The EASIEST Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowls

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When you need dinner in a pinch- these wildly easy buffalo chicken rice bowls are the perfect solution. Featuring shredded buffalo chicken, crispy sweet potato fries, fluffy brown rice and refreshing veggies like cucumbers and lettuce, this high protein bowl makes for a quick dinner or an exciting meal prep lunch you’ll look forward to all week!

So I’m embarrassed to call this a recipe. It’s just too easy. And features amazing cooking shortcuts like rotisserie chicken, the nifty steamable packets of rice, frozen sweet potato fries and premade dressings/sauces.

Here is your gift of the day. One of the easiest meals to have in your rotation and fully customizable to suit your needs- let’s make it!

Why you’ll love this recipe:

• Wait did I mention easy? For real, these buffalo bowls require only a handful of simple ingredients and require almost no cooking.
• Oh you know me, I love some BALANCE. Energizing complex carbohydrates from the brown rice and sweet potato fries, quality protein from shredded chicken breast and lots of nutritious, hydrating veggies by way of cucumbers and lettuce.
• The versatility! I feel like I say this in almost every post. My job is to give the idea and your job is to make it your own! Lots of options here. Try cauliflower rice instead of brown rice, cubed tofu instead of chicken, cherry tomatoes instead of cucumber. I really don’t think you can mess this one up.
• Perfect leftovers meal. 🤌🏼 Have leftover rice? Leftover chicken? Lettuce dying a slow, sad death in your fridge? This is a fantastic recipe to use up the leftover odds and ends in your fridge at the end of the week!

What you need to make it:

Rotisserie chicken: a roasted chicken from the grocery store is quick, convenient, quality protein. Simply carve the chicken and shred it up. Alternatively, you can cook some chicken breasts or chicken thighs with chicken broth in a slow cooker or instant pot and shred them up.

Buffalo sauce: each brand of buffalo sauce is going to have varying levels of heat. I love Primal Kitchen buffalo sauce because it is more creamy and mild than brands like Frank’s buffalo wing sauce and Cholula hot sauce. Choose whichever you like!

Brown rice: to make these healthy buffalo chicken bowls super quick I love using the steamable packets of rice. You can use white rice, brown rice, quinoa, cauliflower rice, whatever is convenient and appealing to you!

Sweet potato fries: for some reason I associate buffalo sauce with sweet potatoes? The sweet + spicy is just a match made in heaven. A handful of sweet potato tots or fries take this bowl to the next level. You can find them in the frozen aisle of any grocery store.

Cucumber: cucumbers add crunch and volume to these bowls- I like to scrape out the insides to avoid watery leftovers.

Lettuce: you can use romaine, butter or green leaf lettuce. It pairs beautifully with ranch dressing and adds volume, texture and nutrition to the meal.

Ranch dressing: I mean you can’t have spicy buffalo chicken without cooling ranch dressing amirite? The ranch dresses up the lettuce, and is a lovely finishing drizzle as well. We love the homestyle ranch from Litehouse foods or the Bolthouse farms Greek yogurt ranch. Alternatively, you can use blue cheese dressing if that’s more your style.

Green onions: green onion provides the perfect fresh, herby finishing touch!

Feta: a little bit of cheese never hurt anyone! You can use feta, goat, sharp cheddar, really any cheese you love.

How to make:

Bake or air fry your sweet potato fries per the package instructions.

Carve the chicken, shred it up and toss the shredded rotisserie chicken with buffalo sauce until well combined.

Chop the lettuce and add a few spoonful of ranch dressing, tossing to lightly coat each piece.

Cook your rice or whole grain of choice.

Assemble your bowls. To a bowl add a bed of rice and top with lettuce, shredded chicken, cucumbers and sweet potato fries. Add green onions and drizzle with extra buffalo sauce and ranch dressing and crumble on some feta cheese!

DEVOUR.

Variation Ideas:

Switch up the veggies

Add additional raw veggies like grape tomatoes, sliced carrots or celery OR add cooked vegetables like roasted cauliflower or broccoli. I will also never say no to avocado.

Use whichever grains you like

This meal is fabulous with regular rice, brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, couscous or even pasta. To make it low carb, you can use cauliflower rice.

Make it kid-friendly

If you have little kids/picky kids here are a few suggestions on how to serve this meal:

• Reserve some shredded chicken without the buffalo sauce to serve separately
• Serve the components “deconstructed”, ie- salad with ranch, sweet potato fries with a less spicy sauce like ketchup, plain shredded chicken, brown rice

Add legumes

Try adding black beans, chickpeas or lentils for a big boost of protein and fiber.

Make it plant-based

To make this vegan-friendly, use cubed tofu instead of chicken, omit the feta and use a dairy-free ranch dressing.

FAQs:

If you love these buffalo chicken rice bowls, you’ll love these other bowl-style meals:

Garlic ginger ground beef and quinoa power bowls

Orzo Bowls with Fried Feta

Teriyaki Salmon Bowls

Sheet Pan Roasted Veggie Power Bowls

And for more easy meal prep recipes make sure to check out:

Make Ahead Breakfast Burritos

Four Freezer Dinners You’ll Actually Love

Sesame Ramen Crunch Salad

Watch how to make:

A saucy hot sauce hug in a bowl. I’m here for it.

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