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Easy Buffalo Chicken Meal Prep Bowls {Low-Carb Option}

These Buffalo Chicken Meal Prep Bowls are packed with hot and tangy buffalo chicken, fluffy jasmine rice, perfectly paired veggie toppings, and cool ranch dressing. You can make the buffalo chicken from scratch or use leftover rotisserie chicken. Gluten-free and Whole30 adaptable. Makes 4 meal prep bowls.

shredded buffalo chicken over rice in meal prep bowls with tomatoes and ranch

In my opinion, buffalo flavor makes everything better, especially these meal prep bowls. This easy buffalo chicken bowl recipe transforms shredded buffalo chicken into 4 balanced and nutritious meals. You’ll cook once and have a flavorful dinner ready to reheat throughout the busy week.

What I love the most about this easy meal prep recipe is how hearty and satisfying it is. The lean protein from the chicken and the filling rice is satiating and delicious. Cutting back on rice? You can make low-carb buffalo chicken bowls with cauliflower rice or a simple green salad.

Ready to make healthy buffalo chicken bowls? Grab your meal prep containers, and let’s do it.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • It’s healthy buffalo chicken! These bowls are loaded with lean protein, nutrient-dense veggies, and good fats.
  • Make a week’s worth of dinners in minutes.
  • It’s gluten-free, Keto, and Whole30 adaptable.
  • Great way to repurpose leftover rotisserie chicken.

Ingredients You’ll Need

ingredients for buffalo chicken meal prep labeled: rice, cilantro, shredded buffalo chicken, cheese, tomatoes, and onions
  • Shredded Buffalo Chicken: You’ll need 4 servings of shredded buffalo chicken. To make it from scratch, make my slow cooker buffalo chicken. Otherwise, you can quickly toss shredded rotisserie chicken or cooked skinless chicken in wing sauce.
  • Rice: I like making buffalo chicken meal prep bowls with fluffy jasmine rice, but you can use any rice or grain here (brown rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa, etc.).
  • Onion: Use a mild-tasting onion that you enjoy eating raw. Vidalia onion, red onion, and green onion can be used interchangeably.
  • Tomatoes: Use small, firm tomatoes that will last a few days in the fridge, like cherry, grape, or Roma tomatoes.
  • Cheese: I went with sharp cheddar cheese, but feel to use any freshly grated cheese here. Blue cheese crumbles are great.
  • Cilantro: adds some cooling flavor to balance out the spicy buffalo heat, but if cilantro isn’t your thing, feel free to leave it out.
  • Ranch Dressing: to drizzle over the top. Use your favorite homemade ranch dressing or reduced-fat ranch dressing.

How To Make Buffalo Chicken Meal Prep Bowls

Step 1: Prepare shredded chicken. Following my slow cooker buffalo chicken recipe, prepare the shredded buffalo chicken. I like to do this the day before, so it’s ready to go for meal prep.

Step 2: Cook rice. In a saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups of salted water to a boil. Add the rice, stir, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the water is absorbed and the rice is soft and tender—fluff with a fork.

Step 3: Assemble meal prep containers. Divide the cooked rice between 4 meal prep containers and top with the shredded buffalo chicken. Add the onions, tomatoes, and cheese and top with chopped cilantro (if using).

Step 4: Add ranch and serve. Portion out a small container of ranch dressing to serve on the side and drizzle over the top right before serving. Enjoy or store covered in the fridge.

side view of buffalo chicken meal prep containers

Recipe Tips

  • Go mild or go hot – Choose a buffalo sauce based on your heat preference. I love the buttery, tangy, and subtly spicy flavor in a mild sauce. Feel free to make your buffalo chicken spicier with a hotter taste. You can also spice things up by adding regular hot sauce to the buffalo sauce.
  • Extra buffalo sauce – If you’re making homemade buffalo sauce, make a little extra to drizzle over top of the chicken before serving.
  • Ranch vs. blue cheese – I’m a ranch fan, but if blue cheese dressing is more your taste, feel free to swap the ranch for blue cheese or use a little bit of both.
  • Don’t forget the veggie sticks – For added veggies, nothing goes better with buffalo chicken than celery and carrot sticks.
  • Use a food scale for measuring– I like to use a food scale for weighing food when I’m tracking macros. If you don’t already have one, you can grab my go-to food scale on Amazon.
food scale with cheese on it

Meal Prep Containers

This recipe is enough for 4 meal prep bowls. I like using containers that are reusable, microwave-safe, and dishwasher-safe. These glass meal prep containers have dividers, making them perfect for buffalo chicken meal prep.

