6 New Ways to Enjoy the Flavor of Buffalo Wings — Salads, Sammies, Pizzas and More

Buffalo wings are a bar food classic. That delicious combination of crispy chicken, buffalo sauce, creamy blue cheese dressing and cool celery is so irresistible, just talking about it makes our mouth water. But let’s face it, sometimes you want to skip the sticky fingers and savor the taste without going through all those napkins. Luckily, it’s super-easy to transform the flavor combo into all sorts of delicious dishes. And we’ve gathered our favorites — buffalo chicken salad sandwiches, pizza, dip and more. Keep scrolling to pick your favorite, or try them all. We promise you’ll be hooked! 

What is Buffalo sauce?

They wouldn’t be Buffalo wings without the sauce, but what makes it different from regular hot sauces like Tabasco? Butter! Typically, Buffalo sauce is made with 2 parts hot sauce, 1 part melted butter and cayenne. It packs in the heat, but the melted butter adds a rich creamy finish that perfectly complements the cayenne. It’s great on wings, but for a spicy kick you can also drizzle it over veggies, add it to pizza sauce or even stir it into creamy mac ‘n’ cheese.

A little background on Buffalo wings

Credit for the invention of Buffalo wings is generally attributed to Frank and Teressa Bellisimo, owners of Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. But some historians also cite the contribution of John Young, owner of Wings and Things at around the same time in Buffalo. Traditionally chicken wings were usually reserved for stocks and soups, but in the 1960s, Mr. Young started frying wings and coating them in spicy tomato-based sauce. By the 1970s, other restaurants in the Buffalo area began serving their own versions of the spicy delights with celery and blue cheese dip. 

Try these 6 fun twists on Buffalo flavor

Our Woman’s World test kitchen outdid themselves with these delicious recipes. Prefer more heat? Simply up the hot sauce.

1. Buffalo Chicken Salad Heroes 

We lightened up this buffalo sandwich filling by swapping in low-fat yogurt for some of the mayonnaise. 

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 5 ribs celery, sliced
• ½ cup chopped celery leaves
• ¾ cup light mayonnaise
• ½ cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbs. Tabasco sauce
• 2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
• ½ tsp. salt
• 6 long soft hoagie rolls, 2½ oz. each
• 12 romaine lettuce leaves
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 6 Tbs. crumbled blue cheese
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. In deep 12” skillet, combine chicken with enough cold water to cover; over high heat, bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Gently simmer chicken, turning once, until no longer pink in centers, 7-9 min. per side. Remove chicken from skillet; cool completely. Cut into ½” pieces.
2. In bowl, combine chicken, celery, celery leaves, mayonnaise, yogurt, Tabasco, vinegar and salt. Dividing evenly, line rolls with lettuce. Fill with chicken salad, then onion and blue cheese. Sprinkle with pepper.

2. Buffalo Chicken Salad

Marinated in bottled wing sauce, this moist, tender chicken is drizzled with our easy from-scratch buttermilk dressing.

Ingredients:

• 1½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 6 Tbs. bottled Buffalo wing sauce
• 2 celery ribs with leaves
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup buttermilk
• ⅛ tsp. salt
• ⅛ tsp. pepper
• 6 cups torn iceberg lettuce leaves, about ½ head
• 1 large red pepper, cut into 1” strips
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 cup packaged croutons
• ½ cup crumbled blue cheese, 2 oz.

Directions:

1. Coat chicken with 3 Tbs. wing sauce; let stand 20 minutes. Prepare grill for medium direct-heat cooking.
2. Meanwhile, chop celery leaves; cut ribs into 1” pieces. In bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, buttermilk, salt, pepper and celery leaves; reserve.
3. Grill chicken 10 minutes; flip. Brush with half of remaining wing sauce. Grill until no longer pink in centers, 8-10 minutes. Remove from grill. With clean brush, brush remaining sauce over other side of chicken. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. 
4. Meanwhile, arrange lettuce, red pepper, cucumber, croutons and reserved celery pieces on platter. Drizzle with some of buttermilk dressing; top with chicken and sprinkle with cheese. Serve with remaining dressing.

