Buffalo Chicken Tacos

If you love buffalo chicken dip, you need to try these oven baked buffalo chicken tacos! Made with shredded rotisserie chicken, creamy buffalo sauce, and melted cheese inside crispy flour tortillas, they’re the best ever baked tacos for an easy dinner in just 30 minutes. These street tacos are packed with bold flavor and are a must for any meals with buffalo chicken fan. Pin now and save this easy recipe for later! 🌮🔥

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Why this is the best buffalo chicken tacos recipe

This recipe tastes amazing! Something magical happens when you mix buffalo sauce, cream cheese, and ranch. It's always a big winner that everybody's going to rave about.

The ingredients for this easy recipe are common and inexpensive. You probably have most of the simple ingredients already in your pantry, and the remaining couple are available in virtually every grocery store.

This baked taco recipe is easy to prepare and takes just a few minutes of active cooking time. You'll need to measure everything and assemble the tacos, but after that, it's just a matter of waiting for them to bake.

The best baked taco recipe is the easiest comfort food. The simple ingredients pack a big punch in terms of flavor.

This buffalo chicken taco recipe is easy to serve. It doesn't get easier than baked tacos, which makes this a perfect weeknight dinner for a busy mom or dad.

Baked chicken tacos are a unique recipe for Taco Tuesday. This recipe puts a whole new spin on the old standard!

Baked tacos can easily be gluten-free. This recipe is entirely gluten-free if you use corn tortillas for your tacos. As always, check all the labels on your ingredients to ensure they are safe for you to eat.

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What you'll need to make the best baked chicken taco recipe

Equipment

• Baking sheet - This is what you will use to bake your baked tacos. Line it with parchment paper for easier clean up. I don't recommend a different shape of baking dish because your tortillas may not get crispy without adequate airflow.
• Basting brush - If you're using olive oil cooking spray, you won't need a brush, but if you're not using the spray, you will need a brush to apply the olive oil to your tortillas. It's also helpful to prep the cooking surface (either parchment or the sheet pan itself) with a drizzle of oil. The brush makes it easier to spread the oil around.

Ingredients

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See the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page for all measurements and nutritional information.

• Softened cream cheese - You will melt this in the microwave, so if you forgot to leave it out to soften, it's not a huge deal.
• Garlic powder - This is to season the cream cheese. You can use fresh garlic if you want to, but it's not necessary as the flavor will sort of get lost with the hot sauce anyway.
• Onion powder - This is also to season the cream cheese.
• Kosher salt - Also to season the cream cheese. I used very little salt because I used a rotisserie chicken which is already salted. If you are cooking your own chicken and don't season it, you may want to add extra salt but please taste the buffalo mixture before you add anything extra! I would hate for you to oversalt your sauce and then have to start over.
• Frank's RedHot Sauce plus more to taste - Frank's is my favorite brand of cayenne pepper sauce, but if you prefer something else, by all means, use that. There are lots of brands and varieties available.
• Shredded chicken - I used rotisserie chicken, below, but freshly cooked chicken breasts or chicken thighs or or even canned chicken would be fine. Canned chicken is a lot finer shred than what you would shred yourself, so there will be less bite in your tacos, but it would still taste good. I use this chicken shredder at my house. I love that thing!
• Shredded cheddar cheese - I love extra sharp Wisconsin cheddar, but use whatever you like. You could even use a different shredded cheese like pepper jack or colby jack if you prefer, or a Mexican cheese blend.

