Buffalo Chicken And Taters Casserole Recipe

Casseroles are a great standby for days when you don't want to spend too much time futzing with dinner, and this easy Buffalo chicken and taters one is no exception. It takes less than 10 minutes of prep time, just over half an hour in the oven, and once it's hot, you'll have an all-in-one meal complete with protein and starch. Okay, so there's no green vegetables unless you count the green onion garnish, but if you take a minute or so to toss a salad, you'll have covered that base, as well.

As recipe developer Feta Topalu describes this casserole, it's "a combination of spicy buffalo sauce, shredded tender chicken, and crispy tater tots," as well as creamy Alfredo sauce (you can use the kind from a jar to save time). She points out, too, that "This recipe is relatively easy to make," explaining that "It has a simple step of layering the ingredients and a straightforward baking process." Not only does the casserole make for what Topalu calls "a comforting meal," but it's one that will be particularly warming in wintertime, not to mention comforting thanks to those crispy tots.

The sauce for this casserole is made from Alfredo sauce mixed with hot sauce, while the "meat" of the dish is shredded chicken breast combined with bacon and cheddar cheese and flavored with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. The casserole base is a bag of frozen tater tots, while green onions are used as a garnish.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the Alfredo sauce and hot sauce.

Stir the shredded chicken, cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper into the sauce.

Transfer the chicken/sauce mixture into a medium baking dish.

Arrange the tater tots over the chicken/sauce mixture.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, until tater tots are golden and crisp.

Garnish with green onions and serve.

While Topalu's recipe does not specify a type of hot sauce, she tells us she uses Frank's RedHot. She feels that it's traditional (and may well have been an ingredient on the original version of Buffalo wings), so therefore she felt "It was a must when creating this Buffalo chicken and taters casserole." She does allow, however, that "You can experiment with different hot sauces to adjust the heat, sweetness, and tanginess levels according to your preference."

This casserole as-is isn't particularly incendiary, as the 8:1 proportion of Alfredo to hot sauce takes away much of the latter's heat. If you'd like to spice up the sauce, though, you can always stir in a spoonful of Tabasco or another, even more fiery, hot sauce. Cayenne or crushed red pepper, too, would help add some heat, as would chopped jalapeños. If you want to go heavier on the hot sauce altogether, you can up the ratio that you add to the Alfredo, or you can always top off your plated dish with an extra drizzle.

This casserole makes six servings, but as the leftovers will keep for up to four days in the refrigerator, this means you don't need to finish it all up in a single shot. Topalu advocates portioning it out in individual servings, then reheating these in the microwave or oven.

You can also freeze the leftovers if four days isn't enough time to eat them, and again, reheat them via microwave or oven, although the latter, of course, will be a lot quicker and allow you to thaw and heat at the same time. Topalu speculates that this casserole would also be a good candidate for meal prep as she says it can be frozen before being baked. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, then proceed with the recipe from the point where it goes in the oven. "It may also be baked from frozen," she adds, but says in that case, "additional time may be needed to ensure thorough cooking."