This Buffalo Ranch Chicken and Rice might be your new favorite dinner or brunch recipe! Only needs one skillet and 30 minutes, and is always a family favorite!
You GUYS! Look at this cheesy buffalo chicken and rice skillet! I’m so excited to share this recipe with you because we really loved it! I originally made and wrote this as a slow cooker recipe, but people were having mixed results with their slow cookers at home. I converted it to a skillet recipe, but it’s still super easy!
If you came here looking for a crockpot recipe, I’m sorry to disappoint, except I don’t think you’ll be disappointed AT ALL once you make this stovetop meal. I pride myself on giving you foolproof dinner recipes that are always a hit at your house, so when multiple commenters told me that their rice was either under or overcooked when they tried the crockpot recipe, I knew we had a problem.
I think cooking rice in a slow cooker is just too dependent on individual appliances’ cooking temperatures. Giving you a cook time between 4 and 8 hours, depending on your crockpot, just isn’t helpful. The stovetop instructions are still very simple, and it’s ready in a half-hour!
Truth be told, I’m a bigger fan of one-pan, stovetop dinners anyway because they come together quickly, but you have more control of the timing. You’ll get a perfect result when you cook everything in the perfect amount of time. I want you to love my easy dinner recipes every time!
Surprisingly, my 10-year-old was excited to taste this buffalo chicken rice and said it was the best thing ever. Had I known he would want to try it, I would have cut back a bit on the wing sauce. He still ate a few bites despite the spiciness.
It’s very easy to adjust the heat just by using more or less hot sauce. You can also use the recipe for as much or little cheese as you’d like. I may have added a little extra to make the photos look extra delicious… (¬‿¬)
I think I’m going to make my own recipe for powdered ranch dressing mix, but for now, I use the packaged kind. I bought a big jar of it, which initially seemed expensive, but it lasts a long time! A regular-sized packet of dressing mix works too. The buffalo and ranch flavors in this cheesy chicken and rice recipe are so good. I just know you’ll love it. Be sure to leave me a comment to let me know how it turned out :)
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Skillet Buffalo Ranch Chicken and Rice
This might be your new favorite dinner recipe! Only needs one pot and 30 minutes and always a family favorite!
- Total Time: 8 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/3 cup Buffalo wing sauce (adjust amount to taste)
- 3 tablespoons ranch dressing mix (or 1 oz. packet)
- 2 cups white rice
- 1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese (or more to taste)
- sliced green onions optional
Instructions
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Dice uncooked chicken into bite-sized pieces.
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Spray a dutch oven or other wide, deep pot with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and saute for a few minutes just to cook meat on outside.
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Pour in broth, wing sauce, and ranch mix. Bring to a low boil. Stir in uncooked rice. Turn down heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook 20 minutes.
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Remove cover, and stir. Rice should be cooked and liquid absorbed at this point. If not, simmer a few more minutes until rice is cooked completely.
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Stir in cheese. Sprinkle with additional cheese and sliced green onions if desired.
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Place WHOLE chicken breasts into slow cooker.
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Pour in broth, wing sauce, dressing mix, and BROWN rice.
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Cook on low 6-8 hours until rice is cooked completely. Shred chicken, and stir in cheese. Sprinkle individual servings with additional cheese and green onions if desired.
Notes
- I recommend the stovetop method for perfect results.
- Crockpot cooking times vary by appliance. I recommend checking your rice after four hours but allowing up to eight hours the first time you make this recipe in the slow cooker.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 480
Want more buffalo chicken goodness? Try these recipes!
Julie Dahlin says
This is delicious! The whole family enjoyed it!
Debi Humphrey says
We loved it but would love to know how many calories in a serving?
AJ says
Does this reheat well as leftovers? Hoping to make a big batch that will last a couple nights.
Dee says
What setting would you use if using an Instant Pot?
Dee says
what setting would you use with an InstantPot?
Gail says
Do you think this would work with cauliflower rice ?
Courtney says
I used cauliflower rice and was very pleased. You use less broth when using cauliflower rice. I also used the frozen cauliflower rice you steam in the microwave for 4 minutes and added it to the pot for about 10 minutes to get it seasoned well before eating. I used 2 cups of broth, but I should have used less.
Renee Schreiber says
My daughter, who is a big fan of buffalo chicken, and I loved this recipe. I will make this again@
Niki says
Made this for dinner tonight and loved it! Will definitely make again.
