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Buffalo Chicken Thighs with Greek Yogurt Ranch is seriously good, and a total must-try!
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Often when you think of buffalo chicken, you think boneless-buffalo wings, some celery and carrots, and a creamy dipping sauce. This recipe is KIND OF like that, but not really. My vision for these buffalo chicken thighs are more: simple weeknight dinner, rather than game-day style.
Overall, I’d say the goal was achieved! These chicken thighs are first coated in some lightly seasoned flour, then baked until crispy, tossed in some buffalo sauce (you can buy it or make it yourself), and served over rice (or a salad/bowl) and topped with some bright, zingy, greek yogurt ranch!
Last week I made this Copycat Chick-fil-A Zesty Buffalo Sauce, and that is what I used in this recipe. You can go ahead and make a batch of it for yourself, or just use good ‘ol store-bought. You can get Frank’s Buffalo Sauce right here.
I’ll be adding the recipe for the CFA Copycat Zesty Buffalo Sauce in the notes section of the recipe card below for your convenience and reference! 🙂
Ingredients you'll need...
For the chicken:
- Chicken thighs - trimmed + cut into 1-inch cubes.
- Flour - for dredging the chicken.
- Spices - (garlic powder, salt and pepper) for seasoning the flour just a little bit.
- Olive oil - as needed for drizzling on top of the chicken bites.
- Buffalo sauce - (make it yourself or store bought) I’ll add a recipe for homemade buffalo sauce in the notes section of the recipe card.
- Green onions - totally optional for garnish, but they taste great and they look great piled on top of the finished dish.
For the Greek yogurt ranch:
- Greek yogurt - full fat, unsweetened Greek yogurt for the best results.
- Cilantro - chopped, for herb-y flavor.
- Garlic powder - for flavor.
- Lemon juice - fresh is best, for some zing.
- Onion powder - for the classic “ranch” flavor.
- Paprika - for flavor, trust me on this one. I never make ranch without it, and now you won’t either!
- Kosher salt - just a pinch.
- Pepper - just a pinch for some flavor.
Step-by-step process (with photos)
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
Toss the flour and spices together.
Dredge each chicken thigh into the flour mixture and place onto a parchment-lined, lipped baking sheet (not touching). Repeat this process until all of the chicken is coated.
Liberally drizzle with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes. Flip them, and bake for another 5-10 minutes (or until they have a golden brown crust).
***While the chicken bakes, make your Greek yogurt ranch (see below).
Remove them from the oven and toss with ½ cup of buffalo sauce. Return to the oven and bake for 3 minutes (just enough for the sauce to bake onto the chicken pieces).
Garnish with green onions and serve over rice, with salad, or bowl-style with Greek yogurt ranch!
How to make Greek yogurt ranch
To make the Greek yogurt ranch, simply whisk all of the ingredients together (see the infographic above or the recipe card below for exact measurements.
How to make homemade buffalo sauce
- ½ cup Frank’s Red Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp white sugar
In a saucepan over low heat, whisk all of the ingredients together until they’re melted.
Once melted, remove from the heat and allow it to come to room temperature.
Store in a mason jar in the fridge for 2 weeks.
Substitutions + variations
If you’d like to make some substitutions, I recommend treading carefully, as I haven’t tested this recipe with a ton of them.
However, here are a few that will work:
- Flour - you can swap it out for cornstarch or arrowroot powder.
- Olive oil - you can spritz the chicken with cooking spray instead of drizzling olive oil. Additionally, you can swap out the olive oil for peanut oil.
- Greek yogurt - you can use mayonnaise or do ½ and ½. Sour cream also works.
Variations (mostly to the buffalo sauce):
- Garlic buffalo sauce: add minced garlic to the recipe for a more complex, garlicky flavor.
- Honey buffalo sauce: add a tablespoon of honey to your buffalo sauce.
- Buffalo ranch: after you make the zesty buffalo sauce, cool it down to room temperature and mix in 2 tablespoons of ranch dressing.
- BBQ buffalo sauce: after you make and cool the zesty buffalo sauce, stir in 2 tablespoons of bbq sauce. (This is delicious, by the way!)
- Cajun buffalo sauce: add a teaspoon of cajun spice blend to the buffalo sauce.
Storage + reheating
You can store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
To reheat, you can heat the chicken in the microwave on high for 2-3 minutes (or until warmed through). Or you can reheat them in the oven on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.
FAQs
What’s the best way to serve buffalo chicken thighs?
You can serve them over rice, in a bowl (rice + roasted veggies), or just dip them right into the sauce and eat them nugget-style.
Are buffalo chicken thighs spicy?
Yes, these are spicy. Being spicy is kind of the appeal of buffalo sauce, if you’re not into a little kick, then this may not be the recipe for you. However, they’re not THAT spicy. Frank’s Buffalo Sauce isn’t as spicy as say, Tabasco sauce.
Related recipes
If you love sheet pan dinner and spicy-sweet flavor, you'll love these related recipes!
Buffalo Chicken Thighs with Greek Yogurt Ranch
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN THIGHS
- 5 chicken thighs cut into 1-inch cubes
- ½ cup flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- Olive oil as needed
- ½ cup buffalo sauce make it yourself or store bought *see notes.
- Green onions for garnish
FOR THE GREEK YOGURT RANCH
- ¾ cup greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp paprika
- 1 pinch kosher salt to taste
- 1 pinch pepper to taste
Instructions
FOR THE CHICKEN THIGHS
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit.
- Toss the flour and spices together.
- Dredge each chicken thigh into the flour mixture and place onto a parchment-lined, lipped baking sheet (not touching). Repeat this process until all of the chicken is coated.
- Liberally drizzle with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes. Flip them, and bake for another 5-10 minutes (or until they have a golden brown crust).
- Remove them from the oven and toss with ½ cup of buffalo sauce. Return to the oven and bake for 3 minutes (just enough for the sauce to bake onto the chicken pieces).
- Garnish with sliced green onions.
FOR THE GREEK YOGURT RANCH
- In a bowl, whisk together the greek yogurt, cilantro, garlic powder, lemon juice, onion powder, paprika, kosher salt and pepper.
- If it’s too thick for your liking (this will depend on the brand of greek yogurt you’re using), you can add a little bit of unsweetened milk (of your choice) to the ranch. I recommend doing this 1 tsp at a time because you don’t want it to get watery.
- Cover it and place it into the fridge until you’re ready to serve it.
Notes
- ½ cup Frank’s Red Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp white sugar
- You can store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
- To reheat, you can heat the chicken in the microwave on high for 2-3 minutes (or until warmed through). Or you can reheat them in the oven on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.
Nutrition
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