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Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowl
Buffalo chicken rice bowls are so easy to make and ready in just 15 minutes. This buffalo chicken and rice meal is great for meal prep and will quickly become a favorite meal to make! Gluten free and dairy free and can be made low carb friendly.
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
Top tips
Be sure to cut the chicken into similar size pieces so that they all cook at the same time.
If you like really saucy buffalo chicken, double the buffalo sauce to pour over right before serving.
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.
You can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, breast or tenders. If you are short on time, tenders are the quickest to chop up because they are already so small. You can also chop the chicken into chunks 24 hours in advance. Be sure to store it in an airtight, covered container.
Use chicken broth, chicken stock or vegetable broth instead of water to add more flavor to the rice. To add more protein, use bone broth.
The veggies can be reheated with the rest of the buffalo rice bowls but the texture is best if you store the veggies separate from the chicken and rice.
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.
What if you don’t have an instant pot?If you don’t have a instant pot, you can cook the rice on the stove instead. Add the rinsed rice and water to the pot, bring to a boil (covered) then turn down the heat to low and simmer the rice for 15 minutes.How to make this for meal prep
Prep the rice and chicken as indicated in this recipe. Chop the veggies and store them in a separate container.
Divide the rice and buffalo chicken into meal prep containers and store in the fridge up to 4 days.
When ready to enjoy, reheat the rice and chicken then add the chopped veggies to the side. Pour over optional ranch dressing and enjoy.
Storing leftovers
Fridge: The leftover buffalo chicken rice bowls can be stored 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 the buffalo chicken and rice for up to 3 months (without the carrots and celery). I love to use 2 cup Soupercubes for this. You can put the base layer of rice down then add the chicken and freeze. Freeze until solid then pop the buffalo chicken rice cubes out of the Soupercubes then transfer to freezer safe bag or container.
Defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating
Nutrition Information
Nutrition Facts
Amount per Serving
Calories
401
Fat
8
g
Carbohydrates
43
g
Fiber
3
g
Sugar
3
g
Protein
37
g
Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database.
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