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Buffalo Ranch Pretzel Chicken Caesar Salad. Spicy, saucy buffalo chicken fingers, breaded in salty pretzel crumbs, oven-baked and tossed together with fresh greens, avocado, and crispy bacon. Add a creamy Caesar salad dressing and lots of parmesan for a colorful salad that’s anything but boring. Beyond delicious. It’s that salty, spicy pretzel chicken and creamy dressing. The combo is hard to beat.
If my family had a “house” salad, this would be it. It’s a dinner-style “house” salad, but one I could (and will) easily make on repeat.
We love buffalo chicken. Many of you have already heard this story (sorry). Buffalo chicken really was one of the very first dinners I made for my family that they become obsessed with. So much so that in the early, early days, I would make it once or twice a week. They LOVED my baked buffalo chicken.
I used to make 2 sheet pans worth of chicken. Anything leftover I would turn into quesadillas for the boy’s lunch the following day. I’m not joking, they were truly obsessed with buffalo chicken.
It was my dad who would take the leftover chicken and toss it into his salad. My dad was (and is) a big salad guy. When we lived in Cleveland he would eat a salad for dinner every night. But the thing about his salads – they were different – very different. He’d take whatever greens he had in the fridge and mix them with whatever leftovers he had in the fridge. Literally more of a leftovers with a side of greens kind of situation. French fries? Yup, he would toss them in too. Taco meat? Sure thing. Leftover pasta? Why not. It didn’t matter what it was, he’d throw it in. And add half a bottle of ranch dressing too (fortunately, that’s a thing of the past).
Yes, certainly not your typical salad. But those salads inspired many of my recipes.
The details
What I love about this fun salad is that even though it has a lot going on, it’s actually really easy. But it does have some steps.
Start with the chicken. Finely crush the pretzels into crumbs to bread the chicken. The finely crushed pretzels are key. They flavor the chicken with the perfect amount of salt and add a nice crunch. I season the crumbs with a blend of homemade ranch seasonings – chives, parsley, dill, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne. These crumbs are delicious.
If you have a food processor, pulse the pretzels in the food processor to really break them down into a fine crumb. If you don’t have a food processor, just add the pretzels to a ziplock bag. Then step on the bag with your feet to finely crush them.
Bake the chicken in the oven until it crisps all over. My secret is to lightly drizzle the chicken with olive oil before it bakes. This helps the coating to really crisp up nicely in the oven.
For the salad, I do a short-cut Caesar dressing and toss it with some shredded romaine lettuce, homemade croutons, celery, cubed avocado, and bacon.
The dressing is obviously key, it adds creaminess plus flavor.
Once you have the salad tossed, all that’s left is to add the chicken. Also, while I use a mix of parmesan and blue cheese, if you don’t enjoy blue cheese you can use cubes of cheddar or simply add more parmesan.
When everything comes together – the greens, croutons, avocado, bacon, cheese, dressing, and chicken -wow, this salad is SO GOOD!
Crunchy ranch seasoned chicken, buffalo sauce, salty bacon, creamy avocado, and a creamy caesar dressing that really completes the salad. Every bite is special. Exactly how all of our salads should be.
Looking for other dinner salad recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Summer Chicken Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing
Pesto Chicken and Avocado Bacon Salad Wraps
Lastly, if you make this Buffalo Ranch Pretzel Chicken Caesar Salad, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Buffalo Ranch Pretzel Chicken Caesar Salad
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 1135 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 pound boneless chicken tenders
- 1 cup finely crushed salted pretzel twists
- 1 tablespoon dried chives
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon dried dill
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup buffalo sauce
- 1 cup torn ciabatta bread
- 6 cups mixed greens
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup shaved parmesan
- 1-2 avocados, diced
- 4 ounces crumbled blue cheese
- 4 slices cooked thick cut bacon, crumbled
Caesar Dressing
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 cloves garlic, grated
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.2. In a bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Combine the pretzels, chives, parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, and a pinch of pepper in a bowl.3. Dredge the chicken through the crumbs, pressing to adhere. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.4. Toss the hot chicken in buffalo sauce.5. To make the salad. Combine the greens, breadcrumbs, blue cheese (or use cheddar or parmesan), avocados, and bacon in a salad bowl.6. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and whisk until smooth. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper. Toss the salad with the dressing, saving some for serving. 7. Toss the chicken in with the salad. Add a little more of the dressing and extra buffalo sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
Homemade Breadcrumbs: Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the 1 cup torn ciabatta bread and cook until toasted, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, add 1 clove grated garlic. Season with salt.
My husband and I love this salad. Wouldn’t change a thing, great flavors. So good!
