What are you having for dinner?
I’ve said recently that I’m craving warmer weather and lighter foods, but I’m still hanging on to cozy sweaters and comfort food. I think this buffalo ranch chicken ticks off the boxes for being both a fresh and comfort food kind of meal. If you’re looking for a dinner idea, no matter what time of the year, then I highly recommend this chicken.
You’ve got crispy (when it’s fresh from the oven) baked chicken, seasoned with hot sauce and ranch-like spices. Comfort food, check. I enjoyed it with a salad (lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, avocado, and feta cheese). Light Spring-y food, check. You can also enjoy this with crispy baked potato wedges, rice, couscous, or broccoli.
No matter what the side dish is, don’t skip the goddess dressing. The yogurt and herbs are a lovely compliment to the spicy chicken. Use it as a salad dressing, dip the potato wedges in it, sip it by the spoonful, you get the idea. 😉
Buffalo Ranch Chicken with Goddess Dressing Recipe
(Makes about 4 servings)
Ingredients for Buffalo Ranch Chicken:
- 1/2 cup hot sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot Original.), divided per the directions
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 pound chicken breast
Ingredients for Goddess Dressing:
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
- 1 jalapeno, seeds removed
- juice from 1/2 a lemon
Directions for Buffalo Ranch Chicken:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a big bowl, add about half of the hot sauce.
- In a shallow bowl, whisk together the panko bread crumbs, dried parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne powder, salt and pepper.
- Place the chicken in the bowl of hot sauce and flip it around so that the chicken is completely covered with the hot sauce.
- Then place the sauced chicken in the bowl of panko crumb mixtures and press firmly on both sides so that the panko crumb mixture coats all sides of the chicken. (I found that the panko crumb mixture does not stick easily so press firmly to help it stick.)
- Carefully move the chicken to the prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat steps 4 – 6 until all the chicken is on the pan.
- Bake the chicken in the preheated oven for 15 to 25 minutes or until the chicken pieces reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. (The time will vary depending on the size of your chicken. My chicken breasts were pretty big and took about 23 minutes.)
- Serve the chicken with your favorite side dishes or on your favorite things (like rice, couscous, salad, pita, etc.).
- Drizzle some of the remaining hot sauce on top of the chicken, to taste.
- Drizzle the goddess dressing on top of everything.
Directions for Goddess Dressing:
- In a food processor (or really good blender), add all of the ingredients for the goddess dressing and blend until it’s smooth.
Adapted from: Half Baked Harvest
