Nashville Hot Chicken Salad made with crispy golden brown air-fryer chicken tenders brushed with sweet and spicy hot oil and served over a crunchy salad with thousand island dressing. This is a salad that everyone can enjoy! All the flavours of a Big Mac are transformed into a crisp crunchy salad with chopped lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, onions and cheddar cheese dressed with some thousand island sauce and topped with tender strips of Nashville hot chicken. 

I always love crispy chicken strips over my salad or even a plate of pasta. I find it takes it from boring to amazing with that crispy crunchy texture you just can’t get enough of. I thought it would be super fun and tasty if they were paired with a salad that tasted like a Big Mac. So I’ve combined two very popular dishes into this one amazing meal! 

NASHVILLE HOT CHICKEN 

Who doesn’t love this style of chicken?! It’s mouthwatering goodness in every bite. It has that beautiful sizzling crispy golden coating that’s drool worthy. This style of chicken is known for its shimmery hot oil dunk and dusted in sweet and spicy seasoning. This is usually done by taking some of that hot frying oil and mixing it with smoky spices and giving it a little sugary and spicy dusting. But since this chicken is made in the air fryer, I’m mimicking that finishing step by heating up a little vegetable oil separately and mixing it with brown sugar, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika. 

BIG MAC SALAD

To me, this taste exactly like a Big Mac. It has all the basic fillings like lettuce, pickles, and onions and to add more filling I decided to incorporate some tomatoes and shredded cheese to get all that cheeseburger taste into my salad. Instead of beef its chicken so this is like a crispy chicken Big Mac. The best dressing to get as close of a match to burger sauce is thousand island dressing ,which is actually sometimes used as a burger sauce because it has all the classics, ketchup, relish and mayo. To make it a little healthier I used some Greek yogurt but if you prefer a fuller fat and creamier dressing you can simply use mayonnaise. 

Now because some of the salad ingredients have moisture, its not an ideal salad to make ahead. The pickles and tomatoes will release water and you’ll lose that freshness and crispiness of the lettuce if it sits together too long. Its best enjoyed right away, therefore if you want to make it ahead, I would recommend keeping everything separate and only combining it just before serving. With two chicken breasts, pounded down and cut into strips I was able to make 12-14 strips which is enough for 4 servings. If you think 3 pieces isn’t enough per person, then I recommend using one more piece of chicken. The chicken is easy to make ahead and can be re-heated in the oven until warmed through. 

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Print Recipe

Nashville hot chicken salad

Crispy golden brown air-fryer chicken tenders brushed with sweet and spicy hot oil served over a crunchy salad with thousand island dressing.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time16 minutes mins

Additional Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 36 minutes mins

Course: Salads

Servings: 4

Author: the communal feast

Ingredients

• 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into tender strips
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup pickle juice
• 1/4 cup hot sauce
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 TBs brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• Salad:
• 1 head of lettuce finely chopped
• 1/2 cup hamburger pickles chopped
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes chopped
• 2/3 cup shredded orange cheddar cheese
• 1 small white onion finely diced
• serve with thousand island dressing see notes

Instructions

• Pound the chicken down to an even thickness, about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into strips to form tenders.
• To a large bowl or plastic bag, add the buttermilk, pickle juice and hot sauce. Mix until just combined and submerge the chicken strips. Let soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour to tenderize the chicken.
• In a shallow bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, salt, tsp paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Dredge the chicken pieces through the flour mixture coating on both sides and pressing with your hands to adhere. Repeat until all the chicken is coated.
• Preheat the air-fryer according to directions. Lightly spray the basket with cooking oil, add 2 TBS of water to the bottom. Place chicken strips in the basket ensuring not to overcrowd- cook in batches if needed. Cook chicken at 350 degrees F 7-8 minutes per side, flipping.
• Warm up 1/3 cup of vegetable oil in a saucepan or microwave. Once hot, stir in the brown sugar, chili powder, garlic, paprika and cayenne powder. Brush both sides of the chicken with the hot oil to give it a nice coating. If the mixture is too thick, add a bit more oil.
• To make the salad; chop the lettuce head and combine with chopped pickles, tomatoes, onion and cheese. Toss with some thousand island dressing and served topped with hot chicken tenders. Enjoy!

Notes

Thousand island dressing:
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup ketchup
1/4 cup relish
2 TBS hot sauce
1 TBS apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce