Fried Chicken Salad

If you’re looking for salad ideas for dinner, this Fried Chicken Salad recipe is the thing!  This crispy chicken salad  recipe is loaded with fried chicken, grilled corn on the cob, green beans, radishes and cherry tomatoes, and it’s all tossed in a delicious homemade buttermilk ranch dressing.

This Crispy Chicken Salad recipe is easy to pull together any night of the week. It’s one of those easy summer salads that you’ll want to make time and time again.

This is one of the best summer salads to make when you don’t feel like doing much in the way of cooking!  If you prefer cold fried chicken over hot, just fry the chicken ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble the salad.  

Fried Chicken Salad Recipe

This crispy chicken salad recipe combines summertime favorites into one delicious bowl.

• Crispy fried Chicken – You can use chicken breasts (sliced) or chicken tenders 
• Panko breadcrumbs and All-Purpose flour – You’ll need both to coat the chicken in before frying
• Chicken Marinade – Made with buttermilk, garlic powder, salt and pepper
• Oil for frying chicken – I use either extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil – you can also use peanut oil or another oil of your choice
• Romaine lettuce – We use crispy Romaine lettuce for this salad
• String beans – You can use fresh or frozen
• Tomatoes – We use cherry tomatoes, but Roma tomatoes work for this salad as well
• Corn  – You can use fresh (grilled or boiled and cut from the cob) or frozen
• Radishes – Add a nice pop of color, crunch and peppery flavor to the salad
• Ranch Dressing – We use this Homemade ranch dressing for this salad

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Fried Chicken Salad

This is an easy fried chicken recipe so this salad comes together pretty quickly.  If you don’t want to fry the chicken, then just marinate it, coat it and pop it in the oven to bake.  This crispy fried chicken recipe comes together in about 40 minutes start-to-finish.

1. Marinate Chicken – Combine the buttermilk, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow dish.  Add the chicken, turning to coat both sides and let marinate for 15-30 minutes.
2. Dust chicken with breadcrumb mixture – Combine the panko breadcrumbs and flour in a shallow dish.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and coat both sides with the breadcrumb mixture.  Discard extra marinade and breadcrumbs.
3. Fry chicken – Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is browned on the bottom.  Turn chicken, and cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the chicken is browned and no longer pink on the inside.
4. Slice fried chicken – Cut the fried chicken into 1-inch pieces.
5. Toss Salad – Add the chopped Romaine lettuce, cut corn, green beans, radishes, tomato and fried chicken to a large bowl.
6. Dress Salad – Drizzle the buttermilk dressing over the salad and toss so the ingredients are lightly coated.

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

This buttermilk ranch dressing is my favorite dressing to toss this crispy chicken salad with! It’s super easy to make, just whisk the mayonnaise, herbs and spices together in a bowl, then add the buttermilk and mix well. You’ll want to let it chill in the refrigerator for up to an hour before serving.  You can substitute fresh herbs for the dried ones if you prefer, and you can substitute the mayo with low-fat plain yogurt (or 1/2 mayo and 1/2 yogurt) for a healthier take on things.

• Mayonnaise (can substitute with low-fat plain yogurt)
• Buttermilk 
• Dried dill weed, parsley and chives
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Looking for more chicken salad recipes to make?

• Everyday Mediterranean Salad
• Southwest Quinoa Salad
• Grilled Chicken Salad
• Chicken Avocado Tomato Salad
• Chicken Avocado Chopped Salad
• Greek Chopped Salad

Still want more ideas? Check out all my healthy salad recipes.

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Print

Yield: 4 servings

Fried Chicken Salad

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

If you're looking for salad ideas for dinner, this Fried Chicken Salad recipe is the thing!  This crispy chicken salad is loaded with fried chicken, grilled corn on the cob, green beans, radishes and cherry tomatoes, and it's all tossed in a delicious homemade buttermilk ranch dressing.

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts (about 1 pound), or 1 pound chicken tenders
• 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (avocado oil or peanut oil will work too)
• 1 large head Romaine lettuce, rinsed, spun dried, and chopped
• 1 cup string beans, blanched and cut in half
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 2 ears of corn, grilled then cut fro the cob (you can use frozen corn if you'd like)
• 4-5 large radishes, sliced

For the Marinade

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Ranch Dressing

• 1 cup mayonnaise (can substitute with low-fat plain yogurt)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (add more for desired consistency)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

For the Salad

1. Combine the buttermilk, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a shallow dish.  Add the chicken, turning to coat both sides and let marinate for 15-30 minutes.
2. Combine the panko breadcrumbs and flour in a shallow dish. Remove the chicken from the marinade and coat both sides with the breadcrumb mixture. Discard extra marinade and breadcrumbs.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3-5 minutes or until the chicken is browned on the bottom. Turn chicken, and cook for another 5-7 minutes until the chicken is browned and no longer pink on the inside.
4. Cut the fried chicken into 1-inch piece after it has cooled to the touch.
5. Add the chopped Romaine lettuce, cut corn, green beans, radishes, tomato and fried chicken to a large bowl.
6. Drizzle the buttermilk dressing over the salad and toss so the ingredients are lightly coated.

For the Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

1. In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, herbs and spices. Add the buttermilk and mix well. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Note:  You can substitute fresh herbs for the dried ones if you prefer, and you can substitute the mayo with low-fat plain yogurt (or 1/2 mayo and 1/2 yogurt) for a healthier take on it

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1160Total Fat: 79gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 61gCholesterol: 131mgSodium: 1858mgCarbohydrates: 64gFiber: 5gSugar: 11gProtein: 51g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations.