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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.
We loved this recipe! The dressing was amazing and the chicken went perfectly. I cut my chicken into smaller pieces to make them a little extra crunchy! Will definitely make again!
Hey Amanda,
Happy Sunday!💐 I really appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was a hit! xT
This looks really tasty and I will most definitely try it some day but I’m curious to know how many folks without food processors follow the instructions to crush the pretzels with their feet…😄
Let me know if you give the recipe a try Donna!
Firstly, I will say that no matter which of your recipes I have made they are always a hit so Thank You!
I made this for dinner last night. Everyone really liked it. I didn’t find the chicken to be as crispy as I would have liked. Maybe air frying might help? I made extra chicken so I will try air frying the leftovers and see if that makes it a little crispier.
Everyone else thought it was fine, though, so maybe it was just me.
Hey Dee,
Happy Friday!!☘️ Thanks a bunch for testing this recipe out and sharing your review, I’m so glad to hear it was delish! Sure, air frying would work well here! xx
This recipe was so good!! I made the buffalo sauce, and the pretzel crusted chicken was a nice treat! I love your ceaser dressing recipe — we make it all the time! Freaking delicious.
Hey Jessica,
Happy Friday!!🍀 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it was delish! xT
This recipe is so good! Loved the homemade dressing.
Hey Kelli,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for giving it a try! Have a great weekend:)
The chicken is soooo good. My husband just said “better than the pub”. I was rushing so used jarred dressing.
Hey Liz,
Happy Sunday!😃 Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, I am so glad it turned out well for you! xx
So delicious!! I will probably make the dressing often, just to eat more greens during the week.
Hey Kayla,
Happy Thursday! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe and thanks so much for making it! xT
Very good! Loved the cesear dressing!! The pretzel combo was a fun way to change up just plain chicken! Definitely would have again!
Hi Claire,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xT
Second time, making so good dressing as my favorite will use it another salads to
Hey Karen,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe was tasty and thanks a lot for trying it out! xT
Super delicious. My husband had a second salad with this one. The only change I made was to cut the chicken into smaller pieces. I just prefer to have precut chicken in my salad than to cut it as I go.
That was also such an easy Caesar dressing recipe. Looking forward to using it again in the future.
Hey Danielle,
Happy Wednesday!!🎇 I am delighted to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you making it! xx
An absolute staple! My husband and I LOVE this recipe. It’s simple, delicious and tastes so fresh. My husband was craving a Caesar salad, so I decided we were going to try this. We eat it once to twice a week now!
Hey Madison,
Happy Monday!!☃️ I truly appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it was enjoyed! xT
You’ve done it again!!! Every time I make something of yours I am amazed at how wonderful it is! This is such a wonderful, flavorful meal! I am obsessed!! Thank you for sharing your genius!
Hey Ashley,
Awesome! Love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend:)
I made this for dinner tonight since I had all the ingredients. It was amazing! I loved the tenders and the Caesar dressing was perfect! Your recipes never fail me. Thank you!
Hey Carol,
Fantastic!! I love that this recipe turned out tasty for you, thanks so much for giving it a try! xx
Made this for dinner last night and it was probably the first homemade salad that I have thoroughly enjoyed! The breaded chicken tenders were perfect with and without the Buffalo sauce – I made extra and used the rest of the dressing to dip them with for a snack, and wraps… the perfect leftovers! Will definitely be making this salad, dressing, and chicken again… both separately and all inclusive! Thanks for the great recipe.
Hey Alyssa,
Wonderful!🤩 I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! xT
Are you able to do this in the air fryer? And if so – what temp and how long?
Hi Wendy,
I’ve not tested this recipe in the air fryer, so I can’t say for the time and temp but I’m sure it would work well for you! Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xx
Absolutely amazing. A new favorite of yours! That homemade dressing and chicken were the showstoppers. Thank you for another big recipe win!
Hey Kylie,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xx