An Instant Family Favorite - My Buffalo Chicken Casserole

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you may have been anticipating this recipe. I've gotten quite a few requests to hurry up and post it! Sorry that it took a while, but I promise it's worth the wait. It's become a quick family favorite in my house, and I hope it does for yours as well. I was actually sad when the leftovers ran out, and was already looking forward to the next time I would make it.

A while back I had seen a delicious looking Buffalo Chicken Casserole in one of my many food magazines. Unfortunately my large collection of food magazines has been in (or under) a box somewhere in our garage since our move last January. My husband is in no hurry to bring this huge collection of magazines back into the house.

A bit over a month ago I was craving this casserole that I'd never made. Since the magazine is buried somewhere I had to improvise. I looked around online to find the recipe, but could never find the exact one. Instead I got some recipe inspiration. I saw many different variations, some served it with pasta and others served with roasted potatoes. There was one recipe in particular that I found reposted over and over in multiple places, so I decided to make it. This recipe in particular used hot sauce, but didn't specify what type. My husband is a big fan of hot sauce so we usually have at least 4-5 different kinds in our pantry, but at the time his favorite (Crystal's) was gone. Since the brand or type wasn't specified in the recipe I improvised and used a different one that was pepper based and is used more with Mexican food. While the casserole turned out decent, it was very peppery and not at all buffalo chicken flavored. It reminded me more of an unstructured baked potato. A few weeks later I decided to try again, but this time creating my own. I wanted it to taste like a buffalo wing, complete with the celery on the side and the potato wedges you might order with it. I based the roasted potatoes part on the technique I use to season my roasted potato wedges, of course changing a lot of the flavors to suit this dish. The chicken is precooked and sauteed, and there's a healthy dose of buffalo wing sauce mixed with a few other things to give it that authentic buffalo chicken flavor. I added some celery and also added some pimiento for color. Also, I mixed medium cheddar cheese with pepper jack cheese to give it that good kick, and there's bacon mixed with green onions in the topping that adds just the right flavors to finish it off.

My older kids and my husband and I are big fans of buffalo chicken. I prefer it boneless but Big G loves his wings. We always eat ours with a side of ranch or blue cheese, so that's a great way to serve this dish as well. Even my younger boys loved this casserole, but it is a bit spicy so they had a healthy glass of milk to sip right after each bite. I'm very happy with how it turned out, it will definitely go into our regular rotation of meals and it's an instant favorite in my book. Next time I may create my own buffalo wing sauce, if I do I'll post again with that variation. But for now this is a definite winner for me!

Ingredients:

• 10 Russet Potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/8 teaspoon dried cayenne pepper
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon (divided)
• 3 pounds boneless chicken breast, cubed
• 1 tablespoon butter
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup mild hot wing sauce (mine was a very generic brand)
• 3 tablespoons Crystal hot sauce
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 ounces (1 small jar) diced pimiento's, drained
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 5 slices thick cut bacon
• 1 cup medium cheddar cheese
• 1 cup pepper jack cheese
• couple extra shakes of buffalo wing sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Cube potatoes, leaving skin on. Combine seasoned salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder, parsley and cayenne pepper with 1/3 cup olive oil. Mix in small bowl, then pour over cubed potatoes. Combine well.

Spray roasting pan with a light layer of Olive Oil, then spread seasoned potatoes in pan, drizzling any remaining seasonings over tops of potatoes.

Roast in preheated oven for about 40 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes to distribute the heat.

Remove potatoes once cooked through and lower heat to 400 degrees.

While the potatoes are cooking, combine cubed chicken with butter, salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. You can add a few small drops of hot wing sauce and hot sauce (not necessary, but I did!) Cook over medium heat. 

Once the chicken is starting to cook and only partially pink, add the chopped onions. 

Continue to saute until the chicken is cooked through and the onions are soft. 

Combine the minced garlic with 1 cup hot wing sauce and 3 tablespoons Crystal's Hot Sauce the pour the combination into the pan over the chicken.

Stir the sauce into the cooked chicken and onions with heat on. Once sauce is warmed just a bit, turn the heat off and add the chopped celery and pimientos. Stir to combine.

Cut up the strips of bacon into small pieces, then cook in a skillet on medium heat. I find this cooks better and saves time rather than cutting the cooked bacon. In a medium bowl, combine the shredded cheese with sliced green onions and the cooked bacon. Mix it up a bit.

Add the cooked chicken mixture over the roasted potatoes. Then sprinkle the cheese and bacon mixture on top. Tip: Add a couple extra shakes of the hot wing sauce on top, then bake for about 12-15 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Something like this, delicious cheesy buffalo goodness! Yum.

Serve with a side of celery, ranch, and what else? More hot wing sauce!

Enjoy!