Buffalo Chicken Bowls
Buffalo Chicken Bowls are a delicious healthy dinner! These bowls are so easy to make and loaded with good for you protein, fats and carbs! Simple to prep ahead of time too!
My sister originally gave me this recipe and, to be honest, I was kind of skeptical if anyone besides me in my family would like it! So I just ignored it for a little while.
Then on a whim I picked up hot sauce at the grocery store and decided to make it for dinner one night. Thus begins the love story.
What I love about buffalo chicken bowls…
You guys. This recipe is SO easy!
- You make it in a crockpot so you know I’m all about that! Easy-peasy is my jam!
- Second, the spice level is perfection! It is spicy in a “I just want to keep eating it” way not a “I can’t feel my taste buds” way. YUM!
- Finally, it was true love because EVERYONE in my family loved it!
Yes, my stubborn toddler and picky husband gobbled this up and I almost fell over when Nate asked for it to be added to our regular dinner rotation! It was that good!
How are buffalo chicken bowls healthy?
Friends, there is so much good-for-you stuff in this easy slow cooker dinner recipe!
- Quinoa – This mighty little grain is packed with protein, fiber, and healthy carbs.
- Black beans – Low in fat, sodium (as long as you rinse), and high in fiber and protein
- Sweet corn – Delicious carbohydrate! We like to get ours in the summer from a local farm and freeze a ton for the rest of the year!
- Avocado – It’s no wonder my daughter call this “candy”! Avocados have amazing flavor, plus they are a healthy fat, the kind that raises your good cholesterol and lowers your bad!
If you’re interested in other simple + healthy + tasty comfort food recipes be sure to check out my Real Food, Comfort Food Meal Plan I’ve done all the work to plan and organize 4 weeks worth of healthy and easy dinners for your family!!
(Honestly you can take this 4 week meal plan and rotate it and you will have dinner planned for at least 3 months before you need to change things up!)
Could I make buffalo chicken bowls on the stovetop?
Yes! You totally can! Simply boil the chicken (I follow these step by step directions!), then shred it and add the hot sauce to it.
Then stir and combine with your other chicken bowl toppings and ingredients!
Can I freeze buffalo chicken bowls?
To make this a freezer meal place chicken breasts, hot sauce, and garlic in the bag. You can add the black beans and corn to the bag as well, if you know everyone in your family wants those on their bowl.
(Not everyone here does *insert eye rolls for picky eaters* so I cook those separately.)
Freeze for up to six months.
Defrost in the refrigerator and then place in the crockpot on low for 4 hours or place frozen into the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Pro tip:Know your crockpot! This is my favorite freezer cooking cookbook that helps me turn lots of my favorite recipes into freezer meals!
How much does this recipe make?
This recipe easily feeds Nate, Layla, and I with a lot of chicken leftovers for salads, buffalo chicken wraps, or to make bowls again for lunches.
It’s definitely one of my “mom meal planning hacks” to use double recipes like this so there’s less work for me in the kitchen later on
These Buffalo Chicken Bowls are also perfect to meal prep on the weekend and then reheat throughout the week for an easy, healthy, and crowd-pleasing recipe!
More Healthy Buffalo Chicken Recipes
Healthy Boneless Buffalo Wings — This easy recipe beats any wing place!
Healthy Buffalo Turkey Burgers — Any easy and delish spin on a traditional burger!
This recipe is naturally gluten-free and by eliminating the blue cheese and sour cream it is dairy-free as well! I hope you love this recipe as much as my family does!
If you love this recipe be sure to pin it and share it with your friends!
Products Used in This Recipe:
Simple Crockpot – I love my no-frills slow cooker! It’s perfect for easy dinners like this one!
Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce – Gives this recipe it’s addictive spice.
Rada Cutlery Regular Paring Knife – These are so simple and cheap but they are my favorite paring knives! Easy to sharpen too!
Buffalo Chicken Bowls
Buffalo Chicken Bowls
Buffalo Chicken Bowls are a delicious healthy dinner! These bowls are so easy to make and loaded with good for you protein, fats and carbs! Simple to prep ahead of time too!
Ingredients
- 3 Chicken Breasts
- ½ Cup Hot sauce
- 3 garlic cloves or 1 TB garlic
- 2 cups sweet corn, canned or frozen, drained and dethawed
- 1 Can Black Beans
- 2 Avocados or 1/2 cup guacamole
- 3 cups cooked quinoa
- Blue Cheese
- Hot sauce for topping
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Combine the chicken, garlic and hot sauce in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Shred with forks after cooked. (Alternatively you can shred in a KitchenAid with the regular paddle--best kitchen hack ever!)
- Drain and rinse corn and black beans and cook over low heat until warm and tender. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
- Assemble your bowl: layer cooked quinoa, beans, corn, half an avacado diced, chicken, and blue cheese. If you like things spicy add a dash of hot sauce! For a creamy texture add a tablespoon of sour cream for each bowl.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6Amount Per Serving: Calories: 477Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 583mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 14gSugar: 5gProtein: 31g
Do you think they’d taste ok with feta? We’re not big fans of blue cheese at my house. :p The bowls look delicious!
We also really like them with cheddar cheese (my kids don’t do blue cheese), but I think feta would be good!
What can you use instead of hot sauce? I don’t like spicy.
Buffalo sauce would be milder or mix half and half buffalo sauce and bbq sauce.
I think the family would love it if I made this for dinner.
My family would love it if I made this for them.