Chicken With Buffalo Sauce. I love chicken, I always have and always will. Who doesn’t love chicken? But putting some buffalo sauce on it makes it even better.
Buffalo sauce is one of the most versatile dishes you can have on hand. It can be used to spice up a bland chicken breast, or thrown into mac and cheese. The possibilities are endless when it comes to the different dishes you can create with this tasty sauce
Buffalo Chicken Wing Sauce
If you know someone from Buffalo, they know someone who told them the secret ingredients to the Anchor Bar’s famous Buffalo chicken wings. I know people from Buffalo. This is my version of Buffalo sauce, as described to me many years ago, over almost as many beers.
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Recipe Summary
Cook:
5 mins
Total:
5 mins
Servings:
8
Yield:
8 servings
Everyone needs a good Buffalo sauce recipe in their back pocket. Once you try Chef John’s tried-and-true Buffalo sauce (inspired by the original recipe from Buffalo, New York), you’ll never go back to the bottled stuff.
What Is Buffalo Sauce?
Buffalo sauce and hot sauce are not the same thing. Hot sauce is a spicy blend of cayenne pepper, vinegar, and salt. Buffalo sauce, meanwhile, is hot sauce that’s been enhanced with butter and other ingredients. Buffalo sauce is much richer and smoother than regular hot sauce. It’s used as a dipping sauce or a condiment. Of course, Buffalo sauce is most commonly associated with chicken wings.
Why Is It Called Buffalo Sauce?
So where does the name come from? It has nothing to do with bison. The spicy sauce was named after its birthplace: Buffalo, New York.
Who Invented Buffalo Sauce?
Teressa Bellissimo, owner of Anchor Bar, invented Buffalo sauce in 1964. At the time, chicken wings were usually thrown out or used to make stock for soup. When Bellissimo’s son asked her to prepare a late-night snack for his friends, she deep-fried the wings and tossed them in a buttery hot sauce. Thus, Buffalo wings (and Buffalo sauce) were born.
Is Buffalo Sauce Spicy?
It can be! Buffalo sauce is usually available in mild, medium, and hot options. When you make homemade Buffalo sauce, you have the ability to control the spiciness level — use more cayenne pepper if you like it hot or less if you prefer milder flavors.
Buffalo Sauce Ingredients
Homemade Buffalo sauce comes together surprisingly quickly with just a few ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to make the best Buffalo sauce of your life:
Hot Sauce
A hot, cayenne-pepper sauce (such as Frank’s or Crystal) is the spicy base for this classic Buffalo sauce.
Butter
Butter adds a velvety smooth richness. It also balances the flavors of the other ingredients.
Vinegar
White vinegar lends welcome acidity and a pleasant tanginess.
Worcestershire Sauce, Cayenne, and Garlic Powder
Worcestershire sauce deepens the flavor, cayenne pepper turns up the heat, and garlic powder adds a powerful bite.
How to Make Buffalo Sauce
Anyone can make restaurant-worthy Buffalo sauce at home. Seriously — it’s as simple as combining all the ingredients in a pot, bringing it to a simmer, and whisking until the sauce is nice and thick. Find the full recipe below for detailed, step-by-step instructions that’ll make the process a breeze.
How to Store Buffalo Sauce
Store homemade Buffalo sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. You may have to shake up or stir refrigerated Buffalo sauce, as the ingredients have a tendency to separate over time.
Easy Baked Buffalo Chicken Recipe
This Buffalo Chicken Recipe is a fun and delicious anytime dinner made with just a handful of simple ingredients including juicy chicken breasts, hot sauce, honey, garlic, and butter. Ready in under 30 minutes, enjoy this low-carb and gluten-free baked buffalo chicken with all your favorite sides or chop it up and add it to this reader-favorite Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe.
The BEST Baked Buffalo Chicken
Bold, healthy, and bursting with delicious buffalo flavor, this buffalo chicken recipe is easily one of my all-time favorite chicken recipes. Made with super simple ingredients like chicken breasts, hot sauce, butter, honey, and garlic, it’s easy to enjoy this chicken plain, tossed in your favorite salad, baked in pasta, thrown on a pizza, or wrapped in a tortilla with crunchy veggies and healthy greens.
And, just like my baked buffalo cauliflower, slow cooker buffalo chicken dip, or buffalo turkey meatballs, these juicy baked buffalo chicken breasts come with all the same incredible flavor as sticky buffalo wings – minus the mess.
Simple Ingredients
For the full list and amounts of ingredients in this baked buffalo chicken recipe, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Chicken – I love both chicken breasts and chicken thighs but in keeping things on the lighter side, I chose to make this recipe with breast meat. I did not feel the need to sear my chicken breasts before baking. If you decide to use bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, this is a step that I would recommend.
- Olive oil – Simply drizzle your chicken breasts with olive oil and toss well to coat.
- Salt, pepper, and other seasonings – Since we’re planning to coat our chicken breasts in buffalo sauce I left the seasoning and spices simple with just salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder.
- Buffalo Sauce – Prepare your own homemade buffalo sauce or purchase your favorite store-bought sauce. Before I started making my own this Wing-Time Buffalo Wing Sauce was my go-to.
What is the Best Hot Sauce for Homemade Buffalo Sauce?
Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, hands down. Used in all my buffalo sauce recipes, including this Easy Buffalo Cauliflower Recipe and these Buffalo Turkey Meatballs, Frank’s Red Hot is easy to find in most supermarkets or on Amazon. Affordable, flavorful, and just the right amount of spicy, it tastes great plain or mixed with cheese, protein, or vegetables.
