My husband and I are absolute fanatics for anything buffalo chicken related. Combine it with a baked potato and what's not to love? I love ground chicken because it’s cheap, lean, and you can make it taste like whatever you’re in the mood for. In my case, that is always buffalo sauce and blue cheese. 

This loaded baked potato has A LOT to offer. A rich and creamy and spicy buffalo ground chicken concoction dolloped with blue cheese crumbles, tucked into a crispy baked potato. If blue cheese really isn’t your thing, cheddar or mozzarella would be great here, too. Serve it for lunch, dinners, or as your Superbowl gameday snack. 

For the potatoes:

4 medium russet potatoes

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 pound ground chicken

1 medium shallot, thinly sliced

¼ cup buffalo hot sauce, such as franks

¼ cup chicken broth

2 ounces blue cheese (about ½ cup crumbles)

For the slaw:

½ cup sour cream, divided

1 seasoning packet hidden valley ranch 

½ lemon, zested and juiced

3 large celery stalks, thinly sliced

¼ medium head green cabbage, thinly sliced

Begin by preheating your oven to 450°F and place racks in the middle and upper third of the oven. Pierce potatoes all over with a fork and make a cut on the top of each potato, lengthwise down the middle about ½ inch deep. Rub potato with 2 tablespoons olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet. Bake potatoes on the middle rack until easily pierced with a fork, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the buffalo chicken. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken on all sides with salt and pepper. Add to the skillet and cook undisturbed until bottom side is golden brown, 5-7 minutes. Use the back of a wooden spoon to break the chicken into smaller crumbles and flip so that other side of the ground chicken cooks. Add shallot and cook until shallot is softened and no pink remains on the chicken, another 4-5 minutes. Add buffalo sauce and chicken broth, and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, 4 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in ¼ cup sour cream.

Make the ranchy slaw. In a large bowl, mix remaining ¼ cup sour cream, ranch seasoning packet, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add celery and cabbage, but don’t toss to combine until right before you plan to serve it.

Once potatoes are done baking, switch oven to a high broil. Let potatoes cool off to where you can handle them, then carefully use a pair of tongs to pinch the sides of each potato, gently opening where you cut the slit to open them like a book. Season the flesh with salt, then add half the blue cheese into the interior of each potato. Divide the chicken mixture between potatoes, then garnish the chicken with the remaining blue cheese. Broil until cheese is melty and potatoes are golden brown, 2-3 minutes, depending on the strength of your broiler.

Toss slaw and season to taste. Serve immediately alongside potatoes with more buffalo sauce as desired. Enjoy!