It’s hot outside! Originally, I was scheduled to post a slow cooker soup recipe this week and then a major heat wave swept over the East Coast. I could not even fathom consuming a bowl of hot soup this week, so instead I opted for something chilled.

Recently, I asked y’all what kind of recipes you wanted to see on the blog and I received a request for easy lunch prep recipes. You ask, and you shall receive! So here it is, Spicy Ranch Chicken Salad.

I discovered this amazing homemade ranch dressing recipe a couple years ago in “The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays” cook book, which is authored by Ree Drummond. She is seriously one of my food blogger idols and if any of you are familiar with her Food Network show, you know that she has several variations of ranch dressing. This version is my favorite and I’ve tweaked it a bit by increasing the amount of cayenne pepper in my dressing, so that it’s even spicier. I appreciate spicy foods, but if you don’t you can certainly decrease the amount of cayenne pepper.

My brilliant idea? Use this insanely creamy ranch dressing as the base for chicken salad. The spicy ranch combined with chopped green onions and tender chicken makes for a chicken salad that is loaded with flavor. Disclaimer, I like to load this chicken salad up with ranch so that it is more of a creamy texture opposed to chunky. If you prefer a chunky chicken salad, simply decrease the amount of dressing. However, you might want to taste the ranch first before making that call because its seriously life changing. My favorite thing about this chicken salad is you have so many options as to how to serve it. You can serve it in a wrap, on crackers or over a bed of crisp greens. My favorite way to enjoy this chicken salad is over a bed of crunchy romaine with fresh veggies and some extra ranch dressing. This chicken salad is perfect to meal prep on the weekend and eat throughout the week.

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Spicy Ranch Chicken Salad

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Servings

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Ingredients

• 2 boneless chicken breasts
• 2 cups mayo
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• chopped green onions to taste

Servings MetricUS Imperial Ingredients 2 boneless chicken breasts 2 cups mayo 1 cup sour cream 1 cup buttermilk 2 garlic cloves 1 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp white vinegar 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper chopped green onions to taste

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Instructions

1. Add approximately ¼ cup of water to the bottom of a slow cooker. Place the boneless chicken breasts in the slow cooker, cover with the lid and set the slow cooker to “low” for 8 hours.
2. After cooking for 8 hours, remove the chicken breasts from the slow cooker, shred the chicken and set aside to cool.
3. Rinse and chop your green onions. Set aside.
4. Press and mince 2 cloves of garlic.
5. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of mayo, 1 cup of sour cream, 1 cup of buttermilk, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of black pepper, 1 tsp white vinegar, 1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce, ½ tsp of cayenne pepper, and the minced garlic. Whisk together until completely combined. I like to reserve half of the dressing, so I have a little extra to drizzle over greens. Pour approximately half of the mixture into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 7 days.
6. Once the shredded chicken has cooled, add it into the large mixing bowl with the remaining dressing and stir to combine. This will make an extremely creamy chicken salad, almost like a spread. If you prefer a chunkier chicken salad, just simply mix in less dressing. Mix in chopped green onions to taste and spoon into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.