EASY Baked or Grilled Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Foil Packets bursting with juicy chicken and tender, flavorful potatoes and broccoli all smothered in cheddar and dipped in Ranch Crema!
These chicken foil packets are SO addictingly delicious and a meal-in-one that are quick to throw together and even quicker to clean up!
CHICKEN FOIL PACKETS RECIPE VIDEO
Remember when I shared my Italian Mozzarella Chicken Foil Packets a few weeks ago as the winning vote of asking my IG friends (IG pic HERE) which of 3 Chicken Foil Packet recipes they wanted me to share first? Well, I didn’t want to bias the jury then, but while I loved all 3 chicken foil dinners, these Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Packets were BOTH Patrick and my favorite.
They are exploding with flavor, have a little kick of heat but still totally kid friendly, and the combo of buffalo + chicken + potatoes + broccoli + cheese = winner winner the best Chicken Foil Packet Dinner! These Buffalo Chicken Foil Packets boast hardly any clean up, can be grilled or baked, are a meal all in one, and a convenient make-ahead meal or grab and go lunch (just pull a cooked packet out of the fridge and reheat). There is so much to love about these chicken foil packets and that’s before you even taste them!
The flavor infusing star of the Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Foil Packets is the wet rub and it creates the juiciest chicken around. My other tip for crazy juicy chicken and the most successful chicken foil packets (as I explained in detail HERE) is microwaving your longer cooking veggies for a few minutes so you cook your chicken foil packets just until your chicken is done and NOT until your veggies are done. This ensures your chicken isn’t overcooked because overcooked chicken is dry chicken – not on my watch!
I used a very modified version of my popular Buffalo Chicken Marinade consisting of olive oil, Frank’s Buffalo WINGS Sauce (NOT original), splashes of lime juice and brown sguar, and hand picked spices resulting in a rounded, dynamic Buffalo flavor that is SO crazy delicious. ¼ cup of this Buffalo Wet Rub coats the veggies (no boring veggies here!) and the rest of the Wet Rub gets slathered all over the chicken for 30 minutes or you can prep ahead and refrigerate up to 4 hours.
The robust Buffalo deliciousness is complimented by the refreshing, tangy creamy Ranch Crema. Because Buffalo + Ranch = perfection. And you + Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Foil Packets + Ranch Crema = complete and total foodie bliss.
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Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Foil Packets with Veggies and Ranch Crema (Baked or Grilled)
Ingredients
- 2 8 oz. chicken breasts sliced horizontal OR 4 4 oz. chicken breasts pounded to an even thickness
Buffalo Marinade
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup Frank’s BUFFALO WINGS Hot Sauce not original
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tsp EACH garlic powder, chili powder, salt
- 1/2 tsp EACH ground cumin, smoked paprika, onion powder
- 1//4 teaspoon pepper
Veggies
- 2 1/2 cups red potatoes cut into 1/4-1/2” cubes
- 3 1/2 cups medium broccoli florets uniform size
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
Ranch Crema
- 1/2 cup sour cream (may sub Greek yogurt)
- 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Marinate
- Whisk together all of the Buffalo Marinade ingredients in a shallow dish or freezer bag (whatever you are going to marinate chicken in). Remove ¼ cup Marinade for vegetables. Add chicken to marinade in bag, remove excess air and turn to coat. Marinate room temperature up to 30 minutes while you prep your veggies or 2-4 hours in the refrigerator.
- Meanwhile, add potatoes to a large microwave safe bowl. Add 1 tablespoon water. Cover, and microwave 3 minutes. Add broccoli. Microwave an additional 2 minutes. Drain.
- Add ¼ cup reserved Buffalo Marinade to vegetables. Season with freshly cracked salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Refrigerate if not using immediately.
Assemble
- Double line 4 large pieces of foil on your counter (8 pieces total), approximately 18 inches long. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray. Add one piece of chicken to each piece of foil. Evenly divide veggies between foil packets, placing around chicken. Seal foil packets closed and transfer to a baking sheet.
BAKING INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes OR until veggies are tender and chicken is cooked through (internal temp of 165 degrees F). Carefully open each foil packet and sprinkle chicken and veggies with cheese. Leave foil open and broil until cheese is melted. Serve with Ranch Crema and additional Buffalo Sauce if desired.
GRILLING INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat grill to medium-high heat. Add foil packets, CLOSE LID, and grill at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes OR until veggies are tender and chicken is cooked through (internal temp of 165 degrees F). Carefully open each foil packet and sprinkle chicken and veggies with cheese. Leave foil open and close grill id until cheese is melted. erve with Ranch Crema and additional Buffalo Sauce if desired.
Video
Notes
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Carlsbad Cravings© Original
Danica says
This looks wonderful. The ranch crema is very interesting to me, and I can’t wait to make it. Hope you continuing forward in your recovery and are feeling better!
Jen says
Thank you so much for your kind words Danica! I am feeling really well, thank you! I hope you love this recipe as much as us, can’t wait to hear what you think!
Abbey says
I just made these tonight for my hubby and I, and it’s our new favorite meal!
I just want to say that I’ve honestly printed out about 25-30 of your recipes over the past two years or so and put them in a cook book because we loved them so much! I make about two of them every week. We both work night shift in an ER, and your website has made it SO EASY to pick out meals for the week without worrying about anything turning out poorly, or wasting our time and money. Literally every recipe I’ve tried has turned out perfectly cooked and crazy delicious. It’s by far the greatest site online for recipes, and my whole family agrees! Thank you so, so, so much! 🙂
Jen says
Wahoo! I loved waking up to your awesome comment Abbey, thank you so much! I am thrilled this is your new favorite meal and more so that you have tried so many of my recipes and they’ve made it into the “binder” 🙂 I am honored you trust my recipes and that they are making your life easier and more delicious – the ultimate compliment! Thank you so much for your flattery and for making me smile eary to ear! xo
Holly Randazzo says
WOW! Made this tonight! LOVED it!
I didn’t have Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce, just made it with Frank’s Original. I will be looking forward to trying it with the Wing Sauce version, but honestly, I don’t think it could be any better!! I use Penzeys Spices and used the Chili 3000, for my chili powder. I also didn’t have ranch dressing seasoning, but used Green Goddess Seasoning , in the crema. I also used Greek yogurt, in place of the mayo, the sauce was divine! I am getting Buttermilk Ranch dressing mix and the wing sauce version of Frank’s, today! Totally making it your way, as soon as the end of the week! What a GREAT recipe! Thanks for all your inspiration, in the kitchen, and in LIFE! Stay well!
Holly Randazzo
Jen says
Thank you so much Holly, I am so happy it was such a hit! I’m glad it was so delicious with your substitutions and now I’m curious which version you will end up liking better! I have never used Greek Goddess Seasoning but now I am totally intrigued and have to try it! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and for the well wishes! All the best to you and yours as well xo
Meg says
I can’t wait to try this! It’s marinading as we speak. I’m always on the hunt for new recipes and I’m so glad I found your site. I’m big into making home cooked meals for my family despite an insane schedule. I just started a blog of my own and this week I’m testing out new recipes- almost all yours. Can’t wait to see how they go!
Jen says
I hope you loved them Meg! and congrats on the adventure of starting a blog – its a lot of work – but its fun and rewarding!
Kelsey says
We made this a couple days ago and it was SO good!!!! The ranch crema was a perfect sauce to go with it!! Making the Italian chicken packet tonight! Thanks for all the great recipes!!
Jen says
You are so welcome Kelsey, thanks for making them and thanks for taking the time to comment! I am so happy you loved these Buffalo packets and hopefully love the Italian ones too!
layne says
Super delicious! I loved the crema with the chicken!
Jen says
Thanks Layne! I can’t turn down a good crema, they make everything better!
Ariella says
Eating this as we speak and it is so delicious! I agree with most other commenters here that your recipes are all consistently wonderful. I used to go to Pinterest for new recipe ideas, and now I just go straight to your website instead. Everything I have ever made has been out-of-this-world incredible. My favorites include the shredded Mexican slow cooker chicken and Greek chicken, as well as this dish! Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes with us!
Jen says
I am so happy you love these foil packets Ariella, thank you! Thank you also for your super thoughtful words! I am so flattered my site is your go-to for recipes and that you have loved everything you have made – that is the ultimate compliment!
courtney says
very good
Jen says
Thank you!
Amber says
Could I cut up the chicken into chunks and do it that way?
Jen says
Absolutely! You’ll just want to make sure you don’t overcook the chicken as it will cook faster that way.
Dolores Gaona says
Can you freeze the chicken with marinade for future meals?
I was thinking of preparing the chicking ahead of time and storing in the freezer so that we can take with us when we go camping.
Jen says
Absolutely! That would work great!