This Buffalo Chicken Salad tastes just like the salad from Sweetgreen. It’s easier and more affordable to make at home, plus you can customize it to your liking too! It’s spicy, filled with so much flavor, and prepared in just 30 minutes.
We promise you this is the best Buffalo Chicken Salad recipe. We were inspired by the famous Sweetgreen salad and dare we say this one tastes better than the original?! It also takes minimal time to meal prep and is perfect for weekday lunches.
This salad happens to be our favorite at the chopped salad establishment, so we got to work recipe testing this right at home. It has easy homemade pickled veggies, with spicy roasted chicken thighs, breadcrumbs, and a great caesar or ranch dressing.
Even better, you’ll have leftovers to make for several more salads that week – it’s also more affordable too! If you want to try some of our other new salads, our Green Goddess Salad or Bean Salad are two other delicious choices.
Ab’s Tip: With the chicken, we love boneless, skinless chicken thighs. They’re actually more foolproof than breasts when roasting because they stay moist and juicy. If you want to use breasts, we love using the tenders since they cook quickly.
Ingredients
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are the best because you have no fuss with a bone, and they’re a little fattier than breasts which is a safety measure to prevent you from overcooking the thighs. You can also substitute for chicken breast tenders over thighs.
- Kale: We picked kale here to optimize meal prep. Kale doesn’t wilt the way most other lettuce does, and stays fresh for longer. The original also uses shredded kale and the key to make it tender is to massage it with some olive oil and lemon juice.
- Olive oil and lemon juice: The two key ingredients used to massage the kale so it becomes tender to the bite.
- Romaine: Adds the crunch for a burst of freshness.
- Pickled vegetables: This salad is nothing without the delicious pickled celery and carrots that you add on. Again, another super easy thing to meal prep and keep in your fridge for the week.
- Caesar dressing: We wanted to keep this recipe “no fuss” so I encourage you to use store bought Caesar dressing. I am a big fan of California Olive Ranch but I also love my super delicious Caper Caesar Dressing if you want to make it at home.
- Hot sauce: We love Franks Red Hot or Franks Buffalo. You can go with what you love, but we suggest Franks all the way!
- Blue cheese crumbles: A key ingredient to the buffalo chicken profile, you can buy a block and crumble it yourself or you can buy pre-crumbled.
- Panko breadcrumbs: Adds a wonderful crunch that is similar to croutons.
- Zaatar: A warm herb blend that adds a great herb flavor.
- Cherry tomatoes: Bright burst of fresh flavor, adds sweet vegetable flavor.
- Cilantro: This fresh herb packs so much brightness in every bite.
Pickled Veggies:
- Carrots and celery: Two classics for a buffalo chicken meal.
- Apple cider vinegar or another white vinegar: The acidic element that is added to the pickle brine.
- Sugar: Needed for any pickling, you just need a little pinch, nothing crazy.
- Any pickling spices (optional): You can add some of your own like black peppercorns or mustard seed. They also sell pickling seasoning at the store for ease or you can omit.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Salad
1. Chop carrots and celery and add to a clean mason jar. Bring equal parts water and vinegar, sugar and spices to a boil. Make sure you do enough to fill up your mason jar. Pour over veggies to the top and then cover. You should do this the night before as you need several hours for the veggies to pickle. (I have done it morning of and it’s fine, but the longer the better)
2. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Wash and pat dry chicken thighs. Cover in buffalo sauce and season with salt and pepper. Lay out on a baking sheet and cook for about 8-10 min per side or until internal temperature is 165ºF.
3. Tip: Keep chicken and pickled veggies in the fridge for easy meal prep all week.
4. Assemble salad by first adding kale to a bowl. Add olive oil and lemon juice and massage until tender.
5. Add romaine, chopped chicken, blue cheese, pickled veggies, chopped cilantro, breadcrumbs, sprinkle of zaatar. Drizzle with Caesar and hot sauce. Mix and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- If you don’t enjoy chicken thighs, you can use chicken tenders. We also love buying and roasting the chicken breast tenders as well as the breaded frozen chicken breast tenders.
