Crispy, juicy chicken fingers in a sweet buffalo sauce on a bed of greens with avocado, blue cheese, and croutons combine to create this delicious Buffalo Sticky Fingers Salad! Pass me the dressing!

A green salad with cut up boneless buffalo wings

My mind is constantly thinking of food combinations and what I could create if I put this or that together. (I know, I know, I need a life!) I really get excited when what my mind thinks will be great…is! Which leads me to the introduction of this buffalo sticky finger blue cheese salad! It is…GREAT!

One of my all-time foodie guilty pleasures is buffalo hot wings. I don’t generally even like spicy food, but, put a plate of wings in front of me, and I’m a goner! I also love salads…especially this time of year. I decided it was time to marry the two, or at least let them become BFF’s!

Table of Contents

How To Make Sticky Fingers Salad

The star of this dish…the sticky fingers! To make the sticky fingers, we are going to cheat because nobody has got time to heat up the kitchen and fry off a bunch of chicken fingers! (whoops…just slipped into my “Minny” voice) I went to the deli at my local Big Blue “W” store and ordered some chicken strips. Yep, I sure did! Cheater, cheater…that’s me!

How to Make Buffalo “Sticky Sauce”

Mix brown sugar, water, and Frank’s hot wing sauce together in a small sauce pan.

Stir until it comes to a boil and then cook for 3–4 minutes until you have a nice thick syrupy sauce.

TIP: Do NOT inhale directly over the pan unless your goal is to trim your nose hairs at the same time you’re cooking! Honestly the heat from “Frank’s” could singe your eyebrows off!

Next, dunk those chicken strips right into that amazing sticky gooey sauce! Isn’t that amazing! Liquid gold!

Coating and preparing Chicken Strips

That’s me Dunkin’! Aren’t you impressed I remembered a picture? You should be…by now I was 3 hours past lunch and eating this dish was more important than camera shots!

And. It’s. Sticky. Fingers. Hello? Lol

Look at those beautiful sticky fingers! (Pssst…come in close… I‘ll share a secret…these are JUST like Wingers wings! I’m not kidding!) You could stop right here and devour these, and lick your fingers for hours, or we can continue to finish the salad!

Assembling the Salad

While the chicken strips cool off for a minute, it’s time to finish up the salad prep!

TIP: I prep my foods all in one day so that I don’t have to stop and do it every time I cook. Since I don’t have a “Prep” chef lurking in my kitchen… I wash, clean, tear, spin and bag all my lettuce on Saturday. That way, I can throw together a salad in no time flat during the week and the lettuce is perky and fresh, not all limp, wet, and watery. The secret is to put a paper towel in your zip-lock bag, and it will keep your lettuce fresh all week long!

Lettuce and Toppings

For this beautiful salad, use a handful of romaine, a handful of green leaf lettuce, and a handful of packaged coleslaw… (do you love the EXACT measurements!)?

Next add the diced celery. (Because we can’t have wings without celery!) Next up…the avocado. (Hail to the green Goddess of Yum!) Sprinkle with blue cheese.

TIP: You can use Feta if you aren’t a blue cheese fan or even cheddar. Personal preference.

Adding the chicken

Cut up the baked sticky fingers into nice bite-sized chunks! Place them on top of the salad greens, and throw a few toasted croutons on top for crunch.

Salad Tip: The secret to a good salad is to have at least one crunch item in the ingredients.

Because this sauce is not over-the-top spicy and hot, I decided I wanted that sweet buffalo sauce to shine through. I took a spoon and drizzled a tad on top of the salad. Between you and me… I think the “Green Goddess” enjoyed it! Lol

Doesn’t that look AMAZING? So simple. I threw the whole thing together in about 20 minutes.

Finishing the Salad

The final touch is to drizzle it with ranch dressing, but you could use blue cheese if you prefer.

I know this is not the world’s healthiest salad with the fried sticky fingers and the buttery croutons, but…sometimes you just have to splurge.

Fair warning…once you take a bite you can’t stop till the bowl is empty! It’s just simply “De-lish”!

Favorite Family Salad Recipes

Enjoy! Let me know if you make this salad and what you think. I love, love, love feedback! It’s inspires me and makes me feel connected to you! Hang in there…we are almost to the weekend!

Printable Recipe Card

Buffalo “Sticky Fingers” Salad

Name: Buffalo “Sticky Fingers” Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 4 breaded precooked chicken strips; 4 cups of torn lettuce (I used romain and green leaf.); 1 cup bagged coleslaw mix; 1 cup sliced celery; 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or Feta; 1 large avocado (sliced); 1 cup croutons; Favorite Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing; 1 1/2 cups brown sugar; 4 Tablespoons water; 6 Tablespoons Franks Original Hot Sauce

This is a great summertime salad that is a meal by itself! Filled with fresh greens, celery, blue cheese, avocado, and the star of the show…the sticky buffalo strips, it's a mouthwatering delicious salad even the men in your family will like!

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 5

Total Time 25

Servings individual salads

Calories 1481 kcal

Ingredients

4 breaded precooked chicken strips
4 cups of torn lettuce I used romain and green leaf.
1 cup bagged coleslaw mix
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or Feta
1 large avocado sliced
1 cup croutons
Favorite Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing

Sauce for sticky fingers

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 Tablespoons water
6 Tablespoons Franks Original Hot Sauce

Instructions

In a small sauce pan place the brown sugar, water, and franks sauce. Stir together with a wire whisk. Over medium heat,stirring occasionally, bring sauce to a boil. Cook for 3-4 minutes until sugar is dissolved.
Dip chicken fingers into the warm sticky fingers sauce. Carefully cut the sticky fingers into big chunks.
In two individual salad bowls place the lettuce and coleslaw mix. Top with Avocado slices, celery, and blue cheese. Add the Sticky Fingers and croutons. Drizzle with leftover sticky finger sauce and salad dressing.
Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1saladCalories: 1481kcalCarbohydrates: 193gProtein: 29gFat: 71gSaturated Fat: 21gPolyunsaturated Fat: 45gCholesterol: 87mgSodium: 1880mgFiber: 20gSugar: 154g

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About the Author

Meet The Author

Photo Credit: Jenelle Lacy Photography

Hi! I'm Norine, the cook, baker, and recipe creator behind Norine's Nest. I love sharing and creating recipes that invite family, friends, and neighbors to gather around the dinner table. Sharing good food and creating memories with those we love brings me happiness. Thanks for stopping by my Nest!