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• Taco-size tortillas - I personally prefer flour, but if you are gluten-free, you will want to use corn tortillas instead. Corn tortillas aren't as pliable as flour, so you'll need to soften them before you make your tacos. See the note in the recipe below. In any case, you will want the smallest tortillas, not the fajita size which is too big.
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil or olive oil spray - You need to put some oil on the tortillas so that they will get crispy in the oven. I brushed olive oil on mine, but you could use a cooking spray if you prefer that. Just make sure to make the tortillas fully coated with either one. You could also use melted butter if you prefer that flavor.
• Ranch dressing - This is a link to my homemade ranch dressing recipe, which is amazing, but you can use ranch from of a bottle if you prefer. I recommend either ranch or blue cheese dressing to drizzle over the tacos when you serve them, but you wouldn't have to do that if you don't want to. I also have a great cilantro ranch recipe if you like cilantro. Or use sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.
• Fresh cilantro, diced avocado, chopped green onions, chopped celery, blue cheese crumbles - Any or all of these make delicious additions either inside or on top of your buffalo chicken tacos.

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How to make oven crispy buffalo chicken tacos

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Generously drizzle a baking sheet with olive oil.
2. Add the cream cheese to a large glass mixing bowl. Microwave for about 30 seconds, until the cream cheese is melty and smooth when stirred.
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3. Season the cream cheese with garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, and 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper sauce.
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4. Stir well to combine, then taste and add more hot sauce if needed.
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5. Add the cooked and shredded chicken to the seasoned cream cheese. Toss to coat all the chicken.
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6. If using corn tortillas, soften the tortillas by wrapping them in a damp paper towel and microwaving for 30 seconds. This step is to prevent splitting and is not necessary with flour tortillas.
7. Spread about 2 ounces (¼ cup) of the buffalo chicken mixture on one side of a tortilla.
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8. Top the chicken with 3 tablespoons of shredded cheddar cheese.
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9. Fold the tortilla in half gently over the chicken, and coat the top of the tortilla with olive oil or nonstick spray. Flip the tortilla over and place it (olive oil side down) on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top side of the tortilla with olive oil.
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10. Repeat until all the tacos are assembled.
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11. Bake the tacos for approximately 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the tortillas are crispy and starting to turn golden at the edges.
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12. Remove the tacos from the baking sheet and allow them to cool for a few minutes. Top with a drizzle of buffalo sauce and ranch dressing, if desired, and serve with carrot and celery sticks or a fresh salad..
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Variations & subsitutions

You could make these tacos into burritos really easily. Just use a larger tortilla, spread about a half cup of chicken mixture down the center, top it with diced cucumbers, diced avocado, and shredded lettuce (and some rice, if you want), and then roll it up.

You could turn these into shrimp tacos. Just replace the chicken with an equal amount of fully cooked shrimp, toss in the sauce, and stuff in the tortillas. The cook time is the same as it is mostly just to crisp the tortillas and melt the cheese.

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If you don't want to shred your chicken, you could use whole chicken tenders for this recipe, one tender per taco.

You could make these buffalo chicken tacos into BBQ chicken tacos by leaving out the cream cheese and mixing the chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce. Keep the shredded cheddar and bake as directed.

You could use any kind of hot sauce. I recently saw Frank's came out with a sweet chili sauce, and I am interesting in trying that in my baked taco recipe.

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Storing leftovers

Storage of baked tacos is a little tricky. Tacos don't store well, so try to only make what you need.

It's best to store the meat separately from the taco shells. Place leftover buffalo chicken in an airtight container in the fridge. It should be good for up to five days.

If you have to, you can store the baked tacos in the refrigerator, too, but the shells will get soggy. Transfer fully cooled tacos to a zippered plastic bag and store in the fridge for up to three days.

I do not recommend freezing tacos, but you could freeze the buffalo chicken taco meat.

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Try these other delicious taco recipes:

• Marinated Flank Steak Tacos
• Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
• Easy Shredded Beef Tacos in the Instant Pot
• The Best Hot Taco Dip Recipe
• Homemade Taco Seasoning
• Pancake Tacos

Try these other delicious buffalo chicken recipes:

• Mild Frank's RedHot Buffalo Chicken Dip
• Buffalo Chicken Pasta Casserole
• Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats
• The Best Buffalo Cheese Ball Recipe
• Frank's RedHot Buffalo Chicken Dip in the Instant Pot
• Garlic Buffalo Shrimp - not chicken but still tasty!

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