Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Casserole

This Buffalo chicken quinoa casserole is spicy, creamy and delicious. Filled with chicken, hearty quinoa and a creamy, cheesy buffalo sauce to make healthy comfort food. Try this quinoa casserole for an easy week night dinner.

You might also like this keto Mexican chicken casserole.

My family loves buffalo chicken anything and lately I’ve been playing around with quinoa. So naturally I came up with this buffalo chicken quinoa casserole!

It’s really easy because you use rotisserie chicken and make it all in one pan on the stove, not in a baking dish in the oven! You could probably get this one pan dinner done in 30 minutes so it’s great for busy weeknight dinners.

Best of all this is REALLY flavorful. It’s creamy, cheesy with just a bit of spice and all those yummy buffalo chicken flavors. It’s also gluten free because you are using quinoa which is a healthy grain.

I forgot how much I like quinoa. I made two dry cups and had so much left over. I’ve been eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner (recipes coming soon). Leftover cooked quinoa really works well in salads, side dishes (like my vegetable quinoa pilaf) and casseroles. 

Recipe ingredients I used.

The simple ingredients I used for this healthy casserole is onion, green chilis, tomatoes, hot sauce, garlic, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, quinoa and chicken.

Cooked Chicken
I used a rotisserie chicken as this cuts out lots of time and I love the flavor. You could also use canned chicken breast in this recipe if you want or leftovers. It just has to be cooked.

Green Chiles
Originally I used Anaheim chiles from our garden but I didn’t have any this time and used chopped chiles from a can. You can find them in the Mexican food section of the grocery store. You could use Jalapenos as a substitute or even finely chopped green bell pepper but I like the chiles the best.

Canned Tomatoes
I really like fire roasted tomatoes if you have them for this recipe. It just adds more flavor. However you can also use regular dice tomatoes you find in a can. I would not use fresh tomatoes for this recipe though.

Cream Cheese & Cheddar Cheese
This cream cheese gives this casserole it’s creaminess and the sharp cheddar cheese adds the flavor. You can also use an Mexican blend cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, etc. However I like sharp cheddar the best.

Quinoa
You have to use cooked quinoa in this recipe. Again it’s a time savor. I like to make a big batch and use it in all these quinoa recipes I have. If you don’t like quinoa you could also use white or brown rice but it should be cooked before adding to the recipe. Also for a low carb substitute you can use cauliflower rice.

Hot Sauce
I but Aldi hot sauce and find it’s very simple Bob’s Red Hot sauce. You can use either brand.

How to make buffalo chicken quinoa casserole.

I use rotisserie chicken chopped into bite size pieces and cooked quinoa so this dish didn’t take much time at all.

Step 1: Get out a large skillet and heat to medium high heat. Add the olive oil and diced onion. Turn the heat down to medium heat and then saute for a few minutes until the onions start to turn translucent.

Step 2: Then add the chiles and tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes.

Step 3: Once the veggies are softened add the crushed garlic, hot sauce and cream cheese. Whisk together until it because a nice sauce like that pictured below.

Step 4: Now all you have to do is add the cooked chicken and cookie quinoa. Mix it well with the sauce mixture

Step 5: Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top of the quinoa mixture. Then place the skillet under the broiler until the cheese melts for 2-3 minutes. If you want it golden brown and bubbly keep it under there a few more minutes.

Step 6: Take it out and let it cool down before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container. You can even place individual portions in the freezer for a quick lunch. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

You can garnish this casserole with fresh cilantro, sour cream, green onions, ranch dressing, blue cheese crumbles or blue cheese dressing if you want. Sere with a green salad to make it more of a meal.

For a low carb version of this recipe check out my keto buffalo chicken with cauliflower rice version. It only takes 15 minutes and perfect for a low carb weeknight meal.

More buffalo chicken recipes to try.

Below are just a few of all the buffalo chicken flavored recipes I have on this blog.

• stuffed baked wontons – great appetizer
• pizza using 2 ingredients dough
• chicken salad and bacon covered cheese ball
• blue cheese stuffed chicken meatballs
• Buffalo chicken dip, stuffed mushrooms and stuffed chiles

I hope you like this as much as we did. My hubby is really digging the quinoa which is a nice change from rice or pasta. It’s full of protein and other good things but I just like it because it’s something different for us.

This recipe freezes well and the leftovers were just as good the next day. So I hope you give it a try and if you do, please stop back and let me know. Enjoy!