Buffalo Chicken and Rice Casserole
This Buffalo Chicken and Rice Casserole transforms your basic chicken and rice into a flavorful feast. The addition of cream cheese and buffalo wing sauce infuses the dish with rich, tangy goodness topped with blue cheese and green onions.
Servings: 8
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 medium carrots diced or thinly sliced
- 1 stalk celery diced or thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1½ cups white long grain rice
- 1 block (8 ounces) cream cheese softened
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 pound shredded cooked chicken
- ¾ cups Buffalo sauce I use Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
- 1½ cups shredded white cheddar cheese
- sliced green onions blue cheese crumbles, and sour cream, for serving
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
- Saute the veggies. Heat olive oil in a skillet set over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery and cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until softened. Stir frequently. Stir in the garlic and cook for 20 seconds. Season with salt and pepper.
- Toast the rice. Add the rice and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes or until slightly toasted, stirring frequently.
- Assemble. Transfer the rice mixture to a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Stir in the cream cheese until well incorporated. To the baking dish, add the chicken broth, shredded chicken, and buffalo sauce; stir to combine.
- Bake. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes or until the rice is tender. Remove the foil and stir the casserole.
- Finish. Top with the shredded cheddar cheese and continue to bake, uncovered, for about 10 more minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Serve. Top with green onions, bleu cheese crumbles, and sour cream, and serve.
Notes
- Rice: Make sure to use long grain white rice; not minute rice or brown rice because, the cooking time and liquid ratio will not work for those two.
- Chicken: I usually use rotisserie chicken for this casserole, but you can definitely use leftover chicken breasts or even chicken thighs. Just shred them or dice them small before using.
- Buffalo Sauce: I use the Frank’s Red Hot Sauce brand. I suggest to use buffalo wing sauce, not plain hot sauce, because buffalo sauce is milder, tangier, and has a lighter color than hot sauce.
Nutrition
Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 961mg | Potassium: 250mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 3163IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 202mg | Iron: 1mg
