This Vegan Buffalo Chicken Rice Skillet is perfect for a football night dinner. Vegan chick’n, brown rice and veggies are smothered in hot sauce and topped with ranch sauce for a tasty meal!
A Buffalo Sauce Obsession
I’m so obsessed with Buffalo anything – as you may have read in my Quinoa Buffalo Balls and Buffalo Chickpea Tacos posts. I just can’t get enough of that hot sauce taste!
I’m a huge Miami Dolphins fan and every year I have such high hopes but they never seem to pan out. So for all of football season (and the Super Bowl if the Dolphins are not in it), I drown my sorrows in vegan food.
This dinner is easy to prepare and perfect for game time. I used chick’n strips and added in lots of veggies and some brown rice to keep the dish nutritious – but don’t worry, you family won’t even realize!
All of these ingredients are simmered in hot sauce and topped with ranch sauce to make my Vegan Buffalo Chicken Rice Skillet!
Vegan Buffalo Chicken Rice Skillet
When deciding on the veggies to add to my Buffalo Chicken Rice, my first choice was celery because it’s usually eaten with those flavors but let’s be honest, a little celery wasn’t cutting it. I also added carrots because they’re tasty and I felt like I needed one more veggie but couldn’t decide what it should be.
I called my sister (because she’s my idea gal) and she recommended cauliflower. It was a great idea because it’s not an overwhelming flavor and can be cut into bite-sized pieces which would fit in with the recipe.
For the ranch, I used the sauce from my Ranch Pasta Salad but the sauce from my Buffalo Quinoa Balls would work too (you might just need to add a little extra liquid).
Meal Prep Tip: Make a big batch of brown rice the weekend (or day) before so you have the rice all ready to go for this tasty meal!
If you make this vegan buffalo chicken rice recipe, let me know what you think by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below.
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Vegan Buffalo Chicken Rice Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 TB olive oil (or veg broth if you're not using oil)
- 1 small onion , chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 small carrots , chopped
- 2 large stalks of celery , chopped
- 2 C cauliflower , chopped into small bite-sized pieces
- 1 C veggie broth (more if needed)
- 10 oz Gardein Chick'n Scallopini chopped and defrosted if frozen*
- 2 C cooked brown rice
- 3 TB tomato sauce
- 1/4 c hot sauce like Frank's Red Hot
- 2 TB nutritional yeast
- Vegan Ranch Sauce from my Ranch Pasta Salad
Instructions
- Add oil, onion, and garlic to a large skillet/saute pan and cook about 3-5 minutes until onion is translucent. If using veggie broth instead of oil, add enough broth to just cover the bottom of the pan and add more if needed.
- Add carrots, celery, cauliflower and veggie broth and cook covered for 10-15 minutes or until veggies are cooked through. You may need to add more veggie broth or water while cooking, however there shouldn't be too much liquid left after the veggies are done otherwise the dish will be too wet. You want a little coating on the bottom of the pan but if there's too much liquid once the veggies are finished cooking, pour a little out.
- Add rice, chick'n, tomato sauce, hot sauce, nutritional yeast and cook for about 3 minutes or until all ingredients are heated through.
- Top with some ranch sauce and serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Like my vegan buffalo chicken rice recipe? You might also enjoy…
- Buffalo Quinoa Balls
- Chipotle Queso
- Sriracha Veggie Burgers
Like my Vegan Buffalo Chicken Rice recipe? It would be so wonderful if you could give it some love by sharing!
Mary Ellen Valverde MS, CNS, LDN is a Licensed Nutritionist and Certified Nutrition Specialist who helps vegans find ways to make mealtimes easier (and healthier).
When she’s not creating new recipes for her blog, you can find Mary Ellen doting on her two shih tzus or exploring the world with her husband.
Tania says
This is on regular rotation at my house! Delicious, nutritious, quick and easy! Thank you for an awesome recipe!
Mary Ellen says
Tania, I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying it! Thanks for coming back and leaving a comment & rating. I really appreciate it!
Bryanna says
This was so good and easy! My husband and I made this x3 for meal prep this week and it’s definitely staying in our rotation!
Mary Ellen says
Yay! So happy you both enjoy it, Bryanna! Thanks for coming back and leaving a comment and rating. 🙂