
For this recipe, I pulled together all the classic flavours of red hot wings into a healthy, balanced meal: chicken, Frank’s, carrots & celery, and bleu or mozza cheese.
LEARN HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT BUFFALO CHICKEN QUINOA (47 sec):
why this instant pot buffalo chicken quinoa is a smart choice
Please meet my new favourite condiment: Frank’s Red Hot Sauce!
Since Frank’s is entirely associated with wings in my mind I didn’t even think about it as a sauce I could use in my everyday cooking. One day, out of curiosity, I picked up a bottle and read the label. To my surprise the ingredient list was short and comprised of everyday foods. It’s basically a very flavourful salt! 2 tbsp of Frank’s
has the same sodium as 1/2 tsp of salt. When I use Frank’s
in my cooking I omit the salt and voila: instant taste and spice! I would encourage you to do the same: use it as an ingredient in the recipe instead of splashing it on at the table, which would only add extra sodium to an already salted dish.
For this recipe, I pulled together all the classic flavours of red hot wings into a healthy, balanced meal: chicken, Frank’s, carrots & celery, and bleu or mozza cheese.
If you give this recipe a go, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or snap a photo and tag it with #smartnutritionrecipes on Instagram! I’d love to see your creations! Knowing someone has enjoyed one of my recipes always makes my day brighter.

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa (Instant Pot directions)
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken or turkey
- 1-2 small to medium onions diced
- 6-8 cloves of garlic
- ½ tsp thyme
- ⅛ tsp white pepper
- 1 large carrot grated
- 1 can 156 ml tomato paste
- ⅓ cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
- 1 15 oz can navy beans, drained and rinsed (or 1.5 cups cooked)
- 1 cup quinoa uncooked
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tsp Chicken Better Than Bouillon
- shredded mozzarella or blue cheese crumbles for serving
- celery sticks for serving
Instructions
- Add the ground poultry and diced onions to the Instant Pot.
- Select ‘saute’ and cook, stirring frequently, until the poultry is no longer pink.
- Add the garlic, thyme, and white pepper and saute for another minute.
- Press ‘cancel.’
- Add the carrot, tomato paste, Franks Red Hot sauce, navy beans, quinoa, water, and bouillon.
- Select ‘manual’ and then set to 4 minutes.
- Once it is completed, allow for a 10 minute natural release.
- Spoon into bowls and top with mozzarella cheese.
- Eat alongside fresh celery sticks!
Nutrition

Buffalo Chicken Quinoa (Stove Top)
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken or turkey
- 1-2 small to medium onions diced
- 6-8 cloves of garlic
- 1 large carrot grated
- ½ tsp thyme
- ⅛ tsp white pepper
- 1 can 156 ml tomato paste
- Fill the empty tomato paste can half full of water
- 1 tsp Chicken Better Than Bouillon
- ⅓ cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
- 1 15 oz can navy beans, drained and rinsed (or 1.5 cups cooked)
- 1 cup quinoa uncooked
- shredded mozzarella or blue cheese crumbles for serving
- celery sticks for serving
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa according to your package’s instructions. I add 2 cups of water for each cup of quinoa I make. If you have a rice cooker, quinoa cooks up very nicely in that appliance!
- While the quinoa is cooking, saute the ground poultry and onions in a large frying pan over medium.
- Once the chicken is cooked through add the garlic, carrot, thyme, white pepper, tomato paste, water, bouillon, Franks Red Hot Sauce, and navy beans. Cook until heated.
- Once the quinoa is cooked, stir it into the frying pan.
- Serve with grated mozzarella or crumbled bleu cheese on top and sticks of celery on the side.
I liked this and so did our Mexican houseguest. By the time I served it I had forgotten about the cheese. Still liked it. It picked up great flavour in the days to come, as we ate the leftovers.
Yes! I definitely think it tastes better as leftovers! Maybe I should make a note recommending that it be made a day in advance!
We love this recipe! I left out the Frank’s because my daughter found it a bit spicy and the adults added it at the table. Yum!!
Good idea! Then each person can adjust to their spice level! Glad you love the recipe!
What a fun recipe! I don’t mix meat and dairy in my house (I keep Kosher) so I’d have to make this w/o the cheese on top, but I’m sure it would still be great!
We’ve eaten this without the cheese and it was delicious that way too!