Buffalo Chicken Tacos
Posted: 06/23/22
Updated: 02/02/23
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These buffalo chicken tacos are everything you love about buffalo wings with (a blue cheese or ranch dressing, of course), but in taco form! Absolutely bursting with flavor, this recipe is super easy to make and just delicious. A great way to use up leftover cooked chicken or to make simply to satisfy the craving for a dish packed with flavor and a spicy touch!
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- It’s buffalo wings in taco form. What more do you need?! Ok, ok. You’ve got kickin’ buffalo sauce, creamy ranch, tangy blue cheese, juicy chopped chicken, crisp romaine lettuce, and bold celery. So much wing night goodness, all packed into a warm tortilla.
- This is a great way to use up leftover chicken, but you could also grab a rotisserie chicken and chop or shred it up. SO easy, so it’s great for busy weeknights when you don’t feel like cooking but want something really good to eat.
- Tacos are perfect for parties – you can easily double or triple the number you make. Serve them at barbecues, tailgates, your next Superbowl bash, whatever!
Can’t Get Enough Buffalo Chicken?
Chef’s Tips
- I’m serving celery on the side, but you could totally use it as garnish to give your buffalo chicken tacos a little crunch! Just chop it (roughly, it doesn’t have to be perfect) and sprinkle it on top of your tacos before serving.
- Want ranch dressing in every bite? Instead of drizzling it on top of the chicken, chop up the romaine and then toss it in the ranch dressing. Voila! Now every bite of lettuce will have creamy ranch dressing, too.
- If you’re cooking chicken specifically for these tacos, rather than using leftover or rotisserie chicken, check out my post on the best shredded chicken. The chicken turns out unbelievably juicy and flavorful, and it would be perfect in this recipe.
Delicious Recipes to Try Next
- Gyro Bowls (Meatballs with Tzatziki, Lemon Rice, and Cucumber Salad)
- Shredded Beef Tacos
- Potato-Crusted Cod Piccata
- Creamy Boursin Chicken
- Chicken Tikka Masala Quesadilla
- Pickled Beet Tacos
- Instant Pot Paella
Buffalo Chicken Tacos
Everything you love about buffalo wings in a party-perfect, hand-held form.
tacos
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil
- 3 cups cooked chicken chopped or shredded
- ½-¾ cup buffalo sauce plus more to serve
- 6 8-inch flour tortillas or 8 6-inch flour tortillas
- 4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
- ranch dressing store-bought or homemade, approximately ½ cup
- 1 cup blue cheese crumbles
- chopped fresh cilantro or parsley optional, for garnish
- celery thinly sliced, optional
Equipment
- Medium skillet
- silicone or rubber spatula
- microwave, skillet, or gas flame (to warm tortillas)
- Paper towels (to warm tortillas in microwave)
- Microwave-safe plate (to warm tortillas in microwave)
- Tongs (to warm tortillas over gas flame)
Instructions
- Warm medium skillet on stovetop over medium heat. When skillet is hot, add neutral oil and swirl pan to coat evenly. Add chopped chicken to skillet and let cook, undisturbed, 1 to 2 minutes or until chicken begins to brown.
- Stir or flip chicken, then cook, undisturbed, on other side another 1 to 2 minutes or until chicken begins to brown.
- Pour in desired amount of buffalo sauce and stir well to incorporate. Reduce heat to low and simmer 30 seconds or until sauce is bubbling and thickened. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.
- Warm tortillas in microwave, in separate skillet, or over open flame. See Notes for instructions.
- Layer chopped romaine and buffalo chicken in one warmed tortilla. Drizzle extra buffalo sauce (optional) and ranch dressing over chicken, then top with blue cheese crumbles. Set aside and repeat until all tacos are assembled. Garnish tacos with fresh herbs and serve immediately with celery, if desired.
Notes
- This is a great way to use leftover chicken, but you can cook chicken specifically for this recipe, too. This is my favorite shredded chicken recipe and it would be perfect here!
- Make it Gluten Free: Use gluten-free tortillas and make sure your sauces don’t contain any hidden gluten.
Warming the Tortillas
- Microwave: Cover microwave-safe plate with damp paper towel, then place one tortilla on top of paper towel. Repeat layers, alternating tortillas and paper towels, ending with damp paper towel on top. Place plate in microwave and microwave 30-60 seconds. Remove from microwave and carefully assemble tacos.
- Skillet: Heat medium or large skillet (cast iron preferred) over medium heat. When warm, add one tortilla to skillet and cook 15 seconds or until light brown spots appear on bottom side. Flip tortilla over and cook another 15 seconds, then transfer to plate and cover with damp paper towel or damp kitchen towel to retain heat. Repeat until all tortillas have been warmed, then assemble tacos.
- Gas Flame: Set stove burner to medium-low heat. Hold one edge of tortilla with tongs and carefully place tortilla directly on burner. Cook 15-30 seconds, then carefully flip tortilla and cook until tortilla begins to bubble on top. Carefully transfer tortilla to plate and cover with damp paper towel or damp kitchen towel to retain heat. Repeat until all tortillas have been warmed, then assemble tacos.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1taco, Calories: 453kcal, Protein: 20g, Fat: 29g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 64mg, Sodium: 1504mg, Potassium: 255mg, Total Carbs: 27g, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Net Carbs: 25g, Vitamin A: 2988IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 231mg, Iron: 3mg
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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