Sweet, spicy, and savory, these ground volcano chicken bowls are perfect for a busy weeknight. Even better, these bowls reheat wonderfully and make for an easy meal prep as well! Ready in 30 minutes or less!
Inspired by this delicious mall food court meal I had with fried chicken tossed in a spicy but sweet sauce, this ground chicken volcano bowl is an easy and quick version of that!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It takes like 30 minutes to make! Instead of frying the chicken, I’m using ground chicken so it cooks up super quickly. It’s also perfect for a weeknight meal on a busy night, as it comes together quickly.
- It reheats like a dream. You can meal prep these volcano bowls for lunch throughout the week. You can even freeze the entire recipe for an easy freezer meal to enjoy a month or two later.
- It’s easy to customize to make it as spicy or as sweet as you’d like. You can swap the peas for a vegetable of your choice. This ground chicken bowl recipe is forgiving, so you can swap ingredients with what you want on hand!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Most of what you need for these spicy ground chicken bowls are pantry staples! These are the key ingredients and you can find the full list of ingredients with measurements in the recipe card down below!
for the spicy sauce — for the sauce, you’ll need orange juice (no pulp!), cornstarch (to thicken), buffalo sauce, brown sugar (I like dark brown sugar), garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes.
oil — I cook the dish in olive oil, but you can use any neutral oil such as avocado oil.
aromatics — I dice up a yellow onion and garlic. For a speedier prep, I always have minced garlic in my freezer so I can just pull out a tablespoon as needed. There’s also pre-diced onions sold in the frozen section (or DIY it!) to decrease the prep time.
salt — I use kosher salt.
ground chicken — I’m using lean ground chicken, but feel free to use what you have on hand! You can also swap the ground chicken for ground turkey instead if you prefer.
frozen peas — for a quick vegetable addition to this bowl, I add frozen peas. I love using frozen peas because they’re so convenient. You can use your favorite frozen veggie if you’re not a fan of peas.
rice — I serve with jasmine rice, but you can use whatever rice you prefer.
garnishes — garnishes are always optional, but I like to top off my bowls with toasted sesame seeds and green onions.
How to Make Volcano Chicken Rice Bowls
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice and cornstarch. Mixing the cornstarch with the liquid first will help it blend in better.
- Add the buffalo sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper to the bowl.
- Mix the sauce until well combined and set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and add the diced onions. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salt and minced garlic and saute for another minute.
- Add the ground chicken and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, making sure to break up the pieces with your spatula or wooden spoon.
- Add the buffalo sauce mixture to the skillet.
- Stir until everything is combined and lower the heat from medium to medium low. Let the ground chicken simmer for 4 to 5.
- Add the frozen peas and stir until they have cooked through.
- Garnish with some toasted sesame seeds and green onions and serve over rice.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- If I’m making these volcano bowls ahead of time, I don’t cook the sauce all the way to my desired thickness. I let it stay a little more runny than I prefer and when I reheat the bowls, the sauce will thicken perfectly.
- Ground chicken cooks up pretty quickly, so make sure not to cook it through entirely before adding in the sauce, or it’ll dry out.
- You can make it spicier by adding more buffalo sauce or red pepper flakes. Alternatively, if you’d like it sweeter, add more brown sugar to the sauce.
- Frozen corn, broccoli, carrots, snap peas, green beans, and bell peppers are great additions or alternatives to the frozen peas.
- I usually serve this with jasmine rice (see this post on how I make jasmine rice), but it’s great with purple rice as well. For even more veg, try my Japanese corn rice!
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: once cooled, store the volcano chicken bowls in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. You can store them meal prep style with the chicken and rice together or store them separately!
- Freezer: allow the ground chicken to cool before transferring to an airtight container and freezing. Store for up to 3 months. You can also freeze it in portions with rice and reheat from frozen for a quick last minute meal.
Volcano Chicken Bowls Recipe
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ cup buffalo sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice and cornstarch. Then add the buffalo sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper to the bowl and mix to combine. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and add the diced onions. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salt and minced garlic and saute for another minute.
- Add the ground chicken and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, making sure to break up the pieces with your spatula or wooden spoon.
- Add the buffalo sauce mixture to the skillet.
- Stir until everything is combined and lower the heat from medium to medium low. Let the ground chicken simmer for 4 to 5.
- Add the frozen peas and stir until they have cooked through.
- Garnish with some toasted sesame seeds and green onions and serve over rice.
Nutrition Per Serving
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