Buffalo Hen and Rice Casserole

Primary hen and rice will get a serious improve with this Buffalo Hen and Rice Casserole! Cream cheese and buffalo wing sauce add a ton of taste to the tender hen and savory rice on this crowd-pleasing casserole, topped with blue cheese and sliced inexperienced onion.

Hen and Rice Casserole By no means Tasted So Good!

Okay, so I really like plain hen and rice, with none bells and whistles. There’s nothing like an enormous serving to of buttery rice cooked within the broth of an entire hen, with tender bites of shredded hen blended in. Consolation meals? Positively.

However, generally you simply must spice issues up, and when a yearning for spicy meals hits, there’s nothing higher than buffalo hen.

This recipe combines one of the best of each worlds. Easy shredded hen meets toasted, rice, and each are mixed with cream cheese and spicy buffalo wing sauce. This can be a scrumptious weeknight meal that tastes like your favourite appetizer, however packs in additional nourishment, and fewer mess. Crumbles of blue cheese, sliced inexperienced onion, and funky bitter cream high issues off to perfection.

Why Is It Known as Buffalo Hen?

Buffalo hen is called after town of Buffalo, New York, the place the primary buffalo wings originated. Coated in a spicy scorching sauce with butter and Worcestershire, abnormal previous hen wings have been reworked into one thing spectacular, and have turn into an American favourite.

Nowadays, all types of dishes are made with a “buffalo” twist: Crispy Air Fryer Buffalo Shrimp, Shredded Buffalo Hen Tacos, and party-friendly Buffalo Hen Dip, only for starters!

What You’ll Want

So what precisely is on this simple buffalo hen and rice casserole? Let’s check out the checklist of components. (For the total recipe card with quantities, directions, and diet details, simply scroll on all the way down to the underside of this submit.)

• Olive Oil: For sauteing. You should use any impartial oil you want.
• Onion, Carrots, and Celery: Cube up these veggies. They’ll give the rice a lift of taste and diet.
• Garlic: Mince or press a couple of cloves of contemporary garlic.
• Salt and Pepper
• Rice: White long-grain rice is the star of this dish! Be sure to not use one other sort of rice or the liquid ratio and time might not work.
• Cream Cheese: Soften the cream cheese earlier than including it to the casserole, that manner, it is going to be simple to stir in with out working by way of lumps.
• Broth: Low-sodium hen broth is my go-to, however you would additionally use selfmade broth, vegetable broth, or common hen broth.
• Hen: You’ll need shredded, cooked hen to make this dish, not uncooked hen.
• Buffalo Sauce: I take advantage of Frank’s Purple Scorching Sauce model. Be sure to get buffalo wing sauce, not simply scorching sauce. Buffalo sauce is milder and has a lighter shade than plain scorching sauce.
• Cheese: This casserole is topped with shredded white cheddar cheese. Common orange cheddar is ok, too.
• Toppings: Sliced inexperienced onions, blue cheese crumbles, and bitter cream take this dish to a different degree.

Let’s Make Buffalo Hen and Rice Casserole

To assemble this buffalo hen and rice casserole, you’ll begin with a fast sauté on the stovetop, after which end it off within the oven. Listed here are the steps:

• Saute the Veggies and the Rice. First, get your oven preheating to 400˚F. Subsequent, warmth up the oil over medium warmth, and sauté the onions, carrots, and celery till they’ve softened. Stir within the garlic, sprinkle in some salt and pepper, after which add the rice. Stir and cook dinner for a few minutes to toast the rice a bit.

• Mix the Components in a Baking Dish. Subsequent, spoon the rice combination into a big (9×13) baking dish. Stir the cream cheese into the recent rice, after which stir within the hen broth, buffalo sauce, and shredded hen. 

• Bake. Cowl the baking dish with foil, and place it within the preheated oven to bake for about 40 minutes, or till the rice is tender.
• High with Cheese. As soon as the rice is cooked by way of, take away the foil, and provides the casserole one other stir. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese evenly excessive and bake it for about 10 extra minutes, or till the cheese is melted.
• Take pleasure in! Let the casserole stand for 10 minutes earlier than topping it with inexperienced onions, bleu cheese crumbles, and bitter cream. Serve heat.

Do You Should Cook dinner Rice Earlier than Placing it in a Casserole?

For some recipes, you do must cook dinner the rice earlier than you add it to a casserole. Different recipes have you ever use particular par-cooked rice corresponding to prompt rice. This one is easy – simply use plain, long-grain white rice, and don’t fear about cooking it beforehand. Simple peasy!

Useful Recipe Hints

As you’ll be able to see, this hen and rice casserole is tremendous simple to drag collectively, and it’s largely hands-off. These useful suggestions will make it even simpler!

• Decrease the Prep: If you wish to lower down in your prep time much more, go for pre-chopped veggies from the produce part as a substitute of peeling and chopping your individual.
• Hen Choices: Go for leftover shredded hen, or make a contemporary batch with my simple tutorial on Learn how to Boil Hen Breasts. Or, for optimum comfort, seize a rotisserie hen and shred the meat – it solely takes a minute or two.
• Cheese Choices: There are a variety of cheeses occurring right here, and all of them will be swapped as wanted. As an illustration, you should use full-fat or low-fat cream cheese – both one will work. However the full-fat cream cheese will give the dish a barely higher style and texture. For the melted cheese on high, go together with your favourite melting cheese, like cheddar, Colby, or Monterey jack. And, in terms of the blue cheese crumbles? Add them on, go away them out, or serve them on the facet so everybody can customise their serving!

Serving Strategies

What are you able to serve with buffalo hen and rice casserole? Every kind of issues! Virtually any contemporary veggie facet will work, or you would simply go along with a crudite platter. Listed here are some facet dishes we love:

• Corn: Other than buffalo hen recipes, we additionally love contemporary corn! This simple, buttery Air Fryer Corn on the Cob will deliver smiles to your desk, assured.
• Salad: Carrot and celery sticks are a traditional, however a pleasant salad can even fill the invoice for a cool, crunchy facet. Bored of your typical backyard salad? Do that Cabbage Cucumber Salad as a substitute! It’s tremendous crunchy and options an uber-flavorful selfmade French dressing.
• Roasted Veggies: Making an entire sheet pan of roasted veggies is really easy – and also you don’t need to restrict your self to potatoes and carrots! Vibrant, tender greens are a fantastic possibility as properly. Do that recipe for Roasted Inexperienced Beans with Squash and Tomatoes, and I believe you’ll agree.

Storing and Reheating

• Storing this hen and rice casserole is tremendous simple. Simply cowl it properly (plastic wrap or foil works nice) and stick it in your fridge. It ought to hold for about 4 days.
• Reheating is simple, too. Simply place the specified quantity within the microwave, and warmth it in bursts of about 30 seconds, stirring after every burst. You can even warmth it in a lined skillet over low warmth. If the casserole appears dry, you’ll be able to add a tiny little bit of milk to moisten it because it heats.

Can I Freeze This Casserole?

• Positive can! Simply cool the casserole down – I like to recommend doing this on the counter for about one hour, after which in your fridge for couple extra hours.
• After that, wrap the casserole tightly in a few layers of plastic wrap, or place the leftovers in freezer containers or baggage. Retailer in your freezer for as much as 3 months.
• Thaw in your fridge in a single day earlier than reheating and serving.

ENJOY!

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