Fill that open spot on your dinner menu with this hearty, wholesome, cheesy and oh-so-flavorful Buffalo Chicken Bake with Spaghetti Squash and Ranch!
This post was created in collaboration with our friends at Organic Valley.
Feeling stuck in a dinner rut? Give this Buffalo Chicken Bake a try!
It’s all too easy for dinner menus to become monotonous. Spaghetti on Monday, tacos on Tuesday, plain ‘ol chicken and veggies on Wednesday, Thursday is fend for yourself and by Friday you have no idea what to make so you order pizza. AND repeat. I totally get it. Life gets busy and we get stuck in ruts. While there’s nothing wrong with those meals I listed per se, it’s easy to become bored. And food, my friend, should NEVER be boring. Therefore, I challenge you to try one new recipe a week! That’s it. Just one. From there, create a list of recipes you want to continue to have as part of your menu rotation. Mix it up, try new foods and have fun with it!
So how about we start the challenge off with this Buffalo Chicken Bake? This is a recipe I’ve been dreaming up for quite some time. It’s hearty, it’s cheesy, it’s wholesome and it’s loaded with veggies! Low-carb comfort food at its finest.
Loaded with veggies, low in carbs…and they’ll never know!
Any time I can sneak in veggies to a recipe and witness my husband eat AND enjoy it is a winner and must be shared. Little does he know that this Buffalo Chicken Bake is loaded with veggies including bell peppers, onion, kale and spaghetti squash. Now if kale is totally a stretch for the people you’re feeding, feel free to omit it and serve with a side of roasted broccoli instead or in addition if you wish. Heck, add in veggies whenever the opportunity arises! #morevegforthewin
So what’s the secret for sneaking in the veggies? The combination of Organic Valley melted mozzarella cheese, tender chicken chunks, buffalo sauce and creamy ranch in this recipe add a depth of flavor and heartiness that very stealthily masks.all.the.veggies. I’ve also found that cooking onions and bell peppers until they’re very tender with little to no crunch is key when sneaking them in without complaints. Oh, the tricks I’ve learned in the 7 years of being married to a non-veggie-loving hubby.
Make it an easy weeknight meal with these prep-ahead tips.
The great thing about this Buffalo Chicken Bake is that there are several steps you can execute a day or two before it’s on the menu. These steps are as follows: bake the spaghetti squash, cook the chicken and cube or shred it, and pre-chop the veggies. You could even go as far as prepping the entire recipe up to the point of baking.
This recipe also tastes great when reheated and is freezer-friendly, too. I freeze it in an airtight container and separate the servings with a piece of parchment paper for easy removal. Simply reheat in a microwave or in an oven set at 350°F until center is cooked through.
How to make chicken breasts? Our Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipe is my go-to. It’s super easy and will take just a few minutes of your time. You can also bake the chicken in a 400°F oven. Just toss the chicken with oil, salt and pepper, and place on baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake the chicken for 22-25 minutes or until the internal temp of the chicken is 165°F. Allow the chicken to rest and cool before cubing.
Made with Organic Valley Cheese, Eggs and Ghee (or Butter).
Organic Valley is my go-to when it comes to purchasing dairy products. Not only are their products made with quality ingredients and absolutely delicious, they also take great pride in how they raise and care for the animals and proudly support and involve the farmers. When I eat Organic Valley‘s products, I feel good know where my food comes from and knowing that it was made with love and passion. Here are a couple of messages from Organic Valley that I appreciate and I know you will, to0:
At Organic Valley, we like to keep things honest and simple. Like dairy produced with no added hormones, antibiotics or toxic pesticides. Produce grown the organic way, with none of the toxins or synthetic fertilizers. And cheese made by farmers and artisans who care about the environment, the animals and you — our customers.
Animal care matters. When we give our cows the best, they give us the best. Organic Valley knows the benefits of happy and healthy animals.
This recipe futures Organic Valley Mozzarella Cheese (block or shredded), Organic Valley Eggs, and Organic Valley Ghee or Butter.
To find Organic Valley products in a store near you use their product locator here. And for more delicious recipes featuring Organic Valley product, go here.
Will you be busting your dinner rut with this Buffalo Chicken Bake? If you do, I can’t wait to hear what you think!