Sandy says
Your recipes look great only wish they had some nutrition information. Need to know sodium, sugar, fat content
Sara says
Do you use long grain white rice or the quick minute rice? Could I just cook my rice separately in the rice cooker and then add it to the mixture to avoid the mushiness I’ve read about?
Andi Gleeson says
Hi, Sara! Yes, if you want to make it in the slow cooker, you could cut the broth down to just enough to mostly cover the chicken. Then, stir in cooked rice at the end. Or if you make it on the stove, you don’t have to worry about mushy rice :)
If you want to use instant rice, the ratio is different. With regular uncooked rice, you need four cups water to two cups of rice, but with instant rice, it will be more like equal amounts of broth and rice. (Check your particular package to be sure.) Thanks!
Amanda says
Thats hiw i do mine
Brittany Bentley says
Wow! I bought all the ingredients to try this cause it said slow cooker which is what I’m using since I currently have no stove & now it’s not the slow cooker recipe after all.
Andi Gleeson says
I’m really sorry for the confusion, Brittany. I added optional slow cooker instructions back to the recipe. To summarize here, you can add WHOLE chicken breasts with the broth, wing sauce, ranch, and broth to the slow cooker. Then cook on low, and shred chicken and stir in cheese before serving. If you plan to cook it 8+ hours, I recommend using brown rice. I’ll email you separately to make sure you get this response.
Nicole says
Made this last week in a big pot and my guy LOVED it. He ate it so fast and we had zero leftovers. Everyone has been asking about this recipe because they heard it was so good. He keeps asking me to make it again. I used brown rice so it took a little longer, maybe about 40 minutes, but it was so yummy. We love the spicy stuff at our house. Will be making this again soon. Thank you!
Alyssa says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was so good, my husband loved it too! I cut the recipe in half and did it in the crockpot (But did not put the rice in the crock pot since I use the instant boil rice). I did 2 chicken breasts, 1/3 cup buffalo sauce, 1.5 tablespoons ranch seasoning, and enough chicken broth to cover. Cooked on low about 6 hours, shredded, cooked rice and added it to crockpot, added cheese to crockpot and let it sit about 5 minutes. I will definitely make this again!
Andi Gleeson says
I love the way you made it, Alyssa! I think it’s great that this recipe can be made lots of different ways to suit your schedule :) Thank you!!
Sarah says
How would I adjust the time if I wanted to use brown rice instead of white?
Andi Gleeson says
Hi! Sorry for the delay in getting back to you! Usually brown rice takes 40 minutes, so you would need to simmer it that long. You could also try instant brown rice, which only needs to cook 10 minutes. If you go that route, you’ll need to adjust the amount of broth (usually 1:1 for instant rice). Hope that helps! Thank you!
Marie says
I made the Buffalo Ranch Chicken and Rice after a co-worker recommended it – yuck. I threw the whole thing out, the taste was bad and the consistency was like baby food.
Andi Gleeson says
Well it sounds like your coworker liked it if they recommended it! Did you make it on the stove top?
Brittany says
I want to make this in a crockpot. I was going to cook the rice separately. Did you just put everything else in a crock pot and cook it.
Andi Gleeson says
Hi! Yes, you can just put the chicken, ranch, wing sauce, and enough broth to cover the chicken and cook it on low :) You won’t need the full amount of broth in the crockpot if you are cooking the rice separately. Just stir in the rice and cheese when you are ready to serve :)
Brittany says
OH My Goodness. I had rice that cooks in 5 min. I put everything in my crockpot then when it was done I shredded the chicken and added the rice. I cooked it on medium till the rice was done and it turned out great. My mom who doesn’t even like rice loved it. Thank you thank you thank you. My daughter even LOVES IT.
Lauren says
How long do you cook this for in the crockpot if you put everything in except the rice?
Andi Gleeson says
Hi, Lauren! Boneless, skinless chicken cooks really fast in the crockpot, so about 4 hours on low is usually enough. You can cook it all day if you’d like, but your chicken might end up a bit dry.
Angil says
I’m so bummed, I just barely threw this into my crock pot this morning. I came back to read the rest of the directions and they were gone =(. To finish out the recipe do I still only add 1/2 cup of cheese? Do I mix the chicken and rice after I shred it?
