Baked Buffalo Chicken

Although I mainly cook and eat nutritious meals, I have a serious love for spicy, deep-fried wings slathered in rich, creamy sauces. That’s why I love this recipe for baked Buffalo chicken, which has all the flavor and crunch of the decadent appetizer without as many calories.

Made with boneless chicken breasts, classic Buffalo wing sauce and panko bread crumbs, it’s spicy, juicy and crunchy all at once. It xooks quickly in the oven, making it perfect for weeknight meals with the family, but you can also serve it for game day parties and potlucks. Recipe contributor Beth Zimmerman from Willingboro, New Jersey, suggests making extra because it disappears fast and leftovers are ideal, especially for topping salads, quinoa and black beans or sweet potato rice bowls.

Ingredients for Baked Buffalo Chicken

• Buffalo wing sauce: Use store-bought sauce, or steal the sauce recipe from our best-ever fried chicken wings.
• Chicken breasts: By working with boneless breasts instead of wings, you’ll end up with more meat and fewer leftover bits. However, you can make this with bone-in breasts, too (or even with drumsticks or thighs).
• Flour: All-purpose flour helps create a crunchy, crispy coating.
• Tarragon: Tarragon has a hint of licorice flavor, so if that’s not your thing, feel free to leave it out. Alternatively, try oregano, thyme or homemade Italian seasoning.
• Pepper: A few grinds of fresh black pepper complement the heat from the cayenne sauce.
• Panko bread crumbs: Panko is a light, crisp, Japanese-style bread crumb, made from soft, dense white bread. It adds an extra crunch to the exterior.

Directions

Step 1: Marinate the meat

Pour 1/3 cup of wing sauce into a shallow dish. Add the chicken and turn to coat it. Let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes, or refrigerate it, covered, for up to 24 hours.

Step 2: Bread the chicken

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Drain the chicken, discarding the marinade. In a shallow bowl, mix the flour, tarragon and pepper. Place the bread crumbs and remaining wing sauce in separate, shallow bowls. Dip the chicken in the flour mixture to coat it on all sides, then shake off any excess. Dip each piece in the wing sauce, then in the bread crumbs, patting to adhere the coating.

Editor’s Tip: Dipping something in dry ingredients like flour or bread crumbs to make a light coating is called “dredging.” Starting with flour gives the liquid and bread crumbs something to stick to, helping them adhere better.

Step 3: Bake the breasts

Place the chicken on a rack set in a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake it until a thermometer placed in the thickest part of the breast reads 165°, around 25 to 30 minutes.

Baked Buffalo Chicken Variations

• Use chicken tenders: Instead of using breast halves, you can make this dish with chicken tenders, which are a separate, smaller portion of the breast meat. You won’t need to cook these thinner strips for as long.
• Use chicken thighs: You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. These may take a little longer to bake in the oven, but the result will be a more flavorful and juicy baked chicken.
• Turn down the heat: Not into spicy cayenne sauce? You can make this recipe with other wing sauces, including honey mustard, lemon-pepper or Nashville BBQ.
• Season the flour: To add an extra layer of flavor to the recipe, season the flour with smoked paprika, chili powder or a bit of mixed-herb seasoning.

How to Store Baked Buffalo Chicken

For easy storage, pop leftover chicken pieces into an airtight glass container and store them in the fridge for up to four days.

How do you reheat baked Buffalo chicken?

You don’t want to cook the chicken any further, so reheat the pieces gently until they’re just hot. You can do this by baking them, covered, in a 350° oven, by heating them in a skillet with a little liquid, or by warming them in the microwave.

Baked Buffalo Chicken Tips

Can you make this with other cuts of chicken?

Yes! You can make baked Buffalo chicken with any part of the chicken, including wings. The trick is to adjust the cooking time appropriately. You’ll choose a shorter cooking time for smaller pieces and a longer cooking time for larger ones or pieces that contain bones.

What else can you serve with baked Buffalo chicken?

If you’re not adding this chicken to another dish, serve it with garlic roasted broccoli or a crisp salad with homemade ranch dressing and something starchy. Baked rice pilaf, garlic bread or crispy smashed potatoes would be good on the side.

How else can you use baked Buffalo chicken?

The uses for cooked Buffalo chicken are nearly endless. Add it to pita sandwiches along with shaved carrots, celery and buttermilk blue cheese dressing, or pop some into a hummus veggie wrap-up. If you pull or chop the chicken, you can add it to your favorite grain bowl or use it to top a Caesar salad or some hearty slaw. Making old-fashioned macaroni and cheese? Stir in a pile of spicy chicken. To double down on the zippy flavor, use this chicken when you make Buffalo chicken dip. You can put it on pizza, too.