MEAL-PREP BOWLS · COTTAGE CHEESE
Tender chicken tossed in buffalo sauce, served over rice with crunchy celery and carrots. A cool ranch-seasoned cottage cheese sauce brings the heat down. Make all four bowls on Sunday and lunch is ready for most of the week.
Jump to Recipe
- Makes
- 4 bowls
- Chicken
- 18–22 minutes
- Oven
- 425°F / 220°C
- Keeps
- 4 days in the fridge
- Chicken done at
- 165°F / 74°C
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Wing flavor without frying. The chicken bakes, then gets a quick toss in buffalo sauce.
- Ranch made with cottage cheese. Blending cottage cheese with ranch seasoning makes a thick, creamy topping with real protein.
- Built for meal prep. Everything holds well in containers, with the creamy sauce packed on the side.
Ingredient Notes
Any cayenne-pepper buffalo wing sauce works. Taste yours first: some brands are much hotter or saltier than others. Start with ¼ cup and add more after tossing.
For the cottage cheese ranch, blend the cottage cheese with dry ranch seasoning and a splash of milk until completely smooth. It thickens a little in the fridge.
Use plain cooked white or brown rice. Leftover rice is perfect here, and cauliflower rice works if you want fewer carbs.
The recipe card below lists every quantity in one place.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Cottage Cheese Bowls
Bake the chicken and make the ranch
Season the chicken and bake it until it reaches 165°F, then rest and slice it. While it bakes, blend the cottage cheese ranch.
Toss in buffalo sauce and build the bowls
Toss the sliced chicken in buffalo sauce. Divide the rice among four containers and add the chicken, celery and carrots, with the ranch on the side.
Photos in this article are AI-generated illustrations of the recipe, created for AllRecipeEasy.
Tips and Troubleshooting
- Rest before slicing. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes after baking so the juices stay in the meat.
- Adjust the heat. For milder bowls, mix the buffalo sauce with 1 tablespoon of melted butter or honey. For more heat, add a few drops of plain hot sauce.
- Keep the crunch. Pack the celery and carrots in a separate section of the container, so they stay crisp next to the warm rice.
Substitutions
- Rotisserie chicken: Use 3 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken and skip baking. Warm it with the buffalo sauce in a skillet.
- Greek yogurt: Plain Greek yogurt can replace the cottage cheese in the ranch, with no blending needed.
- Blue cheese: Add 2 tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese to each bowl for a classic wing pairing.
Serving Suggestions
Eat these bowls warm, with the chicken and rice reheated, or cold like a salad. If you like a different flavor each day, alternate them with chicken fajita meal-prep bowls or the chicken enchilada cottage cheese bowls.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerate the bowls in airtight containers within 2 hours of cooking. They keep for up to 4 days, with the cottage cheese ranch in a separate small container. Reheat the chicken and rice until steaming hot (165°F), then add the cold vegetables and ranch. The cooked chicken and rice can be frozen for up to 2 months, but not the vegetables or ranch.
Food safety: Cook the chicken to 165°F / 74°C. Cool cooked rice quickly: spread it in a shallow container and refrigerate it within 2 hours.
Buffalo Chicken Cottage Cheese Bowls
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oven to 425°F / 220°C and line a sheet pan with parchment.
- Rub the chicken with the olive oil, garlic powder, smoked paprika and salt. Bake for 18–22 minutes, until the thickest part reads 165°F / 74°C.
- While the chicken bakes, blend the cottage cheese, ranch seasoning and 1 tablespoon of milk until smooth. Add more milk if needed. Refrigerate.
- Rest the chicken for 5 minutes, then slice or chop it and toss it with the buffalo sauce.
- Divide the rice among 4 containers. Top with the buffalo chicken, celery and carrots.
- Serve with the cottage cheese ranch on the side and green onions on top, if using.