chicken Salad Recipe

This Grilled Buffalo Chicken Salad recipe is a quick and easy way to turn an everyday green salad into a hearty and delicious meal. It’s got fresh veggies, blue cheese, grilled chicken breasts, and creamy homemade buffalo ranch salad dressing.

Enjoy this salad for lunch or dinner, and feel free to use leftover chicken to make things easier. Love chicken salad recipes? You can also try my BBQ Chicken Salad, Grilled Chicken Salad with Pesto, Thai Chicken Salad, or this Southwest Crispy Chicken Salad.

Buffalo Chicken Salad Recipe

I can’t wait to start making this grilled buffalo chicken salad all summer long. Juicy grilled chicken is coated in my easy homemade buffalo ranch sauce and served over the top of fresh lettuce, crisp veggies, and blue cheese.

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Drizzle a little extra dressing over the top and enjoy a hearty, healthy, and super simple lunch or dinner. The entire thing only takes about 30 minutes from start to finish, and both the chicken and dressing can even be made ahead of time.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It’s quick and healthy! It doesn’t get much healthier than grilled chicken breast and veggies. Adding a little buffalo ranch dressing never hurt anyone—especially when it makes you actually crave this salad. Best of all, this salad can be made in just about 30 minutes flat.
Perfect for lunch or dinner. This salad can definitely be bulked up to make it hearty enough to serve for dinner. Just add a little extra chicken and serve with a side of bread or soup. It’s also perfect for a protein-packed lunch.
Use up leftovers. Feel free to use leftover chicken, and/or veggies from the fridge that need to go.

Key Ingredients You Will Need

Chicken: chicken breast grills up great and is super healthy. Feel free to swap out chicken thighs, or chicken tenders. You could even make life really easy and use rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken.
Lettuce: romaine lettuce has a nice crunch to it and is a little more flavorful than something like iceberg lettuce. But really any greens will do, including spinach, kale, and arugula.
Veggies: to bulk this salad up, I like to add fresh veggies like broccoli florets, sliced celery, diced peppers, or cauliflower. You can use whatever you have in the fridge!
Pepper Jack Cheese: I love the little extra spice that pepper jack cheese adds—perfect for a slightly spicy ranch dressing.
Blue Cheese Crumbles: it wouldn’t feel right to serve a buffalo chicken salad without a little sprinkle of crumbled blue cheese.
Hot Sauce: I am a huge fan of Frank’s Hot Sauce, but feel free to use your favorite brand.
Brown Sugar: this is added to the hot sauce to make an easy homemade buffalo sauce.
Ranch Dressing: adding ranch to the buffalo sauce gives it a cool and spicy flavor that’s so good with fresh veggies and tender chicken.

How to Make Buffalo Chicken Salad

Grill the chicken. Season chicken breasts, then cook on a hot preheated grill for about 12-15 minutes total—flipping halfway. Once cooked, let it rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing or dicing.
Make the dressing. Boil together the hot sauce and brown sugar, then set aside to cool. Once the buffalo sauce has cooled completely, mix in the ranch dressing.

Chicken breasts on a grill with buffalo sauce being brushed over the top.

Assemble. Arrange the lettuce, grilled buffalo ranch chicken, tomatoes, veggies, pepper jack cheese, and avocados in a large serving bowl. Drizzle the buffalo ranch dressing over the salad and finish with crumbled blue cheese. Enjoy!

Buffalo ranch dressing being poured over the top of a grilled chicken salad.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should the chicken be served hot or cold?

This is really up to you! If you are grilling the chicken just before serving, you may want to serve it warm over the top. But, if you prep the chicken ahead of time, or plan to use leftover chicken, you could just as easily add it on cold.

How long does homemade buffalo sauce last?

When stored in a jar or another airtight container, this buffalo ranch dressing will last for up to 1 week in the fridge.

Can I make this ahead of time?

You wouldn’t want to make this salad start to finish ahead of time, but there are definitely parts that can be prepped in advance. The buffalo ranch dressing can be made and stored in the fridge for up to 1 week. The grilled chicken can also be stored for up to 3 days. You could even prep the veggies the night before.

Recipe Variations

Here are a few substitutions, short-cuts, and different ways to prep this salad:

Chopped salad. Chop the lettuce, chicken, and veggies up into small, evenly sized pieces to create a buffalo chicken chopped salad.
Use rotisserie chicken. This saves some time and makes it so that you don’t personally need to cook anything!
Bake the chicken. If you don’t feel like firing up the grill, go ahead and bake the chicken instead. Bake for about 30-35 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.
Add toppings. There are unlimited options when it comes to toppings for this salad. Try adding bacon bits, green onions, chickpeas or black beans, chopped peanuts or almonds, and fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley.

Storage Instructions

Refrigerator: leftover salad can be stored in the fridge overnight. Store leftover salad dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.