Buffalo Chicken Chili
This Buffalo Chicken Chili is a spicy chicken chili with black beans, ground chicken, and your favorite hot sauce. The best part? This hearty, flavorful one pot meal is ready in under an hour!
Here we are, the last week of January.
Did you make any New Year resolutions? Or rather, did you break any of them yet?
Mine are pretty boring. There’s the usual eat healthier and exercise more.
I’ve been buying more bananas lately so I can make my banana mango smoothies and clementines for snacking.
I can’t go on a full sugar detox since making desserts is part of my job, so I have to balance it out with green onion salad.
For exercise, I haven’t been walking as much since it gets dark so early, but that’ll ramp back up once the sun sets at a more normal time.
Then of course another resolution is the dreaded menu planning.
Some weeks I really hit it out of the park and plan out the entire week effortlessly with my balsamic chicken with tomatoes.
Other weeks I’m struggling to figure out dinner at 4 PM when it’s time to prep and cook.
When you think of quick meals, chili may not be the first dish to come to mind as most recipes take a few hours to simmer.
However, I tend to be impatient so I made a quicker version with this Buffalo Chicken Chili recipe made on the stovetop. No need for a slow cooker!
I’ve had the idea to make this spicy chicken chili for a few years now but have never gotten around to it. Every time I put it on the list, it was soon replaced by another dinner recipe.
Finally I said January will be it – the month of buffalo chicken chili.
January felt like the ideal month to make it. One – it’s cold and dreary outside (or relatively warm and dreary, depending on Mother Nature’s mood).
And two – the Super Bowl is one month away so instead of making traditional baked buffalo wings, you can totally serve up buffalo chicken chili as Super Bowl food for two.
Ingredients For Buffalo Chicken Chili
To make your buffalo chicken chili (stovetop version), gather the following ingredients:
- Olive oil: Used for cooking the chicken
- Ground chicken: When I think of chili, I usually think of ground beef so I swapped ground chicken. You can also use leftover shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken.
- Onion, garlic, and carrot: Used to flavor the chili base
- Chili powder, paprika, cumin, and salt: Gives more depth of flavor to the chili
- Chicken broth: Helps build the chili sauce so the chicken isn’t dry
- Canned tomato sauce: This is plain tomato puree in a can. This is not the same as flavored spaghetti sauce.
- Canned tomatoes: My store sells petite diced tomatoes which is my go-to for the size, but you can use regular diced tomatoes as well.
- Black beans: I use canned so the beans were ready to go, but you can also make your own from dried beans if you don’t want leftover canned beans.
- Hot sauce: Use your favorite brand and adjust according to taste.
- Ranch dressing: It’s not buffalo chicken without ranch!
- Shredded cheese: Chili and cheese go together
- Green onion: For garnish
Do you add beans to chili?
Chili – to add or not to add beans?
I asked this question to a group of friends, and it was pretty split.
Half said they added beans while the other half were pretty adamant about no beans.
It boils down to whether you’re from the North or South.
Since I’m from PA, I’ve always had chili with beans, so I added black beans. Otherwise it’d just be ground chicken with sauce, which sounds a lot like homemade sloppy joes to me.
Since you’d be the one making and eating this buffalo chicken chili recipe, I’ll let you be the judge of adding beans.
How To Make Buffalo Chicken Chili
Making this recipe for buffalo chicken chili is super easy! Here’s how:
- Cook chicken, onion, and carrot in a large Dutch oven until chicken is brown and no longer pink. Add the garlic and spices then cook another minute.
- Stir in broth, tomato sauce, tomatoes, and beans then bring to a boil.
- Simmer until the chili starts to thicken.
- Add hot sauce, ranch, and cheese then cook until cheese melts. Taste and adjust for spice.
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
What To Do With Leftover Black Beans
Since you’ll have extra canned black beans, check out my vegetarian stuffed peppers and slow cooker beef enchiladas for two!
Buffalo Chicken Chili FAQ
Yes, chicken chili with black beans freezes well! Cool completely then freeze in a freeze-safe container for up to 3 months.
Yes, you can double this chili recipe especially if you’re serving it for a tailgating party.
Serve it with cornbread, tortilla chips, or a side salad.
