Crispy Buffalo Chicken Salad
My salad kick continues! Last week we did a wedge salad, this week it’s decadently crispy buffalo chicken tenders over a bed of greens. Salads can be fun to eat when they’re so exciting!
In case anyone out there is wondering, this salad does work surprisingly well for meal prep. The chicken isn’t as crispy as the days go on, but it’s still a very delicious salad. Because it’s just Mike and I, most of the recipes I make for the blog end up being my lunches for the week. This salad was no exception. If you are making this recipe for meal prep, just make sure you put the dressing in the very bottom of your bowl, followed by the shredded carrots, then the cukes and tomatoes, and then the lettuce and chicken on top of that. By building your bowl in this manner, you are rewarded with nice, fresh, crisp lettuce all week long! When I bring salads to work for lunch, I always make them this way.
I’m so excited I’ve finally cracked the code for EASY and delicious homemade ranch dressing. Whole30 and paleo salad dressings can be super tricky. But after a lot of trial and error, I finally got ranch down pat! When Mike and I enjoyed this salad last week, he even exclaimed: “I’d eat a LOT more salads if you kept making this dressing.” I kind of felt like a big deal, since he’s not a salad guy at all. It’s so unfair that soy and sugar are the keys to delicious tasting salad dressings. But give this one a try! I think you’ll flip your script on healthy salad dressings once and for all!
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Make the Ranch Dressing: add all of the dressing ingredients except the almond milk to a small bowl and whisk with a fork to combine. Taste to see if more salt or pepper is needed. If the dressing is too thin for your liking, add a little more mayo. If it's too thick, add a little unsweetened almond milk, 1 tsp at a time, until you reach your desired consistency. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Line the insert of your air fryer with parchment paper, using scissors to fit the paper to the basket if needed.
- Make the Buffalo Chicken Tenders: lay the tenders out on a flat surface and pat with a paper towel to get the chicken as dry as possible. When dry, season on both sides with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Set aside.
- Get out two shallow bowls. Crack the eggs into the first bowl and whisk with a fork. Whisk in 1 tbsp almond milk and 2 tbsp Frank's Red Hot. To the second bowl, add the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Whisk with a fork until combined completely.
- Take a chicken tender and dredge it in the egg mixture, shaking off the excess. Dredge the chicken tender in the almond flour mixture next, again shaking off the excess. Place the chicken tender in the insert of the air fryer. Repeat with the remaining chicken tenders. Once the chicken tenders are all in the basket, spray the tops of each generously with avocado oil spray.
- Air fry at 360° F for 5 minutes. Carefully flip the tenders over. Spray again with avocado oil. Air fry at 360° F for 6 minutes more, or until cooked through completely. Remove from air fryer to let cool.
- While the chicken air fries, prepare the salads. Add a handful of mixed greens to each bowl. Distribute the cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, and celery evenly among the bowls.
- Brush the chicken tenders with the remaining ¼ cup of Frank's Red Hot, on one or both sides of the chicken. Place 1-2 chicken tenders on the top of each salad. Garnish with green onions and sliced avocado. Drizzle with Ranch Dressing. Serve immediately and enjoy!
