All the flavors of classic Buffalo Chicken Wings that I grew up on get packed into this more healthful Paleo Buffalo Chicken Salad. This can easily be made ahead, it’s great for meal prepping for the week and it’s a perfect use for leftover chicken. Served in lettuce cups over a big salad, it’s a simple recipe bursting with flavor.

After a week back home in Buffalo, New York with my family, it felt appropriate to share this recipe with you as I return home to California. My Paleo Buffalo Chicken Salad has become a bit of a staple food around our house. With making a big batch of shredded chicken each week for meal prep, I always save a bunch of the chicken specifically for this flavor-packed chicken salad.

Making a batch of this salad fits into out meal prep plan, because we make a bunch at once to be eaten throughout the week. It’s a great make-ahead recipe, great for batch cooking and the perfect use for leftover chicken.

If you haven’t yet figured it out by now, after spending the first 30+ years of my live in Buffalo, Buffalo-style food is a favorite of mine, it’s comfort food and it’s a flavor combo I can always get behind…maybe you’ve noticed all the Buffalo-style recipes here on Tasty Yummies. A little Franks Red Hot Sauce situation with a little something creamy, like blue-cheese, dairy-free ranch dressing or some homemade mayo. You get the crunch from the carrots and celery, because it’s not Buffalo Chicken Wing inspired if you leave those out. Call me basic but I just can’t get enough of this classic combo. No matter how you serve it up.

I go home to Buffalo these days and I skip out on the Buffalo wings and the gluten-free pizza, for obvious reasons, but I am still looking for ways to enjoy the flavors of  home. On this trip home I actually made my family my Paleo Buffalo Chicken Fingers, (but I tested my tweaked version of this recipe, to make it keto and nut-free – coming soon). Everyone loved them. All the flavors, none of the junk.

At some point last year I became a bit obsessed with Buffalo Chicken Salad from Whole Foods, they made it with a quality avocado oil mayonnaise to make it paleo and it was absolutely amazing in all it’s simplicity but it’s also stupidly overpriced, to which I thought “DUH, why am I not making this , myself – always?” So I started making it nearly weekly, as an alternative to classic, simple tuna or chicken salad.

We like our Paleo Buffalo Chicken Salad over a Big Fu*kin’ Green Salad or inside lettuce cups, occasionally hubby will make a chicken salad sandwich. However you serve it, you can enjoy the flavors of my home, week in and week out, too.

Paleo Buffalo Chicken Salad {Gluten-free, Keto, Dairy-free}

gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free, nut-free, whole30, keto / low carb

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Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

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Ingredients 

• 3 cups cooked shredded or cubed chicken
• ½ cup avocado oil mayo*, more or less to your liking
• ¼ - ⅓ cup Frank's Original Red Hot Sauce, or more to taste
• 2 small carrots, diced small (or shredded)
• 2 stalks celery, diced small
• ½ cup diced white onion
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• sea salt and black pepper, to taste
  
  

Options for Serving:

• Butter, bibb or green leaf lettuce or just a big salad
• crumbled blue cheese
• dairy-free ranch dressing
• additional Frank's Red Hot Sauce
• green onions

Instructions

• Add the shredded chicken, mayo, hot sauce, carrot, celery, onion, garlic powder and salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and mix well until combined.
• Place chicken salad in a lettuce leaf or over a salad, top however you'd like.
• Enjoy.
• Store leftovers in the fridge up to 5 days.

Notes

If you want, try swapping the mayo for Dairy-free Ranch Dressing
To make egg-free make with an egg-free/vegan mayo