Salads for dinner are something that we have at our house at least twice a week. I know most people think salads can be a little boring, but I always make it my goal to make them hearty and full of flavor. Lately I have been obsessing over my cobb salad, and recently I have fallen in love again with my crispy baked buffalo chicken salad. This is a salad that I make anytime I get a craving for buffalo anything. It is a healthier meal idea that is super satisfying and can be made quickly any night of the week. This recipe for crispy baked buffalo chicken salad is one that will have you excited for salads at dinnertime over and over again.
One of the things I like to do is bake my chicken tenders versus frying them to keep this salad on the lighter side all while satisfying my craving at the same time. These baked chicken tenders are ones that I make for my family on the regular and when you add a homemade buffalo sauce to the mix, it truly takes them to the next level. This salad is full of texture thanks to the crunchy celery, carrots, cucumber, and crispy chicken and it gets topped off with my creamy homemade ranch dressing that compliments the spicy sauce so well. The combination is just so good.
YUM!
You could also easily add in some blue cheese here, or any other veggies that you like and you could also grill some chicken tenders instead of baking them with a crispy coating if you preferred. There are so many ways to tailor this salad to your liking and I promise that you are going to love every single bite any way you serve it up!
Ingredients:
1 Lb. Chicken Tenders
2 Cups Panko Bread Crumbs
1 Cup Flour
1 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Black Pepper
2 Eggs, Whisked
For the Sauce-
1 Cup Hot Sauce
2 Tbsp. Butter
1/4 Tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
For the Salad-
Romaine Lettuce
Shredded Carrots
Red Onion
Sliced Celery
Sliced Cucumber
Avocado
Blue Cheese Crumbles (optional)
Cilantro
Homemade Ranch Dressing (recipe link here)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Arrange three bowls: one with flour, salt, and pepper, one with eggs, and one with panko bread crumbs.
Dip chicken into flour, then into eggs, and then into panko bread crumbs and coat completely.
Layer onto a baking sheet that has a cooling rack and then bake for 20-22 minutes until chicken has been cooked through. Spray with avocado oil spray.
Switch oven to broil the last two minutes of cooking if needed for extra browning.
While chicken cooks, make the buffalo sauce by combining hot sauce, butter, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat and whisk until butter is melted and all is combined. Turn off heat.
Arrange lettuces, carrots, red onion, celery, cucumber, avocado, blue cheese, and cilantro in a bowl.
Take chicken out from the oven and coat with buffalo sauce and then place onto the salad.
Drizzle liberally with Ranch Dressing and serve immediately!
How good does this salad look for dinner? I can guarantee no one will complain about this crispy baked buffalo chicken salad being on the menu any night of the week, it truly is a must make recipe!
