Air-Fryer Buffalo Chicken Chopped Salad with Dairy-Free Cilantro Ranch

Sep 4

If I could eat buffalo wings and ranch every day for the rest of my life, I absolutely would. The combo makes my mouth water on cue every time and so I love coming up with more balanced meal ideas with this flavor duo. I made this buffalo chicken chopped salad recipe for a client recently and was so obsessed with it that I knew I needed to document and share it! This cleaned up version is crunchy, spicy, creamy, refreshing and super meal prep friendly!

Ingredients:

For the cilantro ranch:

· 1 cup mayo

· 2 tablespoons white vinegar

· 1 tablespoon water

· ¼ cup cilantro, roughly chopped

· 2 green onion, roughly chopped (both green and white parts)

· 1 teaspoon garlic powder

· 1 teaspoon kosher salt

· ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

For the buffalo chicken:

· Non-stick cooking spray

· 1lb chicken breast or chicken thighs, 1” cubed

· 1 tablespoon arrowroot flour

· 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt

· ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

· 1/3 cup buffalo sauce (I like Primal Kitchen)

For the salad:

· 2 hearts of romaine (chopped) or 8 oz

· 5 oz mixed greens

· 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

· 1/3 cup shredded carrot

· 1/3 cup cucumber, halved and sliced

· ¼ cup shredded cheddar (omit for dairy-free)

· Green onion, thinly sliced on the diagonal

Method:

1. In a blender, combine all the cilantro ranch ingredients and blend until fully combined.

2. Preheat the air-fryer to 400F for 5 minutes.

3. While the air-fryer preheats, add the chicken bites, arrowroot flour, salt, and pepper to a medium sized mixing bowl. Toss until the chicken is fully coated and set aside.

4. Lightly spray the basket of the air-fryer with non-stick cooking spray. Add half of the chicken bites to the basket, taking care to space them out so they aren’t touching. Bake for 5 minutes, give the basket a good toss, then bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the chicken bites are fully cooked. Transfer the cooked chicken to a medium sized mixing bowl and repeat step 4 with the remaining half of the chicken.

5. Add the remaining cooked chicken to the mixing bowl and add the buffalo sauce. Toss until all the chicken bites are well coated.

6. Toss all salad ingredients with the cilantro ranch and top with the buffalo chicken bites. Serve immediately.

*Note: This recipe is super meal prep friendly and lasts in the fridge up to 4 days. Store the chicken bites in one container and the remaining salad ingredients all together in a separate container, so you can easily reheat the chicken bites separately from the salad when ready (about 1 minute per serving). Store the cilantro ranch in a tightly sealed mason jar.