More Buffalo Chicken Recipes
Can’t get enough spicy chicken? Check out these other buffalo chicken recipes:
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Buffalo Chicken Wing Soup
- Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
- Thin Crust Buffalo Chicken Pizza
- Buffalo Chicken Lasagna
- Buffalo Chicken Tacos
- Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese
Buffalo Chicken Chili
This Buffalo Chicken Chili is a spicy chicken chili with black beans, ground chicken, and your favorite hot sauce. The best part? This hearty, flavorful one pot meal is ready in under an hour!
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 pound (8 ounces) ground chicken
- 1/4 cup diced white onion
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, preferably kosher
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
- 1/4 cup canned tomato sauce (not spaghetti sauce)
- 1 cup canned petite diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 - 4 tablespoons hot sauce, to taste
- 2 tablespoons ranch dressing
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 green onion, sliced
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat the oil until hot. Add the chicken, onion, and carrot. Cook until chicken is brown, about 5-8 minutes. Drain any grease, if necessary.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, paprika, cumin, and salt then cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the broth, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot then stir in the tomato sauce, tomatoes, and beans. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until it starts to thicken.
- Stir in the hot sauce, ranch, and cheese until cheese has melted. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Right before serving, garnish each bowl with green onion.
Notes
- Instead of ground chicken, use 2 cups pre-cooked shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken.
- Enjoyed this recipe? Check out my Buffalo Mac and Cheese and Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese.
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First published January 7, 2016
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Looks ! Just went to the store to get the ground chicken, and just noticed the recipe calls for 1/2 lb. ground chicken. Just wanted to make sure this amount is right, as most chili recipes call for 1 lb. ground meat. Hopefully you see this right away, as I would like to make this tonight!! Thank you.
Yes that is correct. I cook on a small scale level since I cook for one. I actually did cook this with 1 pound the first time, and it made 6-8 servings. Using 1/2 pound makes around 4 servings or so.
I am really excited to try the buffalo chicken chili – just one question – can you define “tomato sauce?” Is it tomato paste, tomato juice, or something else? I realize there isnt much of it and I could eliminate it, but I wanted to ask! Thank you :)
The can actually says tomato sauce on it: https://www.google.com/search?q=canned+tomato+sauce&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwis19G_z5rKAhVMNT4KHRn6DE4Q_AUICCgC&biw=1366&bih=609 You should be able to find it next to the tomato paste, but it’s different than tomato paste. I highly recommend not eliminating it from the recipe because it’s part of the chili base. It won’t be the same without it.
Thank you for clarifying about the tomato sauce – I havent been to the store yet but will definitely get some tomato sauce! (being Italian, like you, I have a different meaning of “sauce”) Happy Friday!
I made this for our school chili cook-off this week. Since I work at a middle school and our students love spicy food, this chili was a hit! I quadrupled the recipe and ran out 30 minutes into the event.
That is awesome! Thank you for sharing and glad everyone enjoyed it :)
I wondered if I can substitute something for the Hummus in your recipe’s.
I’m assuming you’re referring to my Buffalo Chicken Taco Cups? https://www.chocolatemoosey.com/2016/01/18/buffalo-chicken-hummus-taco-cups/ You can use refried beans or even guacamole as a sub.
Hi! i decided to try this and we loved it, wish i had realized i needed to double the recipe for extra serving, was definately enough for 3 big bowls -3 of us but would of loved to have some for next day lunch-lol thats how delicious this was. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Thank you for the feedback! Glad everyone enjoyed it.
So, in regards to the Buffalo chili – when you say hot sauce…..do you mean lsomething like Texas Pete? Or Buffalo Sauce?
Yes, hot sauce as in Texas Pete. You can use buffalo wing sauce, but it’s a little more intense so you’ll want to taste while you add.
I’ definitely a chili with beans girl and this sounds heavenly for dinner on a cold, dreary day. Love that it’s quick and has a little kick to it to brighten up my taste buds. It sounds so yummy I can’t wait to try it.
Let me know what you think after making it!
I wonder if it would be good with white beans?
Yes, white beans should work.
Hi there! I am making this for a chili cook off this weekend. Do you have a specific hot sauce you like to use in this recipe? Thank you so much
I use a basic Louisiana hot sauce, but I don’t like it super hot. Feel free to experiment with your favorites!