3. Buffalo Chicken Breast Sandwiches 

Transform the go-to appetizer into a hearty meal with these tangy and spicy chicken sandwiches.

Ingredients:

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 Tbs. barbecue rub 
• 1 cup hot sauce, such as Frank’s Red Hot
• ¼ cup butter, melted 
• 6 sandwich rolls 
• 1½ cups crumbled blue cheese 
• ¾ cup finely chopped celery
• 6 slices tomato
• 6 leaf lettuce leaves

Directions:

1. Prepare grill for medium-high direct heat cooking. Season chicken all over with rub. Grill chicken about 5 min. per side, or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 170°F. 
2. In medium bowl, combine hot sauce and butter. Dip each chicken breast in hot sauce mixture.  Letting excess drip off. Dividing evenly, top roll bottoms with cheese and celery. Place chicken breasts on top. Add Tomato, lettuce and roll tops. 

4. Buffalo-Ranch Chicken Dip

This ooey-gooey good dip comes together with 3 kinds of cheese and convenient bottled dressing.

Ingredients:

• 10 oz. cream cheese
• ¾ cup bottled ranch dressing
• ½ cup hot sauce, such as Frank’s Red Hot
• 6 oz. cheddar
• ¼ tsp. pepper
• 1½ cups skinless chicken breast, cooked, chopped
• 2 Tbs. blue cheese
• Chopped celery leaves
• Assorted crackers, crostini and/or mixed vegetables

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth; beat in ranch dressing and hot sauce until blended. Stir in cheddar and chicken; season with pepper.
2. Transfer to 1-qt. baking dish. Bake until top is golden and dip is hot and bubbly, 25-30 min. Cool slightly before serving.
3. Sprinkle with blue cheese and celery leaves. Serve with crackers, crostini or mixed veggies.

5. Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Refrigerated dough, jarred sauce and rotisserie chicken make it a breeze to whip up this kicked up pie.

Ingredients:

• 1 (15-16 oz.) pkg. refrigerated pizza dough, at room temp.
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• ½ cup diced rotisserie chicken
• ⅓ cup jarred pasta sauce
• ⅓ cup hot sauce, Such as Frank’s Red Hot
• ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
• ¼ cup sour cream
• Chopped celery (optional)   

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 450°F. Coat 14” round pizza pan with cooking spray. Roll out or stretch dough into 14” round. Transfer to pan; brush with oil. Bake until starting to brown, 8 min. Press down dough if it puffs up.
2. In bowl, mix chicken, tomato sauce and hot sauce; spread over crust leaving ½” border. Bake until crust is baked through and chicken and sauce are hot and bubbly, about 15 min.
3. In bowl, Stir together blue cheese and sour cream. Drizzle over pizza. If desired, garnish with chopped celery.

6. Buffalo Chicken Leg Salad

Our 3-ingredient marinade doubles as the glaze for this juicy chicken that’s even more tasty topped with smoky bacon.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup Buffalo sauce, such as Frank’s Red Hot
• ¼ cup honey
• 3 Tbs. butter, melted
• 4 chicken leg quarters
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• ¼ tsp. celery salt
• 4 slices bacon
• 1 small head iceberg lettuce, cut into wedges
• 2 scallions, sliced
• ⅓ cup blue cheese salad dressing

Directions:

1. In small bowl, combine hot sauce, honey and butter. Rub chicken with garlic powder and celery salt. Transfer to large plastic storage bag; add ½ cup sauce mixture. Reserve remaining mixture. Seal bag; toss to coat chicken. Chill 2-4 hrs. 
2. Coat large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Add bacon; cook, flipping, until crisp, 6-8 min. Drain on paper towels. When cool, break into pieces.
3. Prepare grill for medium direct-and indirect-heat cooking. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Grill chicken over direct heat, skin side down, until browned, 5 min.; flip. Move to indirect heat. Cover; cook until no longer pink, about 50 min., brushing with remaining sauce mixture several times during last 15 min. of grilling. Place lettuce on platter. Top with chicken, bacon and scallions. Serve with dressing.

Craving Buffalo wings now? Try one of these recipes:

2 Easy Steps to Make Your Baked Chicken Wings Just as Crispy as Fried Ones

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