Hello and welcome to my blog! Thanks for stopping by here! Today I am so happy to share with you a recipe for Clean Eating Buffalo Chicken! My husband is such a fan of Buffalo Chicken and I really am as well. To me, saying that something "tastes like chicken" is NOT a good thing. I tend to cook my chicken in a way that it does not taste like chicken. It is just my style. Side note - I utilize a fair amount of fresh lemon juice around here (although not in today's recipe!) and it totally helps chicken and salmon to taste better to me!
And why is this buffalo chicken "clean eating"? Traditional buffalo chicken recipes tend to be very high in fat content, particularly saturated fat. It contains chemicals and preservatives due to the salad dressing. Some recipes use canned chicken which (to me!) is just plain creepy and also adds in more sodium and preservatives. Clean eating avoids things like that. For example - here is a traditional recipe that many people love. FIRST, is this really going to feed 20 people??? Probably not! 10 people (or less!) could easily consume this dip and just LOOK at what all they would be taking in to their systems. No thanks! It may taste good at the time but the after-effects are just not worth it. I do not want to clop up my arteries or wind up with my jeans too snug!
Relatively speaking, in my world, the recipe featured here in my entry today does have a fair amount of sodium due to the hot sauce. You can look for a reduced-sodium sauce. BUT, if you are eating a serving of this buffalo chicken recipe in the midst of a clean eating lifestyle, you are going to do just fine. The rest of what we eat IS very low in sodium so something like this which is of a moderate level fits in okay here and there.
And why is this buffalo chicken "clean eating"? Traditional buffalo chicken recipes tend to be very high in fat content, particularly saturated fat. It contains chemicals and preservatives due to the salad dressing. Some recipes use canned chicken which (to me!) is just plain creepy and also adds in more sodium and preservatives. Clean eating avoids things like that. For example - here is a traditional recipe that many people love. FIRST, is this really going to feed 20 people??? Probably not! 10 people (or less!) could easily consume this dip and just LOOK at what all they would be taking in to their systems. No thanks! It may taste good at the time but the after-effects are just not worth it. I do not want to clop up my arteries or wind up with my jeans too snug!
Relatively speaking, in my world, the recipe featured here in my entry today does have a fair amount of sodium due to the hot sauce. You can look for a reduced-sodium sauce. BUT, if you are eating a serving of this buffalo chicken recipe in the midst of a clean eating lifestyle, you are going to do just fine. The rest of what we eat IS very low in sodium so something like this which is of a moderate level fits in okay here and there.
For today's recipe, I took some photos to show you exactly how I like to prepare this dish. You are going to need:
4 Medium Chicken Breasts + butter or oil for browning
3-4 Tablespoons Hot Sauce (we like Frank's Buffalo Sauce)
3-4 Tablespoons Greek Yogurt
2 Tablespoons Feta
2 Tablespoons Cubed or Shredded Cheese (Colby or Cheddar or whatever!)
** You can use a bit more or less of the hot sauce/Greek yogurt depending upon the quantity of your chicken breasts and how "saucy" you want your Buffalo Chicken to be!
First, heat oven to 375. You will need the oven once the cook-top prep is complete!
1) I trim my chicken breasts very closely (personal preference) and I heat a bit of butter in a skillet or small pot. My cook-top goes from low to 1-9 to high. I warm the butter at 5 and turn it to 7 just as I am about to add the chicken. I let that first side brown at 7 for 4-5 minutes and then flip to the other side. I then allow the other side to brown the same amount of time without disturbing the chicken in the pan. This sears both sides nicely and helps with flavor/texture.
2) I use my spatula to cut each breast (right in the pan) into 4 or so pieces. I flip and toss them around a bit and then reduce heat to medium (5).
3) Next I add 3-4 tablespoons of hot sauce on top of the chicken.
4) I mix in that hot sauce and use the spatula again to cut the chicken into smaller pieces. The burner temp continues to be at medium and I am working with the pot continuously to brown but not dry out/burn the chicken. I am going to be using this chicken for wraps so I leave it in these medium-sized pieces. You could continue to make them smaller if wanting to make Buffalo Chicken Dip.
5) I turn the heat down to medium-low (3 on my burner) and I add my Greek yogurt on top. I mix everything well and grab the feta and cubed cheese. I add them and stir to combine. At this point I turn the heat back up to medium (5 for me) and bring the whole pot up to a simmer. This takes a few minutes and I do return to stir it often. Once at a simmer, I make sure that the cheese has all melted and is evenly distributed.
*** If you are wanting to make this into a dip, you could transfer to a slow-cooker at this point rather than into the oven. Or you can still make it into a dip in the oven if you are going to be serving it right away!
*** If you are wanting to make this into a dip, you could transfer to a slow-cooker at this point rather than into the oven. Or you can still make it into a dip in the oven if you are going to be serving it right away!
6) Place chicken in the oven at 375. My pots can go from cook-top to oven but you may need to transfer into a separate dish if this is not the case for you! Place (uncovered) on a medium rack and bake for 10-12 or even 15 minutes, until everything has browned up just a bit and the color becomes a bit more vibrant.
7) Serve on a wrap or turn into a dip or whatever you would like! We enjoy a nice side of fresh veggies and a whole grain wrap.
I hope that your family likes this one as much as we do! For more clean-eating, family-friendly recipes, check out the Recipes Page here on my blog! Happy cooking!
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