These super easy buffalo chicken rice bowls are perfect for a quick weeknight meal or meal prepping for fast lunches.

Look no further if you're looking for an easy go-to dinner for a busy weeknight or an easy meal prep recipe! These healthy buffalo chicken bowls are packed with fresh veggies and spicy buffalo sauce. It comes together quickly, using only simple ingredients, making it perfect for lazy evenings when you want something comforting yet satisfying and spicy.
Buffalo chicken is one of my favorite dishes, I love anything with buffalo sauce! When my husband, Brent, and I first started eliminating gluten from our diet and did our first round of Whole30, I became obsessed with making crispy buffalo chicken and that's where my love affair with buffalo sauce started.
Come along as I show you how to make this super easy high-protein meal and all the tips and tricks!
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Ingredients
Substitutions
Chicken- I use boneless skinless chicken breast but you can use chicken thighs or chicken tenders.
Rice- Brown rice, white rice, jasmine rice, or cauliflower rice will all work great in this recipe.
Buffalo sauce- My favorite buffalo sauce to use is Primal Kitchen buffalo sauce but you can use Frank's Buffalo Wing sauce or whatever is your favorite.
Ranch- I like using Tessemae's ranch to keep this recipe dairy-free but you can use blue cheese dressing or your favorite ranch dressing.
Cherry tomatoes- You can use grape tomatoes or any variation of tomatoes you have on hand.
Red onions- White, yellow, or green onions will all work great in this recipe.
Shredded carrots- I love using shredded carrots but you can use sliced carrots or shaved carrots.
Step by step
- Add avocado oil or olive oil to a large skillet and heat to medium heat.
- Cut your chicken into 1-inch cubes and season with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Add the chicken to the heated pan.
- Cook your chicken for about 8-10 minutes, or until it's reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- While your chicken cooks, cook your rice and chop the cherry tomatoes, and red onions, and slice the avocado.
- Once your chicken is done cooking, turn the heat to medium-low heat and add in your buffalo sauce. Stir to coat all the chicken and let cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add a half cup of rice to the bottom of a bowl, then spoon your chicken on top of the bed of rice. Add your vegetables and drizzle with a little extra buffalo sauce and your favorite ranch or blue cheese.
What kind of rice is used in rice bowls?
Brown rice, white rice, Jasmine rice, and cauliflower rice are all great to use in a rice bowl!
Should you put buffalo sauce on chicken before or after cooking?
Most buffalo chicken recipes will have you put the sauce on the chicken after it has been cooked.
What is the difference between hot chicken and buffalo chicken?
Buffalo sauce combines hot sauce with garlic, vinegar, and butter making it tangy and spicy. Nashville hot chicken sauce is a mix of cayenne pepper, garlic, brown sugar, spices, and oil making it super spicy with a hint of sweetness.
Tips
- To make this recipe even easier, I love using frozen rice. You can put it in a large bowl and microwave it, which saves so much time!
- You can use shredded rotisserie chicken to save even more time. Just coat the shredded chicken with buffalo sauce and assemble your bowls.
Variations and add-ins
There are tons of ways you can make these bowls your own! Here are some fun ways to jazz up these bowls.
- Add sweet potatoes
- Add bell pepper
- Top with feta cheese or blue cheese crumbles
- Add roasted cauliflower
- Add black beans
- If you have lots of veggies in your fridge that need to be used up, add them to these bowls.
Storing and reheating
Store your leftover buffalo bowls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also store these bowls in individual airtight meal prep containers in the refrigerator to have on hand for quick meals.
Reheating your leftovers is easy! Just pop them in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl or container for 1.5 minutes or until heated through. After reheating mine I like to add an extra drizzle of buffalo sauce and a little drizzle of ranch.
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating or comment! Your feedback is so important to me.
Recipe
Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowls
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds Chicken breast
- ⅓ cup Buffalo sauce
- 2 cups Rice (cooked) I use frozen rice to save time
- 1 large Avocado
- ½ cup Cherry tomatoes (cut in halves)
- ½ cup Shredded carrots
- ¼ cup Red onion (diced or sliced)
- ½ teaspoon Garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- Ranch (for drizzling on top)
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
- large skillet
Instructions
- Add avocado oil or olive oil to a large skillet and heat to medium heat.
- Cut your chicken into 1-inch cubes and season with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Add the chicken to the heated pan and cook for about 8-10 minutes, or until it's reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- While your chicken cooks, cook your rice and chop the cherry tomatoes, and red onions, and slice the avocado.
- Once your chicken is done cooking, turn the heat to medium-low heat and add in your buffalo sauce. Stir to coat all the chicken and let cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add a half cup of rice to the bottom of a bowl, then spoon your chicken on top of the bed of rice.
- Add your vegetables and drizzle with a little extra buffalo sauce and your favorite ranch or blue cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
*nutrition information is an approximate
Share this recipe on FacebookHi, I'm Kaleena!
I'm a 30-something wife and dog mom who shares mostly gluten-free, dairy-free, Whole30, and Paleo-friendly recipes. I love creating recipes made from real ingredients that are full of flavor and the whole family will love!
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