Note: To make this recipe less mild and more family friendly, use a mild buffalo sauce. I used The New Primal Mild Buffalo Sauce, but you could also use our Homemade Buffalo Sauce and omit the cayenne.
Video: how to make buffalo chicken bake
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below & we’ll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!
Buffalo Chicken Bake
Buffalo Chicken Bake with Spaghetti Squash is hearty, cheesy and loaded with veggies. It’s the answer to your weeknight dinner prayers and a delicious way to change up the menu! This recipe is gluten-free, grain-free and low-carb. Recipe sponsored by Organic Valley.
Ingredients
- 1 medium spaghetti squash (2-2½ lbs.)
- 1 Tbsp. Organic Valley Ghee or Butter
- 2–3 cups chopped kale, stems removed
- 1 red bell pepper, diced (or ½ green bell pepper + ½ red bell pepper)
- ½ small onion, diced
- ¾ lb. chicken breast, cooked and shredded or cubed (~2 cups)
- ½ cup ranch dressing + additional for topping (homemade or store-purchased)
- ¼ cup buffalo sauce + additional for topping (homemade or store-purchased)
- 2 Organic Valley Whole Eggs
- 4–6 oz. Organic Valley mozzarella cheese, shredded
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
For the squash (this step can be done the day before):
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Cut off ends of spaghetti squash. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place squash cut-side down on a baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes or until squash is soft to touch. Remove from oven, flip squash over and allow to cool. Once cooled, remove spaghetti squash strands with a fork. Place squash in a cheesecloth, nut milk bag or flour sack towel and squeeze to remove some of the excess liquid. Note: not all liquid needs to be removed.
For the Casserole:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- In a pan over medium heat add the ghee or butter. Once hot, add the kale, diced pepper and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté until kale is cooked down and peppers and onion are tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine the spaghetti squash, chicken, sautéed veggies, ranch, buffalo sauce, eggs, and mozzarella cheese. Stir to combine.
- Transfer to a greased 9×9 squash dish or casserole dish. Spread out. Drizzle top with a little buffalo sauce, about 1-2 Tbsp.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes uncovered. Top with additional cheese if you wish and bake for another few minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Remove from oven. Let set for 5 minutes before serving.
- To serve, top with additional buffalo sauce and ranch if desired and sliced green onions or chopped cilantro.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive so we can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/5 of recipe
- Calories: 320
- Fat: 19 g
- Sodium: 650 mg
- Carbohydrate: 8 g
- (Fiber: 2 g
- Sugar: 3 g)
- Protein: 28 g
Dietary
This post was made possible by our friends at Organic Valley. Although we received compensation for this post, the opinions expressed here are – as always -100% our own. Thank you for supporting the great companies we work with thereby allowing us to continue creating great recipes and content for you.
This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.
All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on The Real Food Dietitians. Thank you!
I made this last night and it was REALLY freaking delicious. I 110% recommend it! It will definitely be part of my regular round-up. However, I have a few objections with this post – first, you say that the prep time is 20 minutes and the cook time is 40 minutes, for a total of 1 hour. This does not include having to cook the spaghetti squash (45 minutes) OR the chicken (20 minutes)! This took me a good 90 minutes to make and I had already cooked the chicken the night before. Would love for you to update this recipe for a more realistic time frame.
The second thing is that since you have affiliate links in this post, you need to put the disclaimer BEFORE any affiliate links appear on the page. I see you’ve put the disclaimer at the bottom of the post, which is against FTC laws. Please move your disclaimer to the beginning of the post, before any links.
Thanks for your feedback Hayley! Glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Delicious!!!
Stacy,
I absolutely love your recipes! They are delicious and not overly complicated with obscure ingredients and miles of instructions. I appreciate you!
This is great feedback and exactly what we want to hear! Thank you 🙂
Your recipes, while solidly healthy, can be frustrating in the directions at times. Especially recipes including precooked ingredients, but not including links on how to quickly meal prep those ingredients. And then trying to scroll though all the ads, pics that all looks the same, and other random recipe video demos mostly make it not worth preparing and using the recipe.
Thank you for your feedback. While we try to make the recipe directions as comprehensive as possible, it’s not always possible to link to basic preparation methods on our site as we haven’t created those posts yet – but we do intend to start adding some as the number of new cooks coming to our site for recipes increases.
Loved it! It was my first time trying spaghetti squash, and it was great!