Buffalo Chicken Salad Sliders are simple to make, requiring just 12 ingredients and 15 minutes prep. Perfect for any type of gathering or a quick weeknight meal!

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Buffalo Chicken Salad Sliders... does that not just scream Football Food?

I know, I know.. all the "real bloggers" create their recipes in advance of holidays/events in order to give their readers enough time to find them before the big day (i.e. Superbowl).

Yes, ok.. good for them. Pats on the back for all the real bloggers of the world!

Yep.. my timing stinks on this one. The Super Bowl (and football season if we're being picky) has come and gone AND these buffalo chicken salad sliders would have make a delightful addition to any Super Bowl spread. Buuuuut, I'm going to go with a "glass-half-full" attitude. I've got an 11 month jump on Super Bowl 2020! "Real-Blogger-Status"... I'm coming for ya!

The recipe is easy to make, requiring just 12 ingredients and 15 minutes. The concept is super simple: Homemade buffalo sauce tossed with perfectly seasoned shredded chicken and crispy veggies that have been piled high on a toasted slider roll.

Yep, it's that easy.

You guys, despite my previous observation in regard to football party food.. these buffalo chicken salad sliders aren't Super Bowl exclusive. Don't wait a whole 11 months to give them a shot. These sliders are a perfect addition to any gathering. They are even simple enough the that could throw them together for a weeknight meal when you're looking for something tasty but are short on time.

HINT: If you have picky kiddos.. set aside some of the shredded chicken and don't mix it with the buffalo sauce. Serve it plain or with a sauce of their choice.

Alright.. let's talk buffalo sauce. Ok, don't stop reading. I get it, that was a weird statement, but hear me out.

You've got options with this recipe. You may not realize, but this post has actually been updated from a post that I created years ago. I used to have a "more is more" approach when I was writing recipes. Basically.. I thought that the more ingredients I used (especially obscure ones), the better the recipe. Friends.. I only had one child and to put it bluntly... I was a new stay-at-home-mom and bored out of my mind.

These days I've got better things to spend my time on than making homemade buffalo sauce. When I remade the recipe I used Steve's PaleoGoods, PaleoChef Buffalo Wing Sauce. It has a clean ingredient list, tastes yummy (although not a buffalo-y as I would like) AND I didn't have to make sauce. So keep in mind, you can make the sauce as written in the recipe OR use your favorite buffalo sauce instead.

Time Saving Tips and Tricks:

Prep Ahead: Of course.. what kind of party food would they be if you couldn't! Follow recipe directions, but do not place the sandwiches under the broiler to melt the cheese. Instead, place them in a shallow baking dish and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Store the assembled sandwiches in the refrigerator. When you are ready, remove the plastic wrap and allow the sandwiches to come to room temperature. Bake at 350 until the cheese is melted and the chicken has warmed through. Sometimes for the last minute or two I like to turn the oven to broil so that the cheese gets golden and bubbly.

Make Ahead: These little guys taste great as left overs. I like to pop them into the oven to reheat the cheese and soften the bread a bit, but the rest of my family finds this to be an unnecessary step. Chef's choice.

Freezer: I have not tried freezing the sandwiches fully assembled, but I don't see a reason that you couldn't. I have tried freezing just the buffalo chicken salad and it worked like a charm. Simply mix the buffalo sauce with the shredded chicken and place the mixture in an airtight ziplock bag. When you are ready to serve, remove the chicken from the freezer and allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge or dump it into a shallow baking dish and heat it at 325 degrees in the oven until warmed through.

📖 Recipe

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Author: Bailey Sissom
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 7 mins
Total Time: 17 minutes
Yield: 24 sliders 1x
Category: Sandwich
Method: Oven
Cuisine: American

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Ingredients

Scale

FOR THE CHICKEN SALAD:

6 cups shredded chicken, cooked (I used a rotisserie chicken)
4 celery stalks, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, diced
½ small onion, diced

FOR THE SAUCE: (Skip if Using Store-Bought Buffalo Sauce)

½ cup butter
½ cup hot sauce
2 TBS white vinegar
1 tsp. soy sauce
½ lemon, juiced
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp celery salt
½ -1 teaspoon arrow root powder or corn starch

FOR THE SLIDER BUNS:

24 mini whole wheat slider buns
Olive Oil
Garlic Powder

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Instructions

Set oven to broil. Slice each slider bun in half (if not pre-sliced). Gently brush a bit of olive oil onto the top of each half. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Broil in oven for 1-2 minutes or until bread is golden and toasted. Watch closely, they will burn quickly. Set toasted buns aside.
Place shredded chicken, celery, and tomatoes into a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Set aside.
SKIP THIS STEP IF USING STORE-BOUGHT BUFFALO SAUCE: In a medium sauce pan over medium low heat, combine butter, hot sauce, vinegar, soy, lemon juice, garlic powder and celery salt. Stir continuously until butter is completely melted. Add arrowroot powder/corn starch (to thicken). Start with ½ teaspoon and add more until desired constancy is reached. It will not thicken immediately. When sauce thickens, remove sauce from heat.
Combine sauce with chicken, celery and tomatoes. Stir until chicken is completely coated with sauce.
Place desired amount of chicken salad on the bottom slice of each toasted slider bun, add extra sauce if desired and then place the top onto the sandwich.

Notes

Brushing a little bit of olive oil onto the tops and bottoms of the slider rolls and broiling them in the oven for 1-2 minutes until they toast up is a nice addition. That said.. if you don't have time for that, no worries, it will still be delicious.
I used an organic rotisserie chicken, but if your grocery store is anything like mine... you can't count on one being available when you need it. If you don't have a rotisseie chicken or just don't want to go to the store, you can use chicken breast. Just heat the oven to 350 degrees, season chicken with salt/pepper and garlic powder, and then bake for about 30 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center. Use 2 forks to shred the cooked chicken.
My favorite store bought Buffalo Sauce is Steve's PaleoGoods, PaleoChef Buffalo Wing Sauce.

Let’s Connect:

You can find Simply Sissom on Instagram where I share even more recipes (some that aren’t on the blog), behind the scenes pics and videos AND tips and tricks to make healthy eating realistic for your busy family.