Buffalo Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Buffalo Chicken Thighs baked in the oven and your favorite salad vegetables like butter lettuce, matchstick carrots and grape tomatoes.  Tossed to perfection with tangy Blue Cheese Dressing. Makes an easy summer meal!

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It’s hard to believe summer is almost drawing to a close. And if that weren’t bad enough, school starts early this year. As in “we only have 3 weeks left of summer” early!  I am not looking forward to the day my kids go back to school as this will be their first year not homeschooled. We are all very excited and I’m thrilled for this next season in their lives but it’s all bittersweet and our summer vacation is going way too fast.

One thing we will be doing well into the school year is enjoying lots of salads. California is blessed (or not!) with extended summers that go waaay past its’ prime. Sometimes into October. And that often means grilling steak and fresh garden salads for dinner in the beginning of fall.

As a mom and home cook, my favorite way to prepare easy dinner during warmer months is with salads. You can cram so many vegetables in that bowl and add a good source of protein and call it good. They can be as versatile and unique or very simple like Caesar Salad.

Buffalo Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

This salad is no exception. Even though it does require a bit of work between the chicken and the dressing – it’s a complete meal. No need to make a side dish or separate vegetables. It’s a one-pan meal, summer style.  Because this is considered to be a full meal, the ingredients in the recipe card make a large portion, enough to feed a family of 5.

The Chicken

The secret is in the sauce. Perfectly hot with just enough butter and paprika and other spices. This Buffalo Chicken is HOT if you use the full amount of hot sauce. Different varieties of hot sauce vary in strength so I always suggest taste the marinade and glaze as you make it so it’s palatable for those who don’t handle heat well.

Handy Dandy Tip: I know it’s very mainstream to marinate meat in large Ziploc bags. I don’t do that and would not advise that as plastic does leach when exposed to acidic ingredients such as those in the marinade. Instead, I prefer to use shallow glass dish like this ONE. You want to use a shallow dish with a cover so all meat is submerged in the marinade.

The Vegetables

The bulk of the salad is inevitably the vegetables. I used a combination of romaine and butter lettuces. You can use other head lettuces such as green leaf or red leaf lettuce.

Carrots, celery, tomatoes, bell peppers, crispy cucumbers and the green onions all add nice crunch and flavor to the salad.

The Dressing

I know I said the secret is in the buffalo sauce but this dressing comes a close second. The perfect concoction of sour cream, crumbled blue cheese, mayonnaise, and fresh parsley easily combined with an immersion blender makes for an easy and delicious dressing.

If you don’t have an immersion blender, get yours today!! It is the most often used tool in my kitchen. It makes salad dressings in mere minutes with super easy cleanup.

Related: How To Make Homemade Mayonnaise

Buffalo Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: 5 people

Author: Anya

Buffalo Chicken Thighs tossed with lettuce and garden vegetables and combined with Blue Cheese dressing. 

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Ingredients

• 3 pounds chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2"-2" pieces

Marinade

• 1/4 - 1/2 cup organic hot sauce
• 2 tablespoons real honey
• 3 tablespoons pastured butter
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon real salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

Glaze

• 1/2 reserved marinade
• 1 tablespoon real honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoon arrowroot starch

Salad

• 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 head butter lettuce, chopped
• 2 large carrots, matchstick
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 6 green onions, sliced with white bulbs
• 1 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 small cucumbers, cut in strips
• 1 red bell pepper, cut in strips

Blue Cheese Dressing

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1/4 cup real mayonnaise
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon real salt
• 6 fresh parsley sprigs

Instructions

Buffalo Chicken

1. Add marinade ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until butter is melted and everything is combined. Cool to room temperature.

2. Add chicken to a shallow dish and pour 1/2 of marinade and toss to coat evenly. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight. 

3. To the reserved marinade, add honey and starch to make the glaze and whisk well. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and continue to cook for about 5 minutes. It should thicken. Set aside.

4. Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Let chicken sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. 

5. Spread chicken on a sheet in single layer and cook for 12-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. 

6. Add glaze to chicken and toss to coat well. Allow to rest and cool.

Blue Cheese Dressing

1. Add all ingredients in jar and blend with immersion blender. Alternatively, add all ingredients to a blender and blend well. 

Salad

1. If anticipating leftovers, combine chopped lettuces, carrots, celery, green onions, bell pepper, cucumbers and tomatoes. Top with chicken and garnish with crumbled blue cheese and set aside some dressing. 

2. If not anticipating leftovers, toss everything together and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

If you prefer less heat on the chicken, use 1/4 cup Hot Wings sauce instead of 1/2. You may also opt to use less of the glaze at the end if the chicken is still too hot for your liking.

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