- Be sure to massage the kale so it’s tender. You’ll want to add the lemon and the olive oil and then massage these ingredients into the kale. This will break it down to make it much more pleasant to the bite.
- You’ll want to pickle the veggies the day before. This makes it ideal for meal prep. We’re technically making a quick pickle here, which is a combination of water, vinegar, a pinch of both salt and sugar. The hot liquid softens and flavors the veggies for the perfect bite.
Storage and Meal Prep
If you have leftovers, we recommend storing the ingredients in separate containers in the fridge for up to 4 days. Assemble the salad right before you are ready eat. You can reheat the chicken in the microwave or the oven for a couple of minutes until warmed through.
We meal prep this salad all the time, it’s great for a workday lunch or an easy dinner. We recommend making the pickled vegetables, chicken and dressing (if you are making a homemade dressing) at the beginning of the week. Then whenever you are ready to eat, all you need to do is mix it together in a bowl and enjoy!
FAQs
Roasted chickpeas are the perfect swap for the chicken in this salad.
Either or! Use your favorite, hot sauce will be spicier than buffalo sauce.
We love using a caesar dressing or the classic ranch dressing as well. Use a high quality store brand or make your own.
More Easy Delicious Recipes
Buffalo Chicken Salad (Sweetgreen Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 pack of kale
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 1 pack of romaine
- Blue cheese crumbles
- Panko breadcrumbs
- Zaatar
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cilantro
- Wing sauce
- Homemade or store bought Caesar dressing of choice (I really like California olive ranch)
The pickled veggies:
- 3 carrots
- 3 pieces of celery
- Apple cider vinegar or another white vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- Any pickling spices (optional)
Instructions
- Chop carrots and celery and add to a clean mason jar. Bring equal parts water and vinegar, sugar and spices to a boil. Make sure you do enough to fill up your mason jar. Pour over veggies to the top and then cover. You should do this the night before as you need several hours for the veggies to pickle. (I have done it morning of and it’s fine, but the longer the better)
- Preheat oven to 375. Wash and pat dry chicken thighs. Cover in buffalo sauce and season with salt and pepper. Lay out on a baking sheet and cook for about 8-10 min per side or until internal temperature is 165.
- Keep chicken and pickled veggies in the fridge for easy meal prep all week.
- Assemble salad by first adding kale to a bowl. Add olive oil and lemon juice and massage until tender. Add romaine, chopped chicken, blue cheese, pickled veggies, chopped cilantro, breadcrumbs, sprinkle of zaatar. Drizzle with Caesar and hot sauce. Mix and enjoy!
Video
Notes
If you have leftovers, we recommend storing the ingredients in separate containers in the fridge for up to 4 days. Assemble the salad right before you are ready eat. You can reheat the chicken in the microwave or the oven for a couple of minutes until warmed through. We meal prep this salad all the time, it’s great for a workday lunch or an easy dinner. We recommend making the pickled vegetables, chicken and dressing (if you are making a homemade dressing) at the beginning of the week. Then whenever you are ready to eat, all you need to do is mix it together in a bowl and enjoy! Pro tips:
- If you don’t enjoy chicken thighs, you can use chicken tenders. We also love buying and roasting the chicken breast tenders as well as the breaded frozen chicken breast tenders.
- Be sure to massage the kale so it’s tender. You’ll want to add the lemon and the olive oil and the massage these ingredients into the kale. This will break it down to make it much more pleasant to the bite.
- You’ll want to pickle the veggies the day before. This makes it ideal for meal prep. We’re technically making a quick pickle here, which is a combination of water, vinegar, a pinch of both salt and sugar. The hot liquid softens and flavors the veggies for the perfect bite.
2 Comments
What an awesome recipe! How long can you keep the pickled veggies for in the fridge?
Thank you! Oh I store them for weeks! I’d say maybe not more than 2 months, but once theyre pickled and in the fridge you should be good for awhile. Hope this helps!