Pulled Buffalo Chicken and Rice Meal Prep
Servings 4 servings
This easy buffalo chicken and rice meal prep with roasted garlic cauliflower makes for such a healthy, flavourful and satisfying meal that you can make in advance and store for a quick and convenient meal. Serve it up as a bowl or take it on the go! The spicy shredded buffalo chicken is cooked in the crockpot and it's so flavourful, you'll want to eat it for lunch or dinner everyday! {gluten-free & dairy-free-friendly}
Ingredients
For the buffalo chicken:
- 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1/4 cup Frank's buffalo sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
To prepare the brown rice:
- 1/2 cup dry brown rice
- 1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- Squeeze of lime juice
To prepare the cauliflower:
- 1 medium-sized head of cauliflower cut into florets (about 6 cups chopped)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
To garnish:
- Drizzle of reserved buffalo sauce
- Sliced green onion
- Crumbled blue cheese (or sub in feta or goat cheese if you're not a fan of blue cheese)
Instructions
- Start by placing the chicken breasts in your slow cooker along with the diced red pepper.
- In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the buffalo sauce. Set aside a quarter of the sauce.
- Pour the remaining sauce over the chicken breasts and flip the chicken until it’s coated in sauce.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. When it's all finished cooking, shred the chicken using two forks.
- Meanwhile, add the rice and chicken broth to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low heat until cooked (the time will depend on the type of brown rice that you use). Add a squeeze of lime juice to the cooked rice to incorporate more flavour.
- For the roasted cauliflower, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, place the cauliflower florets, olive oil, minced garlic, dried parsley, salt and pepper. Toss until ingredients are evenly distributed and cauliflower is coated lightly in oil.
- Dump the cauliflower florets on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through. The cauliflower should be lightly golden on the edges.
- Evenly divide the buffalo chicken, rice and roasted cauliflower between four containers or bowls. Top the chicken with a drizzle of the leftover buffalo sauce, some sliced green onion and crumble of blue cheese, if desired.
Video
Notes
- To save time when meal prepping, make the buffalo sauce in advance or make a double portion and freeze the extras. I like to use these Souper Cubes to freeze sauces since you can freeze it in individual portions and pop it out when you need it. That way, you just have to thaw it out, pour it over the chicken breasts and peppers in the crockpot and press start!
- I like to reserve about a quarter of the homemade buffalo sauce to drizzle over top of the cooked chicken and rice. It infuses even more buffalo flavour and the extra drizzle gives the chicken a nicer presentation too.
- Be sure to massage the garlic and olive oil mixture into the cauliflower to help it adhere. This helps ensure that the minced garlic ends up on the cauliflower and not burnt on the baking sheet.
- You can either portion out the buffalo chicken, rice and cauliflower into bowls for a quick and easy meal at home or pack them up into containers for on the go! I'm a huge fan of these meal prep containers.
- You can store this meal prep recipe in the fridge for up to four days.
Nutrition
Calories: 411kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 30gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 843mgPotassium: 1098mgFiber: 5gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 1237IUVitamin C: 121mgCalcium: 56mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Tag me Today! Mention @hauteandhealthyliving or tag #HauteandHealthyLiving!