Buffalo wings, but make them smash tacos. These buffalo chicken smash tacos are spicy, crispy, juicy, and loaded with all the flavors you love from buffalo wings. Finished with a zingy slaw and a creamy blue cheese ranch drizzle, they’re gorgeous for an easy dinner.
Buffalo Chicken Smash Tacos, at a Glance
⏰ Total time: 25 minutes
🍽 Servings: 4
🛒 Key Ingredients: Ground chicken, mini tortillas, buffalo hot sauce, blue cheese, cabbage, Greek yogurt
🧠 Skill level: Easy
🔥 Cooking Method: Pan-fried
💪 Protein: 33g per serving
🥗 Perfect For: Easy dinners, game day, casual entertaining, taco Tuesday
💕 Why You’ll Love: Everything you love about buffalo wings, in a very easy-to-eat form!
The smash tacos my boyfriend requests on repeat
Buffalo chicken is one of those dishes where all the components bring something special and work beautifully together, even when, on paper, they perhaps shouldn’t (blue cheese, chicken hot sauce?? 😅)
I LOVE smash tacos for a speedy meal any day of the week – they’re quick, easy, super easy to customize, and you can even prep them ahead of time.
These, inspired by Buffalo chicken wings, are undoubtedly a favorite of my boyfriend, Alisdair. They’re spicy, but tempered by the creamy ranch, a bit funky thanks to the blue cheese, deeply savory, and endlessly easy to eat.
- If you’re not a blue cheese fan, swap it for creamy feta or Parmesan.
- I love using thick Greek yogurt in the ranch, but you can swap it for sour cream, mayo (or garlic aioli, or Kewpie mayo), whipped cottage cheese, or crème fraîche.
Thank you so much for being a member of Dished by Kate Plus. I truly appreciate you so much 💕 And I hope you love this exclusive recipe as much as my boyfriend does!
My Biggest Smash Taco Tips
- Make sure you spread your topping into a thin, even layer on your tortilla. About 5mm thick – a thin coating, rather than a thick patty.
- Use a non-stick pan to cook your smash tacos. It’ll make flipping easier and lessen the risk of any sticking.
- Really press (smash) the tacos into the pan. I like using a flat spatula or a fish slice for this. It helps the topping stick and set into the tortilla as it cooks.
- Your pan should be nice and hot when you add your tacos. This helps the topping cook quickly and ‘seal’ itself to the tortilla.
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Buffalo Chicken Smash Tacos
Ingredients
Method
- Mix the buffalo chicken topping. Add the ground chicken to a mixing bowl, along with ¼ cup of buffalo hot sauce, ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese, the crushed garlic, salt, and a good grind of black pepper. Mix well to combine.
- Make the slaw. Mix the shredded white cabbage with the sliced scallions, then toss with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Set aside for now.
- Make the blue cheese ranch. Add ½ cup of Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon of crumbled blue cheese, 2 teaspoons of ranch seasoning, the fresh chives, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a small bowl. Mix well with a fork, mashing the blue cheese into the yogurt as you go. Taste, then season with a little salt or pepper if needed. If you’d like your sauce a little looser, mix in a splash of water.
- Press the topping onto your tacos. Scoop up a heaped tablespoon of the buffalo chicken mixture, and press it onto a mini tortilla, using the back of your spoon to smooth it right to the edges. Try to keep the topping quite thin and even – this will help the chicken cook quickly and evenly. Repeat with the remaining mixture and tortillas.
- Cook your tacos. Set a large frying pan or skillet (using non-stick will help with any possible sticking here) over high heat, then add a drizzle of olive oil. When nice and hot, place a topped taco, chicken side down, into the pan. Use a flat spatula or fish slice to really ‘smash’ the taco into the pan. This helps the topping stick to the tortilla and cook quickly. Cook for about 4 minutes, then flip the tortilla and cook for another 30 seconds. The chicken should look crispy and golden. Depending on the size of your pan, you should be able to cook a few tacos at once.
- Top the tacos and serve. Drizzle the cooked tacos with the blue cheese ranch sauce, then pile on the crunchy slaw. Finish with extra chives and a little more hot sauce or blue cheese if you like. Enjoy while lovely and hot.