Andi Gleeson says
Oh, sorry! Yes, just shred the chicken and stir in the cheese :) My chicken was so tender that I could just break it up with a spoon and stir it into the rice. I didn’t even have to take it out to shred!
SC mom says
Mine wasn’t so tasty or pretty…brown rice turned into mush and chicken was quite dry…flavor could be there but wouldn’t make again.
Andi Gleeson says
I’m sorry to hear this :( Because a few of you have told me that your rice was either over or under cooked in your slow cookers, I’ve decided to pull the crockpot instructions completely. This recipe has a much more predictable result when cooked on the stovetop.
Cindy says
Mine turned out a crunchy mushy mess they my family won’t eat
Andi Gleeson says
I’m really sorry to hear that this happened to you :( It seems that slow cookers all cook differently. I tested this recipe and read many other recipes and instructions for cooking rice in a slow cooker, and I feel confident in the instructions. However, I’ve decided to add alternate instructions to make this a skillet meal instead of slow cooker recipe, which will have much more predictable results.
Noelle Smith says
Hi! I want to make this tonight but I do not have the powder ranch mix.. can I use ranch dressing? The liquid?
Andi Gleeson says
I’m so sorry for not getting back to you sooner! You may have already worked this out on your own, but yes I think it should be fine to use liquid ranch dressing. Just add it at the end with the cheese.
Tia Green says
Hi! Can’t wait to this. What does it mean to nestle chicken? We are making this tomorrow
Andi Gleeson says
Hi! I hope you like it!! Nestle just means to push them down into the rice/liquid. :)
Bronwyn says
Has anyone tried this with quinoa instead? Or have any suggestions of cook time.
Andi Gleeson says
Hi! I think it should work with quinoa, but since quinoa has a shorter cook time, I would cook it for 4-6 hours with thawed chicken. You may want to reduce the broth by 1/2 cup as well. Hope that helps!
Erica says
I’ve had this in my slow cooker all day and the rice isn’t cooked – what do you suggest I do?
Andi Gleeson says
Hi, Erica. I’m sorry that happened to you! Not sure why it didn’t cook completely, but you could transfer it to the stove to simmer it to finish. Sorry I didn’t see this message sooner.
Erica says
That’s what I did and it worked well! It was a huge hit!
Jesse says
According to the USDA it’s actually dangerous to cook frozen chicken in a slow cooker.
“Do not cook frozen chicken in a slow cooker or in the microwave; thaw it
before cooking). However, chicken can be cooked from the frozen state in the
oven or on the stove. The cooking time may be about 50 percent longer”
Jesse says
Look at this information from FSIS.
Andi Gleeson says
Thanks for sharing this. I personally find that boneless, skinless chicken thaws and cooks SO fast in the slow cooker that it seems perfectly safe to me. However, I wouldn’t want anyone to get sick from following my recipe if there really is a slight risk, so I’ll update my post with this information.
Dana says
I don’t like brown rice. Can I use white instead?
Andi Gleeson says
Hi, Dana. Yes, you can use white, but it will cook faster and become softer than the brown rice. For white rice, use thawed chicken and cook it about four hours. Thanks!
Jamie says
Made this for dinner tonight and both of my kids and myself absolutely loved it. So good that I can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow.
Andi Gleeson says
Thank you, Jamie. I’m so happy you liked it!
Gail says
Wow, we love this recipe, it is so easy and just the right amount of spice! I used frozen boneless chicken breasts, cooked it on low for 7 hours came out awesome! Shredded chicken with two forks, easier that way. Added cheddar cheese as that is what I had and a dollop of sourcream, hubby gave it two thumbs up! Thank you for this great recipe!
Andi Gleeson says
I added a little sour cream to mine too :) So glad you enjoyed it, Gail. Thank you!!
Patricia says
Thank you for this new recipe!! I love crock pot dinners and I can’t wait to make this on Sunday! Would you happen to know the calorie content though?
Bonnie says
Please do make your own recipe of powdered ranch dressing mix! I can’t get the the packaged stuff here in Ireland! Thanks!! :)
Andi Gleeson says
OK, I’ll try to get that done in the next month or so, but there are definitely others available if you search for them :)
Alison says
This looks delicious! My boys looooove anything with buffalo chicken! I can’t wait to try this!
Andi Gleeson says
I hope you enjoy it, Alison! Thank you!