This budget friendly, high protein cold lunch idea comes from yet again, my favorite grocery store: Aldi. This spicy buffalo chicken salad recipe is a fast and easy lunch that can be meal prepped and made in a total of 25 minutes. It is the perfect lunch for the 9-5 worker and doesn’t need to be reheated. Did I mention it has over 30g of protein?
This is not sponsored by Aldi. I am a fan of their budget friendly products and like to create Aldi-only recipes. All products were bought with my own money.
Ingredients (2 servings)
- One bag of Little Salad Bar Southwest Chopped Salad
- 4 Kirkwood Buffalo Style Chicken Strips
How To Make:
Take four chicken strips and throw them in the toaster oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until crispy. At this time, I typically get ready for work while waiting for them to heat up.
Divide the salad into two containers as well as the tortilla strips and cheese salad toppings. Do not add the salad dressing to these containers.
For the dressing, you’ll want to divide it into two small containers and keep it separate from the salad until ready to eat. Or, if you’re like me, keep it in the original packaging and very carefully eyeball half of the dressing.
Once the chicken is toasted, cut up the strips and add to the salad. For best results, let it cool for a few minutes to keep the breading on the chicken. You’ll want to use two chicken strips per salad. Let cool slightly before adding the lid and you’re all set for work. Just don’t forget the dressing!
Macros Breakdown:
This macro breakdown is for one serving.
- Calories: 563
- Fats: 26g
- Carbs: 33g
- Protein: 34g
*Exact macros will vary slightly due to the inconsistency of the chicken. I’ve found that typically 2 chicken strips will be 170g-175g and enough in the package for 3 servings. This breakdown is with these assumptions.
Yes, this salad can be made healthier but hey: we are on a budget.
Price Breakdown:
- Southwest Chopped Salad =$2.89
- Buffalo Style Chicken Strips = $6.49
Total = $9.38! Which means that for under $10, you can have two salads and one serving of chicken strips leftover for a fun light snack.
If you liked this cold lunch idea from Aldi, you might also like my budget friendly Sourdough, Pesto and Turkey Sandwich from Aldi.
These prices reflect current 2025 prices at Aldi in Chicago at the time of writing this post (can’t wait to see wait inflation brings!)
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