Variations

  • Low Carb Buffalo Chicken Bowls – To cut out the carbs, substitute the rice for cauliflower rice or a bed or roasted cauliflower or broccoli.
  • Keto Buffalo Chicken Bowls – Use riced cauliflower instead of jasmine rice and add avocado and sour cream to boost good fats.
  • Paleo/Whole30 Buffalo Chicken Bowls – My shredded buffalo chicken recipe isn’t quite Whole30 compliant, but that’s an easy fix. You can shred cooked skinless chicken breast (or a Whole30 compliant rotisserie chicken) and toss it with compliant buffalo sauce. (like Primal Kitchen or the New Primal). Hold the cheese and swap the rice for cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, or spaghetti squash. Use Whole30 ranch.
  • Whole Grain Buffalo Chicken Bowls – Instead of jasmine rice, make brown rice or quinoa.

Storing & Freezing

Storing: These bowls were made with storage in mind and will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. The tomato and onions may become soggy the longer they’re stored. To save the crisp-fresh texture, store the veggies separately.

Freezing: The shredded slow cooker chicken recipe freezes well, so I love making a bunch to have on hand whenever I’m craving buffalo flavor. After cooling to room temperature, transfer the shredded chicken to a freezer-safe airtight container and freeze for 2 to 3 months—Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.

Recipe FAQ

What is the best store-bought buffalo sauce?

Frank’s, Crystal’s, and Texas Pete offer a thick, rich buffalo sauce loaded with flavor.

How much is a serving of chicken for meal prep bowls?

When I use my slow cooker buffalo chicken recipe (linked in the post) for the chicken, I divide it up into 12 servings and use 1 serving for each of the meal prep bowls. When using shredded rotisserie chicken, I weigh it on a food scale and usually go for 3-4 ounces per bowl. Adjust accordingly to your nutritional needs.

How much rice should be in my buffalo chicken meal prep?

1 cup of uncooked jasmine rice yields about 3 cups of cooked jasmine rice, so there should be about 3/4 cups of rice per container. You can scale up or down, depending on your needs.

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buffalo chicken meal prep bowls with font overlay with recipe title
close up photo of two buffalo chicken meal prep bowls with chopped tomatoes and ranch

Buffalo Chicken Meal Prep Bowls

Slow-cooked buffalo chicken served over rice (or cauliflower rice) with onions, tomatoes, and ranch dressing.
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Course: Main
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 541kcal
Author: Amee

Equipment

  • 4 Meal Prep Containers

Ingredients

  • 4 servings prepared shredded slow cooker buffalo chicken *see recipe (you can also use shredded rotisserie chicken tossed in wing sauce for a speedy option)
  • 1 cup jasmine rice uncooked
  • 1/4 cup Vidalia onion finely chopped (you can also use red onion)
  • 2 small tomatoes seeded and chopped
  • 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese freshly grated
  • 4 tbsp prepared ranch dressing
  • fresh cilantro *optional for garnish

Instructions

  • Prepare the slow cooker buffalo chicken. I like to do this the day before so it's ready to go for meal prep.
  • In a saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups of salted water to a boil, add rice, stir, cover, and reduce heat to low.
  • Simmer the rice for 15 minutes, until all the water is absorbed.
  • Divide the cooked rice between 4 meal prep containers and top with the shredded buffalo chicken.
  • Add the onions on top and sprinkle with chopped cilantro, if using. I also like to drizzle with a little extra wing sauce leftover from preparing the chicken.
  • Add the chopped tomatoes and a small container of ranch on the side. Drizzle the ranch on top right before serving.

Notes

  • Go mild or go hot – Choose a buffalo sauce based on your heat preference. I love the buttery, tangy, and subtly spicy flavor in a mild sauce. Feel free to make your buffalo chicken spicier with a hotter taste. You can also spice things up by adding regular hot sauce to the buffalo sauce.
  • Extra buffalo sauce – If you’re making homemade buffalo sauce, make a little extra to drizzle over top of the chicken before serving.
  • Ranch vs. blue cheese – I’m a ranch fan, but if blue cheese dressing is more your taste, feel free to swap the ranch for blue cheese or use a little bit of both.
  • Don’t forget the veggie sticks – For added veggies, nothing goes better with buffalo chicken than celery and carrot sticks.
  • Use a food scale for measuring– I like to use a food scale for weighing food when I’m tracking macros. If you don’t already have one, you can grab my go-to food scale on Amazon.

Nutrition

Calories: 541kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 181mg | Potassium: 201mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 663IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 224mg | Iron: 1mg
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Amee Livingston
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