Buffalo Chicken Dinner Ideas
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These Buffalo Chicken Dinner Recipes are bold, satisfying, and packed with savory flavor and the perfect amount of kick! Whether you need a fast weeknight meal or even an appetizer for parties or game day, you’ll love these comforting dishes.
What is Buffalo Chicken?
Buffalo chicken originally refers to a type of fried chicken wing that is coated in the aptly named buffalo sauce. This sauce is made of a combination of melted butter and a vinegary, cayenne pepper hot sauce. The result is savory, spicy, and just a little bit tangy!
The name refers to their place of origin—Buffalo, New York—as opposed to the animal. Buffalo sauce has since been used in a wide variety of recipes aside from chicken wings, like buffalo chicken dip, pizza, salads, sandwiches, wraps, and more!
What you’ll love about these Buffalo Chicken Recipes
Not only are these recipes tasty and guaranteed to satisfy, but they’re also super easy to make and can be served for a wide variety of occasions!
Whether you’re hosting a dinner party, watching the game with friends, or need something fast and family-friendly for a weeknight dinner, you’ll be sure to find something here in this list of great recipes that’s perfect for the job.
Buffalo Chicken Meal Ideas for Busy Nights
1. Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings
The BEST Buffalo Wings you will make at home! This Air Fryer Buffalo Wings recipe is packed with flavor and is the perfect easy lunch/dinner option to have ready in under 30 minutes!
2. Buffalo Tofu Bowls
Nutritious, flavorful, and full of protein! These Buffalo Tofu Bowls are incredibly delicious. Crispy tofu made in the air fryer and covered in hot buffalo sauce, served bowl style; what more could you ask for?
3. Buffalo Chicken Sliders
With a bold and classic flavor, these Buffalo Chicken Sliders are perfect for a crowd pleasing appetizer or a fun handheld dinner! Pair tender and spicy chicken with soft rolls for the ultimate party sandwich.
4. Crispy Buffalo Chicken Salad
Buffalo Chicken Salad with sweet butter lettuce, homemade buffalo chicken and a creamy blue cheese dressing. Perfect for any time of year!
5. Buffalo Cauliflower Casserole
This Buffalo Cauliflower Casserole is perfect for a flavorful and comforting dinner any night of the week. It’s made with simple ingredients and ready in an hour! It also doubles as a dip when you need something filling for a party.
6. Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
Enjoy all that spicy flavor in a cold and creamy pasta salad perfect for lunches or a summer cook out Packed with all the flavors you’d expect from a Buffalo chicken recipe, and use rotisserie chicken to make this extra easy!
7. Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas
Quick and easy Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas are a crispy, cheesy, delicious option for lunch or dinner. They are ready in less than 20 minutes and you can make multiple quesadillas at once using a baking sheet and your oven.
Buffalo Chicken Appetizers
1. Buffalo Chicken Dip
This is my go-to Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe! A combination of cream cheese, chicken broth, ranch dressing, and hot sauce make it the best ever. It requires very little effort and is guaranteed to please the whole family. It’s a great way to use up leftover chicken too!
2. Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls
Classic buffalo chicken dip turned into delicious and crispy Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls. They’re like delicious buffalo chicken wraps combined with everone’s favorite buffalo chicken dip for the tastiest game day snack appetizer or snack!
3. Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower
Make this Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower for a perfect appetizer or healthy side dish with a bold and delicious flavor! Simple and quick, this dish is prepped and cooked in under 20 minutes.
4. Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Tenders
Crispy and bold, these Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Tenders take a homemade spice blend and turn chicken into a satisfying dish.
5. Buffalo Chicken Fries
Easy Cheese fries are getting a major upgrade! Buffalo Chicken Fries combine crunchy fries with flavorful shredded buffalo chicken and tops it off with lots of melty cheddar cheese, ranch dressing, and creamy blue cheese.
Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Dinner Recipes
1. Buffalo Chicken Tacos
Buffalo Chicken Tacos are crispy, cheesy, and full of deliciousness! Slow cooker buffalo chicken is stuffed inside warm tortillas and cooked to a crisp in a hot skillet.
2. Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Flautas
Make easy buffalo chicken in the slow cooker, then make cheesy flautas from the sauce and meat!
Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Recipes
1. Shredded Buffalo Chicken
This Shredded Buffalo Chicken is quick and easy recipe with simple ingredients. With its tender, juicy meat and bold buffalo flavor, this is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
2. Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
These Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes are made with just 5 ingredients, and they couldn’t be easier to throw together! Perfect for meal prep. Paleo, Whole30, gluten free, dairy free!
Oven Buffalo Chicken Recipe Ideas
1. Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs have the same great flavor of buffalo wings, but are baked instead of fried. Made with ground chicken and seasoned with delicious garlic and ranch seasoning, they’re the perfect party snack for your next gathering.
2. Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash
Guaranteed to be your newest buffalo chicken obsession, these addicting little buffalo chicken spaghetti squash bowls are filled with juicy shredded chicken, melted cheese, onions, and buffalo sauce.
3. Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
If it’s game day, you gotta have Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole on the table. This sassy appetizer combines two popular tailgate foods to create the ultimate game day snack!
4. Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Buffalo chicken pizza is the ultimate spicy pizza! Homemade Buffalo sauce, rotisserie chicken, and an Asiago and Mozzarella cheese blend make this pizza extra delicious. If you’re looking for a fun new Buffalo chicken snack or a way to upgrade your next pizza night, you’ll love how easy this is to make!
5. Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers
This Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers recipe is so good! Sweet, tender, roasted bell peppers stuffed with tangy buffalo chicken and cheese are an amazingly delicious and simple-to-make meal that everyone is going to love!
6. Buffalo Chicken Breast
Baked, buffalo chicken breasts are tender, juicy, and filled with savory spice. Made with a homemade, buffalo sauce marinade, you will love this healthy baked chicken recipe served with your favorite celery, blue cheese, and Ranch dressing.
7. Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake
Make this cheesy Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake in under an hour, with less than 10 minutes of prep. It’s loaded with spicy buffalo sauce and hidden spinach, and comes out cheesy and delicious. An indulgent and easy meal for a weeknight!
8. Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells
Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells combine the spicy flavor of buffalo chicken wings and the creamy, cheesy goodness of melted mozzarella, and salty blue cheese all stuffed into cute convenient pasta shells. It is like someone stuffed buffalo wings into the pasta shells but without the bones!
Stovetop Buffalo Chicken Recipe ideas
1. Buffalo Chicken Soup
A creamy, comforting soup that has all of the best flavors of the popular buffalo chicken dip appetizer and buffalo wings.
2. Buffalo Chicken Chili
This Creamy Buffalo Chicken Chili is the perfect twist on a white chicken chili recipe. It is perfectly spiced, creamy, and has the right amount of tang. This will be your new favorite Buffalo white chicken chili recipe!
3. Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowls
This Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowl is one of the easiest meals you can throw together on a busy weeknight! Spicy buffalo chicken (you can use rotisserie chicken to make it super easy) and lots of veggies are piled on top of rice, then topped with blue cheese crumbles and ranch dressing.
4. Skillet Buffalo Chicken Pasta
It’s packed with the Buffalo flavor you love, in a creamy hot sauce-infused sauce, covering tender pasta and hearty chicken. The best part? It’s cooked all in one pan! You are going to love this quick and easy dinner recipe so much.
5. Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese
Chicken, hot sauce, ranch, two types of cheeses. Grab your napkins and your spatula – you won’t want to miss this.
Buffalo Chicken FAQs
Buffalo chicken is made with hot sauce and has a little bit of kick to it. If you prefer your spicy food on the milder side, for any recipe that includes hot sauce or buffalo sauce start with less than called for. Add additional sauce as needed. On the flipside, you can add some more if you want a hotter result!
Classic buffalo wings are often served with a dipping sauce like ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing. You’ll also commonly find baby carrots or carrot sticks and celery sticks served on the side. Some other great sides to pair with these buffalo chicken dinner recipes are coleslaw, mac and cheese, sweet potato fries, or a light salad.
Both of these terms refer to chicken that’s been seasoned and fried, but buffalo chicken tends to be more rich and buttery in flavor, while hot chicken (also called Nashville hot chicken) has more of a spicy kick. Buffalo sauce also tends to be a more vibrant orange, while hot chicken seasoning results in a darker, orange-brown hue.
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