Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowls
Buffalo chicken rice bowls are such a flavorful but simple meal! Great for lunch or dinner and perfect for meal prep, these spicy buffalo chicken rice bowls are so satisfying and ready in just 15 minutes!
If you love quick and easy dinner recipes, you have to try these Buffalo Chicken Tacos or this Buffalo Shrimp recipe!
If you’re looking for quick, easy, and nourishing recipes that don’t compromise on flavor, you’re in the right place. As someone who owned a catering company that catered to a women’s only gym, I know how essential it is for meals to taste amazing. In fact, I have an entire category of quick cooking chicken recipes.
Recipe highlights
- Easy to prepare
- Simple ingredients
- A healthy meal you want to make!
- Great for meal prep
Ingredient highlights
- Jasmine or basmati rice – jasmine rice is great for reheating leftovers.
- Celery and carrots – these typically are sold with buffalo chicken
- Boneless, skinless chicken – use chicken thighs, breast or tenders.
- Hot sauce + avocado oil (or melted butter or ghee) for a homemade buffalo sauce.
How to make buffalo chicken rice bowls
Start by making the rice: cook the rice in the instant pot or on the stove. Using the instant pot, rinse the rice and cook on high pressure 3 minutes.
Cut the chicken into bite size pieces (about 1-1.5 inch chunks). Try to cut the chicken into even size pieces so they cook evenly. Add the chicken to a bowl.
Make the buffalo sauce: combine the hot sauce, avocado oil and spices. Stir well and pour over the chicken in the bowl.
Cook the chicken: Add chicken to hot skillet and cook 5 minutes (don’t touch it during this time). After 5 minutes, you can stir the chicken in the skillet, cooking for 4-5 more minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
Chop the celery and carrots into small pieces.
Assemble the buffalo chicken rice bowls by adding rice, buffalo chicken and the veggies to a bowl. Add the optional ranch dressing and serve hot.
Common questions
Is the buffalo sauce spicy?
Yes, but not overwhelming. If you want to cool down the spice, add ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing.
What is the best hot sauce to use to make buffalo sauce
The hot sauce you use will determine the spiciness of the buffalo chicken and also the flavor. I prefer Franks Red Hot, because it has great ingredients. You can also find a dupe at Aldi. For a less spicy sauce, use Texas Pete.
Can you use store bought buffalo sauce?
Yes! Some of my favorites are Primal Kitchen and New Primal Buffalo Sauce.
Can you use pre-cooked chicken?
Yes. Add the buffalo sauce to the cubed or shredded pre-cooked chicken and stir well.
Can you substitute the rice?
If you don’t have rice, you could use:
- Quinoa
- Cauliflower rice (low carb option) – cook in a large skillet for 6-8 minutes, adding salt and garlic powder at the end for flavor.
- Beans – black beans, white beans
Can you double the recipe?
Yes! You can easily double the recipe, however the rice will take longer to come up to pressure. Also, you may want to cook the chicken in batches or in two large skillets to ensure that you don’t overcrowd the pan. You could also make baked buffalo chicken thighs instead if you are making a larger batch.
If you love this recipe, you should try
Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 1.25 cup water
- 3 medium carrots
- 3 medium celery stalks
- 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken
- 1/2 cup hot sauce
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 tbsp dried chives
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried dill
Instructions
- Make the rice: Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Add the rinsed rice to the instant pot with 1.25 cups of water and cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. After the pressure cooker is done cooking, let the pressure naturally release 5 minutes then manually release the pressure.
- While the rice is cooking, preheat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Cut the chicken into bite size pieces 1-1.5 inch pieces. Add the chicken cubes to a bowl.
- Combine the hot sauce, avocado oil and spices in a bowl. Pour the buffalo sauce over the chicken cubes and stir well.
- Add the buffalo chicken mixture to a preheated skillet and be sure to spread into a single layer. Cook for 5 minutes before moving the chicken around in the skillet.
- After 5 minutes, stir the chicken and cook 4-5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the chicken is cooking, chop the celery and carrots.
- Once the chicken and rice is done cooking, assemble the buffalo chicken rice bowls by adding the rice, buffalo chicken and veggies to a bowl.
Notes
- Cut the chicken into similar size pieces to cook evenly.
- If you like really saucy buffalo chicken, double the buffalo sauce
- When cooking the chicken, if you find that there is a lot of extra liquid in the pan, take the chicken out and simmer the sauce for 1-2 more minutes before adding the chicken back in to coat it.
- Short on time? Use chicken tenders or chop the chicken into chunks 24 hours in advance. Store it in an airtight, covered container.
- Cook the rice in broth for more flavor.
- For the best texture, store the veggies separate from the chicken and rice if you plan on reheating it.
- If you want to add a vegetable that can be easily reheated with the rest of the meal, I recommend broccoli or cauliflower, steamed or air fryer zucchini and squash.
- Fridge: Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Reheat on the stove over low heat in a covered skillet or in the microwave for 1:30 – 2 minutes.
- Freezer: Freeze up to 3 months. I love to use 2 cup Soupercubes for this. You can put the base layer of rice down then add the chicken and freeze.
“Add this to the rotation immediately.” – hubby :-) Thank you!