by Danae · Published: Feb 5, 2023
Buffalo chicken sloppy joes are tangy, spicy, and perfect for an easy weeknight dinner or game day! Made with ground chicken, your favorite buffalo sauce, and some veggies for good measure.
Love sloppy joes? Try these Italian sloppy joes!
This post has been updated since it was originally published on 12/14/2015.
Why you’ll love them
30 minute meal – Sloppy joes are one of my favorite quick and easy dinners. From start to finish they can be on the table in 30 minutes.
Great leftovers – Sloppy joe filling is great for leftovers and an excellent option if you meal prep. The meat mixture will keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator.
One pan dinner – Hate doing dishes? You’re in luck! These buffalo sloppy joes are all made in skillet.
Spicy – Unlike classic sloppy joes, this version has a spicy kick to it thanks to the buffalo sauce. The heat from the sauce is tamed down with the cool and creamy blue cheese dressing.
The ingredients
- Ground chicken – Lean just like ground turkey. I recommend using ground chicken with some fat in it for the best flavor. I usually go with a 90/10.
- Onion – yellow or white onion can be used.
- Celery and carrots – Classically served on the side with hot wings, and a great way to get some vegges into these sloppy joes.
- Garlic – If you don’t want to use fresh garlic, substitute with a 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Tomato sauce – Balances out the spiciness of the buffalo sauce.
- Buffalo sauce – Tangy and spicy. You can use mild, medium or hot depending on how spicy you want them.
- Worcestershire sauce – It has a unique tangy, umami flavor.
- Blue cheese – I like to buy a wedge of blue cheese and crumble it myself for the best flavor and texture.
- Plain Greek yogurt – 2% or full fat are best for the dressing.
- Lemon and apple cider vinegar – The acid for the blue cheese dressing. If you don’t have both just use one or the other.
- Garlic and onion powder
- Fresh dill – I love using fresh dill in the dressing, but you can replace it with a 1/2 teaspoon of dried dill if needed.
How to make buffalo chicken sloppy joes
Sauté the vegetables – Sauté the onion, celery, and carrots until they’re tender, about 5-6 minutes. Add in the garlic and sauté another minute.
Brown and crumble the chicken – Push the vegetables to one side of the skillet and add in the ground chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and crumble the meat with a wooden spoon or spatula. Cook until it’s no longer pink.
Combine ingredients and simmer – Stir together the vegetables and ground chicken. Pour in the worcestershire, tomato sauce, and buffalo sauce and stir. Lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pan with a lid or piece of foil if you don’t have a lid. Let the meat mixture simmer for about 15 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
Make the blue cheese dressing – In a small bowl combine the yogurt, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, water, garlic and onion powder, salt, pepper, and blue cheese crumbles. Whisk everything together until combined. If the dressing is too thick add in extra water a teaspoon at a time.
Assemble – On top of toasted or warmed buns, add some of the buffalo chicken mixture and top it with a couple dollops of the blue cheese dressing. If you love blue cheese, add some extra crumbles to the sloppy joes.
How to serve them
- On toasted buns. I love toasting the buns so the filling doesn’t soak right through them.
- On top of a romaine or iceberg lettuce salad.
- Make lettuce cups or wraps out of them.
- Use tortillas and make a wrap.
- On top of pasta or rice.
Substitutions
- Use ground turkey or ground beef instead of ground chicken.
- Substitute the blue cheese dressing with my homemade ranch dressing that I used on top of these buffalo chicken zucchini boats.
- Use bell pepper instead of celery.
- Shred the carrots instead of dicing them for a different texture or if you’re trying to sneak them in for a picky eater.
Make ahead and freezing
The sloppy joe filling can be made several days ahead of time. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and reheat in a a saucepan or skillet on the stove when you’re ready to eat it. You can also reheat it in the microwave.
The chicken filling can be frozen for up to 3 months. After you’ve cooked it, let it cool completely, then put it in a freezer bag or airtight container and into the freezer.
More buffalo chicken recipes
- Buffalo Chicken Salad with Spicy Ranch Dressing
- Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Buffalo Chicken Skillet
- Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Blue Cheese Coleslaw
- Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders
Did you make these buffalo chicken sloppy joes? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Yield: 4 servings
Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Ingredients
Sloppy Joes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced carrots
- 1 clove of garlic, grated or minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup buffalo sauce
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 4 buns
Blue Cheese Dressing
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons water, more as needed
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the onion, celery, carrots, salt and pepper and sauté until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Add in the garlic and sauté another minute. Push the vegetables off to one side of the skillet.
- Add in the ground chicken and crumble it with a wooden spoon or spatula. Season it with salt and pepper and cook until browned and no longer pink. Stir the vegetables and ground chicken together.
- Pour in the worcestershire, tomato sauce, and buffalo sauce and stir everything together. Cover the skillet with a lid and lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- While the meat mixture simmers, make the blue cheese dressing. Combine all of the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk together. Taste for seasoning. If the dressing is too thick add a teaspoon of water at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- To assemble the sloppy joes, toast or warm the buns. Top them with some of the buffalo chicken filling and spoon on the blue cheese dressing.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 460Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 127mgSodium: 733mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 3gSugar: 10gProtein: 39g
Nutritional information is an estimate. Please consult a registered dietician for the most accurate nutritional information.
