Easy Slow-Cooker Buffalo Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese
Make a flavorful Slow-Cooker Buffalo Chicken Salad! This easy recipe features tender shredded Buffalo-ranch chicken over crisp romaine with carrots, avocado, blue cheese, and blue cheese dressing.
Ingredients
(Original recipe yields 6 servings)
Slow-Cooker Buffalo Chicken:
- â–¢ 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves
- â–¢ 3/4 cup Buffalo wing sauce (e.g., Frank’s RedHot Original)
- â–¢ 3 tablespoons butter, cubed
- â–¢ 1 envelope (approx. 1 oz) ranch salad dressing mix (dry)
- â–¢ (Optional: Pinch of black pepper for chicken)
Salad Assembly:
- â–¢ 1 package (10 ounces) hearts of romaine salad mix
- â–¢ 1 cup julienned carrot
- â–¢ 1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and cubed
- â–¢ 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- â–¢ 1/2 cup blue cheese salad dressing
Garnish (Optional):
- â–¢ Extra crumbled blue cheese
- â–¢ Chopped celery or fresh parsley
Instructions
1. Prepare and Cook Buffalo Chicken in Slow Cooker:
- Place the boneless, skinless chicken breast halves into the bottom of a 1.5- or 3-quart slow cooker.
- Pour the ¾ cup of Buffalo wing sauce evenly over the chicken.
- Dot the top of the chicken and sauce with the cubed butter.
- Sprinkle the entire contents of the ranch salad dressing mix packet evenly over the chicken and butter. (Add a pinch of black pepper here if desired).
- Cover the slow cooker securely with its lid.
- Cook on the LOW setting for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The chicken is done when it is cooked through, very tender, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165°F (74°C).
2. Shred Chicken and Combine with Juices:
- Once the chicken is cooked and tender, carefully remove the chicken breasts from the slow cooker using tongs or forks. Place them on a clean cutting board or a large plate.
- Let the flavorful cooking juices remain in the slow cooker. If there appears to be a lot of separated fat on top (from the butter and chicken), you can skim some of it off if desired.
- When the chicken is cool enough to handle, use two forks to shred the meat into bite-sized pieces.
- Reserve about â…“ cup of the cooking juices from the slow cooker. Discard any remaining excess juices (or save them for another use if they are very flavorful and not too fatty).
- Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker along with the reserved â…“ cup of cooking juices. Stir everything well to ensure the chicken is nicely coated and remoistened.
- Cover and let it heat through on the WARM or LOW setting for a few minutes while you assemble the salad base.
3. Assemble the Salad:
- In a large serving dish or individual salad bowls, place the hearts of romaine salad mix as your base.
- Top the romaine lettuce evenly with the warm, shredded Buffalo chicken mixture.
- Sprinkle the julienned carrot and the freshly cubed ripe avocado over the chicken and lettuce.
- Generously sprinkle the ½ cup of crumbled blue cheese over all the salad components.
4. Dress and Serve:
- Drizzle the ½ cup of blue cheese salad dressing evenly over the top of the assembled salad.
- Serve the Slow-Cooker Buffalo Chicken Salad immediately, while the chicken is warm and the salad components are cool and crisp. Enjoy!