Crunchy Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Breasts with Ranch Roasted Potatoes

Last week I was non-blog-meal planning and realized there is a severe shortage of chicken breast recipes out there. There’s a ton of chicken recipes using chicken breasts, but a lot of them call for chopping, shredding, or altering them in some way first. When chicken-dinner-time is of the essence I don’t want to do a whole lot to get a great meal on the table, which is why I came up with Crunchy Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Breasts with Ranch Roasted Potatoes!

Pockets sliced into the side of chicken breasts (which takes like, 5 seconds) are stuffed with a mixture of crumbly feta cheese and crispy green onions then slathered with homemade buffalo hummus and topped with crunchy gluten-free (or regular!) bread crumbs being being baked. Since every good dinner needs a great side dish, chopped red potatoes are tossed with homemade Ranch Dip Seasoning Mix then roasted at the same temperature as the chicken. The WHOLE THING is ready in 30 minutes. YES!

I mean, buffalo and ranch go together like, well, meat and potatoes. Ding, ding, ding!!

If you’ve never had roasted chicken breasts before then you’re in for a treat. They stay super juicy and the pop of flavor from the melty feta cheese and green onions in the center is just what plain chicken needs to give it a little somethin’ somethin’. The breakout star of this dish though is the roasted ranch potatoes.

CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP.

I had the leftovers out to feed Lincoln for dinner on Saturday night and my Dad started picking at them. Hey, what are these? Dad get a fork. Hey, wow, these are really good! Dad! Mitts off! I’ll just have a few more… Yoink. Game over.

That is to say they are tremendous. I was going to toss red potatoes with store-bought ranch dip seasoning mix but learned it has MSG in it which I’m just like, dude, no. Why? The homemade stuff takes 1 minute to mix together and you’ll never know the difference. Roasted to a dark-golden, ultra-toasty state, these potatoes will rock your world!

Start by making the aforementioned homemade Ranch Dip Seasoning Mix. Speaking of great blogger friends – this recipe is from Ali at Gimme Some Oven who lives in Kansas City and with whom I got to hang out with all ChoppedCon long – SUCH a treat! We met several years ago and became instant friends. Love her to pieces and not just because her homemade Ranch dip seasoning mix is on point or because she has the cutest dog ever named Henry that I held hostage in my arms for an hour on Friday night. Ahem. Anyway I halved her recipe, which calls for seasonings and spices including dill weed, chives, garlic powder, onion powder, etc and then added a bit more salt.

Add the seasonings to 2lbs chopped red baby potatoes with 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil then toss with your hands to evenly coat and spread out onto a nonstick sprayed, foil lined baking sheet.

Pop into the oven then roast for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Honestly I could smell these spices coming to life the instant the heat hit ’em in the oven.

Meanwhile, prep the crunchy stuffed buffalo chicken which will roast at the same temperature as the potatoes. Cut pockets into the sides of 4 chicken breasts then place them on another nonstick sprayed, foil lined baking sheet. Stuff the pockets with a mixture of 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese and 2 chopped green onions then press down firmly on the tops of the chicken breasts to make them as flat as possible. Pat dry then season liberally with salt and pepper.

Next mix the homemade buffalo hummus that’s not only going to season the chicken with a mouthwatering buffalo flavor, but also act like glue to keep the crunchy bread crumbs on top. Mix together 1/4 cup regular hummus with 2 Tablespoons buffalo wing sauce (not hot sauce,) and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more or less.) Sabra actually has a buffalo style hummus but I couldn’t find it at the grocery store so I just made my own!

Spread the tops and sides of the chicken with buffalo hummus (it will melt off if slathered on too thick,) then sprinkle either 1/2 cup pulverized Rice Chex to make gluten-free breadcrumbs, or 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs on top. Finally, add a heavy dash smoked paprika to the top of each chicken breast then mist or spray with extra virgin olive oil or nonstick spray.

Pop the chicken into the oven with the potatoes then roast for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and potatoes are roasty toasty. Serve with extra buffalo hummus for dipping, then dig in!

Crunchy Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Breasts with Ranch Roasted Potatoes

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gluten free

Description

Gluten-free Crunchy Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Breasts with Ranch Roasted Potatoes is a complete meal roasted at the same temperature in 30 minutes!

Ingredients

serves 4

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 green onions, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup regular hummus
• 2 Tablespoons buffalo wing sauce (not hot sauce)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more or less)
• 1/2 cup Rice Chex, pulverized OR 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• smoked paprika (optional)
• For the Ranch Roasted Potatoes:
  • 2lbs red potatoes, chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh chives OR 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
  • 3/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees then line two baking sheets with foil, spray with nonstick spray, and then set aside. Toss potatoes with oil and seasonings in a large bowl then spread out onto one of the prepared baking sheets and roast for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine feta and green onions together in a small bowl then set aside. Mix hummus with buffalo wing sauce and cayenne pepper in another small bowl then set aside. Cut a pocket into the side of each chicken breast then place on second prepared baking sheet. Stuff each pocket with a quarter of the feta/green onion mixture then press down firmly on top to make sure chicken breasts are as flat as possible. Pat the chicken dry, season the tops liberally with salt and pepper, and then spread the buffalo hummus all over the chicken (if you spread it on too thick it will melt off in the oven.) Sprinkle each chicken breast with a quarter of the pulverized rice chex or panko bread crumbs, sprinkle smoked paprika on top, and then mist or spray tops with extra virgin olive oil or nonstick spray.
3. Place chicken into the oven after the potatoes have been roasting for 15 minutes then roast the chicken and potatoes together for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are golden brown and chicken is cooked through (potatoes will roast for 30 minutes total.)

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.

This is such a simple yet flavor-packed dinner to make any night of the week. I just love that you can bake a full meal at the same temperature in under 30 minutes. Repeater, for sure (and oh, those potatoes!) Enjoy!