Buffalo Chicken Bowl With Yogurt Ranch Recipe

Buffalo wings may be one of our favorite game-day appetizers, but recipe developer Erin Johnson has come up with a way to take those same delicious flavors and transform them into a healthy, one-bowl meal. As she tells us, "I love all things Buffalo chicken, and this salad is a great way to get the flavor I love with the added benefit of vegetables." Even the dressing is good for you, since it comes together with protein-packed Greek yogurt rather than blue cheese and mayonnaise.

This Buffalo chicken bowl includes not only meat and vegetables, but it also has a generous scoop of rice to give it substance. Johnson notes that you could lower the carbohydrates in the dish by switching out the grain for cauliflower rice. Another alternative is to make this into more of a chopped salad-style dish, swapping the rice for either lettuce or shredded cabbage. With versatile Buffalo chicken as a base and countless veggie options at your disposal, the possibilities with this easy bowl are endless.

The main ingredient for these chicken bowls is chicken breast tenders marinated in hot sauce and melted butter. The dressing comes together with Greek yogurt, dried dill, dried parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper, while you'll also need white rice, cherry tomatoes, mini cucumbers, avocados, chickpeas, and blue cheese crumbles to round out the meal.

Cook rice in a rice cooker or on the stovetop according to package instructions. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and set aside until you're ready to assemble the bowls.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine yogurt, dill, parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt.

Stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture reaches the consistency of salad dressing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

In a large bowl, stir butter and hot sauce until well combined.

Add chicken to the hot sauce mixture and allow to marinate while you heat a greased grill pan over medium-high heat.

When the grill pan is hot, add half the chicken to avoid overcrowding the pan.

Cook for 4 minutes, then flip and cook on the other side for another 3 minutes. Repeat with remaining chicken and set aside.

Add a scoop of rice and 2 chicken tenderloins (chopped, if desired) to each serving bowl.

Top with diced avocado, tomatoes, and cucumbers, as well as chickpeas and blue cheese crumbles.

Spoon yogurt ranch over the chicken and serve immediately.

For this recipe, Johnson prepares her chicken with none of the breading or deep fryer full of oil that so many fast food chicken tenders use. So, to give the chicken a charred exterior — and therefore extra flavor — Johnson favors cooking it with a stovetop grill pan, but you could also cook the chicken on an outdoor grill if the weather is nice. If you still want to cook on the stovetop but don't have a grill pan, a regular skillet would also work; just be sure you only stir the chicken occasionally so it takes on enough color.

Another method of cooking chicken tenders is baking them, either in the air fryer — Johnson says 6 minutes at 400 F ought to do it — or in the oven at the same temperature. Since air fryers tend to cook more quickly than conventional ovens, you may need to give the tenders a little more time. About 15 minutes will probably work, but to be on the safe side, use a meat thermometer to make sure they've reached an internal temperature of 165 F.

If you like to spend your Sunday meal prepping for the week ahead, this Buffalo chicken bowl is a great pick for the job. As Johnson explains, "You can prep all of this in advance, making it perfect for lunch or an easy weeknight dinner." The cooked chicken should last for up to 4 days in the refrigerator if you store it in an airtight container. The leftover rice should be good for 4 days, too, as long as you refrigerate it right away and reheat it to 165 F. As for the dressing, Johnson says this can stay fresh for up to a week.

When it comes to eating these rice bowls, Johnson says they taste best when assembled fresh, so be sure to package all the ingredients separately and put them together only when it's time to eat for that just-made taste.