Vegan Buffalo Chick’n Salad

Here’s an easy, tasty vegan Buffalo chick’n salad with all the lively textures and flavors of the familiar Buffalo composition. Vegan butter and hot sauce envelope “chicken”-style plant protein, which is then nestled atop a simple lettuce, carrot, and celery salad.

The Buffalo treatment has gotten to be a familiar formula — wings cooked in a combination of butter and Frank’s® hot sauce, served alongside raw carrots and celery with a creamy ranch-style dressing. 

Use plant-based chick’n or baked tofu: Look for plant-based chick’n in most well-stocked supermarketsor natural foods stores (often in the frozen foods aisle in both cases). For brands, see 12 Plant-Based Chicken Alternatives to Look for on Your Next Shopping Trip. Or, if you prefer, you can use baked tofu, a more whole food option. It comes in 7- or 8-ounce packages.

What to serve with Buffalo Chick’n Salad

A perfect cool-weather companion is a baked potato and/or a simple soup (Carrot-Ginger Soup is a wonderful companion). Add a crusty bread or fresh biscuits, if you’d like (if you’re feeling ambitious, follow the biscuits portion of the recipe for Vegan Biscuits and Gravy). A good warm-weather companion is an easy potato salad or pasta salad.

Photos by Hannah Kaminsky, BittersweetBlog.com.

Explore more …

• Barbecue-Flavored Tempeh Salad
• Vegan Ranch Dressing
• Vegan “chicken”-style recipes
• Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Salad.
• Hearty vegan main dish salads

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Yield: 4

Vegan Buffalo Chicken Salad

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Here’s any easy and delicious vegan Buffalo chicken salad with all the lively textures and flavors of the familiar “Buffalo” composition. 

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

• Bottled or homemade Vegan Ranch Dressing (find link for recipe in Notes)

• 1 medium head romaine or other dark green lettuce, thinly sliced
• 
1 cup grated carrots

• 2 large or 3 medium celery stalks, thinly sliced

• 1 scallion, thinly sliced

• 2 tablespoons vegan butter

• 1 tablespoon (more or less to taste) Frank’s® or similar hot sauce
• 
8- to 11-ounce package plant-based chick’n, cut into thin slices or bite-sized pieces

Instructions

1. If you’re making your own vegan ranch, do so first and set aside.
2. Combine the lettuce, carrots, celery, and scallion in a large shallow serving bowl and toss together. Add enough dressing to coat generously and toss again.
3. Heat the butter and hot sauce together in a medium skillet. Add the chick’n and sauté over medium-high heat, stirring often, until golden and crisp on most sides, about 8 to 10 minutes
4. Arrange the chick’n over the salad vegetables and serve at once, passing around remaining dressing to drizzle over individual servings.

Notes

Bottled ranch dressing isn’t always easy to find, so here’s a recipe for homemade Vegan Ranch Dressing or Dip.

Here are more ways to veganize classic recipes and more salads & sides.