How to make this easy buffalo chicken recipe
To make this super flavorful chicken you’ll need the following tools and equipment: digital meat thermometer, 9×13 baking dish, mixing bowls and measuring cups, and kitchen tongs.
Step 1. Make your buffalo sauce
Making your own buffalo sauce is easy, requiring just a few ingredients. You can, of course, always buy store-bought buffalo sauce, but I find that it’s easier to make my own.
The main ingredients in this buffalo sauce include,
- Hot Sauce
- Melted butter
- Fresh garlic
- Honey
- Onion powder
- Fresh lime juice
The most well known hot sauce used for buffalo wings, buffalo dip, or buffalo sauce is Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (which also happens to be my favorite). Hands down, Frank’s has the best tang to spice ratio and is probably the hot sauce that has been used to make your favorite restaurant buffalo sauce.
Now, you also need butter. After all, that’s what makes buffalo sauce so finger-licking good! Typically, the hot sauce to butter ratio is 2 to 1. In this recipe, however, we’re going to be making our sauce with less since we start out by coating our chicken in olive oil and we’re adding honey. Too much butter would be overkill, but feel free to add as much or as little as you like.
All those other ingredients? Technically, they’re optional, but I highly recommend you add them to your sauce. The garlic and onion powder add a greater depth of flavor, the honey helps balance the spice and the lime (or lemon) juice really helps all the flavors POP!
How do you make buffalo sauce?
It’s super easy. Basically, grab a bowl, add all the ingredients, mix it all together, and season to taste. Does it have enough salt? Pepper? Is it sweet enough?
Step 2. Preheat oven and prepare chicken
Preheat oven to 400°F and spray a large 11 x 8-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add the chicken breasts to your baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to season.
Pour your prepared buffalo sauce (or store-bought buffalo sauce) over the top of the chicken breasts. Thoroughly coat each chicken breast in sauce (I like to use kitchen tongs to rotate each chicken breast 1-2 times).
Step 3. Bake
Tent your baking dish with foil and transfer it to the oven. Bake, covered, for 20 minutes. Then uncover and continue to bake for an additional 5-15 minutes, or until internal temperature registers 160°F as measured with a digital meat thermometer.
Remove from the oven and allow your chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
What to Serve with Buffalo Chicken
For starchy sides, I love to serve this recipe with creamy cheesy Instant Pot mac and cheese, garlic roasted potatoes, or (my personal favorite) baked sweet potatoes.
Cut the carbs and serve it with cauliflower mashed potatoes, cauliflower rice, or zucchini noodles, instead.
But what about vegetables? Fortunately, buffalo sauce (especially when a little ranch dressing is served with it on the side) pairs well with all kinds of veggies. Try roasted carrots, cauliflower, or roasted brussels sprouts. Of course, you can never go wrong with a fresh green salad, so let’s not forget that.
Tips and Tricks
Buffalo Sauce: This recipe makes approx. 1.5 cups of buffalo sauce. You may pour it all onto your chicken and bake OR reserve approximately 1/2 cup for serving (careful not to cross-contaminate with raw chicken).
Prepare ahead: You can also prepare this recipe ahead of time and allow your chicken to marinate overnight. Combine the chicken breasts, olive oil, salt, pepper, and prepared buffalo sauce in a gallon size zip-lock bag and refrigerate until ready to bake.
To make keto-friendly – Omit the honey. Top with mozzarella cheese, instead.
How do I know when my chicken is cooked?
Poultry should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F as read by a digital meat thermometer and allowed to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Cooking times will vary depending on the size and thickness of your chicken breasts.
5 Minute Buffalo Chicken Wraps
Spicy buffalo chicken wraps with ranch dressing are bursting with flavor and made in just 5 minutes!
When I think buffalo chicken the first thing that comes to mind is buffalo wings but today we’re making something so much better. These buffalo chicken wraps have all the tasty flavors of buffalo wings without all the added fat and calories.
They’re made in under 5 minutes thanks to my best friend rotisserie chicken. If you don’t have rotisserie chicken you can also use any pre-cooked chicken or make my stove-top grilled chicken or quick shredded chicken recipe.
To make the wraps, simply combine shredded cooked chicken with buffalo sauce. You can use buffalo sauce from a jar or combine hot sauce with melted butter.
Next, all the mixture to a soft flour tortilla and top with shredded lettuce and ranch or blue cheese dressing. You can also add thinly sliced tomatoes and onion if you’d like.
The result is a delicious wrap that’s bursting with flavor. The spiciness of the buffalo sauce and cool creaminess of the ranch is a combo to die for!
5 Minute Buffalo Chicken Wraps
Spicy buffalo chicken wraps with ranch dressing are bursting with flavor and made in just 5 minutes!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 263kcal
Ingredients
- 2 cup cooked chicken shredded or chopped (rotisserie, shredded, or grilled)
- 1/2 cup buffalo sauce or 1/3 cup hot sauce + 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- 1/4 cup ranch or blue cheese dressing
- 4 medium flour tortillas
- Optional fillings: tomato onion, shredded cheese
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked chicken and buffalo sauce until the chicken is fully coated with the sauce.
- Lay out the flour tortillas and divide the chicken evenly among the tortillas. Top the chicken with lettuce, and ranch dressing. Fold in the sides of the tortilla and roll the wrap burrito-style. Enjoy warm or cold!