Description
A flavorful and easy-to-make Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowl recipe featuring tender shredded buffalo chicken cooked in a slow cooker or Instant Pot, served over rice with fresh veggies and a tangy homemade ranch dressing. Perfect for meal prep or a satisfying weeknight dinner with a spicy kick balanced by cool ranch.
Ingredients
Scale
Buffalo Chicken
- 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup Hot sauce (Frank’s Red Hot recommended)
- ¼ cup melted ghee or butter
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
Ranch Dressing
- 1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt (or mayo for dairy free)
- ⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped dill
- 1 tsp dried chives
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp salt + more to taste
Remaining Ingredients
- 1 cup brown or white rice uncooked
- 1 cup diced cucumber
- 1 cup matchstick carrots
- ½ cup diced red onion
- ½ cup Blue Cheese crumbles (optional)
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
Instructions
- Prepare Buffalo Chicken: For slow cooker, place chicken breasts at bottom, add hot sauce, melted ghee, paprika, garlic powder, and salt. Toss gently to coat. Cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 2-3 hours until chicken is tender. For Instant Pot, add chicken and sauce mixture ensuring a layer of sauce at the bottom to avoid burn. Cook on high pressure for 13 minutes and quick release. Shred the chicken with forks, return to sauce and toss to combine. Keep warm.
- Cook the Rice: Prepare rice according to package instructions until fully cooked and fluffy. Drain if necessary and keep warm.
- Make Ranch Dressing: In a bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt (or mayo), almond milk, dill, chives, garlic powder, parsley, onion powder, lemon juice, and salt until smooth. Refrigerate until serving.
- Assemble Bowls: Layer bowls with cooked rice, shredded buffalo chicken, diced cucumber, matchstick carrots, diced red onion, and optional blue cheese crumbles. Drizzle generously with ranch dressing and garnish with chopped green onions. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- Nutrition facts are per serving, which is ¼ of the recipe excluding blue cheese crumbles.
- Dairy free option: Use vegan butter instead of ghee and substitute Greek yogurt with mayo. Omit blue cheese crumbles.
- Storage: Keep leftover chicken and rice in an airtight container refrigerated up to 4 days. Store toppings and ranch separately.
- For store-bought buffalo sauce: Omit hot sauce and ghee, use ¾ cup buffalo sauce instead.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (¼ recipe without blue cheese)
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 850mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 35g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 38g
- Cholesterol: 110mg
