Put a spicy spin on chicken salad with this Buffalo chicken chicken salad. Loaded with tender rotisserie chicken, celery, red onions, blue cheese, and a generous amount of hot sauce. This is the chicken salad that will level up a Summer cookout!
INGREDIENTS
Here’s what you will need to whip up this chicken salad.
- Shredded chicken. The easiest thing to do here is buy a rotisserie chicken and shred that. For me that’s the best way! You’ll need 2 and 1/2 cups of the chicken so you’ll wind up using most of it.
- Celery.
- Red onion.
- Blue cheese.
- Hot sauce.
- Light mayo.
- Light sour cream.
- Garlic powder.
- Sugar. The little but of sugar helps balance out all the spice and acid from the hot sauce.
BLUE CHEESE SUBSTITUTIONS
I know blue cheese isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. You can love all things Buffalo chicken, and not like the blue cheese part. So if you want to swap the blue, here’s what you can do:
- Shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- Shredded Mozzarella. This won’t add a lot of flavor, but will still give you the cheesy factor.
- Shredded gouda.
- Or leave out the cheese entirely.
I don’t recommend using feta. While it’s a crumbled cheese and would be an easy mix-in, the flavor would not go with this at all.
This is one of those dishes that can actually be a bit better the next day! If you’re bringing this to a party you can prepare it a day ahead. Just cover and keep in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. I recommend only 1-2 days in advance, after that it can get a little be too liquidy the longer it sits.
For more Buffalo chicken inspired recipes, try some of these blog favorites!
Buffalo chicken pasta salad
Buffalo chicken flatbread
Buffalo chicken mac and cheese
Buffalo chicken pizza
Buffalo chicken phyllo bites
Buffalo Chicken Chicken Salad
Take chicken salad and make it spicy! This chicken salad is loaded with a hot sauce dressing, diced celery and red onions, and creamy blue cheese.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings
- Category: Side Dishes
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
2 and 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/2 cup finely diced red onions
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
For the dressing
2/3 cup light mayo
1/3 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup +2 tablespoons hot sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
1. In a bowl combine all the ingredients for the dressing.
2. In another larger bowl combine the chicken, blue cheese, onions, and celery.
3. Add all of the dressing to the chicken bowl and stir to combine.