Hey Megan,
Wonderful!! Thanks for your feedback and making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Hi!. This looks so yummy, and I want to make it asap! I have ranch seasoning (from Trader Joe’s). Any idea how much I should use?
Thanks!
Hi Laura,
Sorry, I’m not familiar with their ranch seasoning, I would probably use 2 tablespoons. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Wonderful inspiration! I love-the entire content of 9 favorite things,it’s my Sunday treat and often weekly recipe inspiration!
Hi Carol,
Thanks so much for your kind message and reading along each Sunday! I love that you enjoy these posts as much as I do:) Happy Monday! xTieghan
This was on the brunch menu today, and we really enjoyed it. The recipe came together really quickly. Thanks T!
Hey Lorena,
Happy Monday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a go, I am so glad it was a winner:) Have the best week! xx
This was wicked good! Honestly the dressing was the best part. I added more pepper and a dash of whole milk and it was so perfect. Will definitely make more! I think I needed to crush my pretzels more. I cooked the chicken for 15 minutes, tossed in the buffalo sauce, cooked for another five (gas stove/oven, 425 degrees). Next time I may dice up chicken breasts since the tenders have that white vein in them that’s a pain to remove (yes even with the fork trick). Overall very delicious! Thank you!
Hey Jenna,
Awesome!! Love to hear you enjoyed this salad! Thanks for your feedback, hope you’re off to a great weekend! xTieghan
Perfect summer night salad! Saw this on instagram stories and knew I had to make it. Everyone loved it. Made up enough chicken knowing I wanted leftovers 🙂
Hey Britney,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this salad and sharing your feedback:) SO glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
My review is only for part of this recipe since I didn’t make the ckn. I had sourdough bread from the farm mkt that used for the croutons. So good. I made the dressing for romaine and broccoli leaves and micro greens from the mkt. I had leftover ckn but I intend to try the rest of the recipe soon because what I did make was amazing!
Hey Cathy,
Amazing!! I am so glad this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for trying it out! Have the best weekend! ☀️xx
I am very much looking forward to trying this recipe. I’ve never been a fan of Mayo so I was wondering if you had any substitutions for the mayo in the dressing?
Hi Linds,
You could use tahini or greek yogurt. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
I’m excited to try this. How well would this keep for meal prepping?
Hey there,
The salad would keep the a week without the dressing, the chicken will keep but the coating will become soggy after sitting in the fridge so you might want to make those fresh:) I hope you love the recipe!! xx
We are not buffalo sauce fans. Would you recommend a sauce I could substitute?
Caesar salad is my favorite! This looks amazing.
Lisa
My wife and I just made it tonight and skipped the buffalo sauce. It was just a light refreshing crispy chicken Cesar salad. Maybe you could do honey mustard or a garlic sauce but I’m not sure they are necessary. Good luck!
Thanks for sharing Joey!! So glad you enjoyed the recipe:) xTieghan
Hey Lisa,
Any other sauce you enjoy will work, that’s the glory of salads:) BBQ sauce would also be great! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Delicious! This was a very good salad. The whole family loved it.
Hey Joanna,
Perfect!! I love to hear that this salad was enjoyed by your family, it’s a hit over here as well! Thanks for making it! I hope you’re off to a great Friday! xT
I just made this! The dressing is amazing. The pretzel crust is such an interesting sub for panko. I may never go back! Well done!
Hey Julie,
Happy Friday! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was a hit! xTieghan
Definitely trying this weekend! I love your simple homemade sauces so I was wondering if you DIY your buffalo sauce too? If so could you provide it? Thank you!!
I went to the search function in the upper right corner on this page and typed “Buffalo Sauce”. The search identified the HBH recipe for Fried Buffalo Goat Cheese Balls which includes a HBH recipe for making your own buffalo sauce.
Thank you so much!
Hi Miranda,
Here is my homemade recipe for buffalo sauce:
Mix 1/2 cup hot sauce, 1/2 cup olive oil or melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon smoked, paprika, and a 1/2 teaspoon each onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a glass jar or measuring cup.
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I love when I can love a salad. Yes to everything, it was delicious! Thank you for the buffalo sauce recipe!!
Hey Miranda!
Happy Wednesday!? Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was a tasty one! xxT
Looks amazing!!! What kind of pretzels do you recommend? Link to thrive mos doesn’t go to a specific product? Also any substitute ideas if in a hurry?
Hi Jennifer,
You can use any pretzels that you like:) Sorry are you asking for substitute ideas for the pretzels? You could use panko bread crumbs or any other coatings that you like. Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xTieghan
Love the look of this one, and red pepper pasta from yesterday too. On my summer list! Xx
Thanks so much Kelly-Jane, let me know if you give the recipes a try! xTieghan