Lighter Buffalo Chicken and Rice Skillet

Name: Lighter Buffalo Chicken and Rice Skillet
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Ingredients: 2 cups carrots (chopped); 1 cup celery (chopped); 1 cup onion (chopped); 1 lb ground chicken breast (99% fat free); 1 cup brown rice (cooked); 10 oz cauliflower rice (frozen); 1/2 cup hot sauce; 1/2 cup chicken broth; 1/3 cup reduced fat cream cheese; 3 scallions (chopped); 1/2 cup fat free cheddar; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp paprika; 1/2 tsp kosher salt; 1/2 tsp cumin; 1/2 tsp onion powder

December 11, 2021 By Steph 81 Comments

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This lighter buffalo chicken and rice skillet makes for an easy dinner, or perfect meal lunch meal prep for the week. This dish has all of the classic flavors of buffalo chicken: carrots, celery, and onion are sauteed and then combined with lean ground chicken breast, a variety of spices, cauliflower rice and brown rice. Simmered in buffalo sauce and chicken broth and then topped with melty cheese, this is truly an all-in-one dish, packed with protein, whole grains, and vegetables.

All-in-one skillet meals

Skillet meals are such an easy solution to meal time! Whether it’s a quick and easy dinner or lunch, or meal prep for the week, skillet meals are easy to prepare, and all made in one pot. Clean up is a breeze, and the cooking method is essentially fool-proof. My basic formula for a skillet meal is: flavorful sauteed vegetables, a ground meat (like lean chicken or turkey), a grain (like brown rice or farro) and other topping components, like cheese. If you like the idea of a skillet meal, you might enjoy these other recipes: Southwestern Chicken and Rice Skillet Italian Chicken, Farro and Vegetable Skillet Greek Chicken and Rice Skillet Teriyaki Turkey and Vegetable Skillet

What you will need to make lighter buffalo chicken and rice skillet

Here is the list of ingredients you will need to make this recipe:

carrot
celery
onion
ground chicken breast
- To make my own ground chicken breast, I take regular full chicken breasts and add them to the food processor. Sometimes the store doesn’t have ground chicken breast, so this is a great solution.
brown rice
cauliflower rice
- I use Green Giant riced cauliflower. It is sold in the frozen section, but has no other ingredients besides cauliflower.
hot sauce
- I use Frank’s Red Hot sauce.
chicken broth
reduced fat cream cheese
- I use the Philadelphia 1/3 less fat cream cheese.
scallions
fat free cheddar cheese
- I use Kraft Fat Free Cheddar.

For the spice blend, you will need:

cumin
garlic powder
onion powder
paprika
kosher salt

How to make lighter buffalo chicken and rice skillet

This recipe is all made in one dish, although the components are cooked and seasoned in steps. To begin, combine the spices for the spice blend in a small bowl. Chop the carrots, onion and celery. Add them to to a skillet with olive oil spray and 2 teaspoons of the spice blend, and cook the vegetables over medium high heat for about 10 minutes or until tender. Remove the vegetables from the bowl and set them aside. In the same skillet, add the ground chicken to the skillet with more olive oil spray, along with the remaining spice blend. Break the chicken up with a wooden spoon, and cook it until just cooked through and no longer pink.

Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet and set it aside with the cooked vegetables. To the same skillet, add the cauliflower rice. Cook the rice for 5 minutes or until defrosted and starting to get crispy. Stir in the cooked brown rice. Then, add the hot sauce and chicken broth. Stir to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the cream cheese and the scallions (reserving some for garnish). Top with the shredded cheddar, and cover with the lid to melt. The serving size for this recipe is 2 cups, which is a generous amount. It is ready from start to finish in under 30 minutes.

How-To Video

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Easy to meal prep

To prepare this for meal prep for the week, simply keep it in a storage container in the fridge, or portion it out into containers for each day. To reheat, microwave to heat through, Top with more scallions, buffalo sauce, or cheese, if desired.