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Buffalo Chicken Tacos are spicy, saucy, and loaded with that bold buffalo flavor that makes dinner feel a little more fun. They’re super flexible, easy to customize, and come together fast, exactly what a busy weeknight needs.
This recipe works with whatever chicken you have on hand. Use simple shredded chicken, instant pot buffalo chicken, or one of my air fryer buffalo chicken recipes: breasts, thighs, tenders, or crispy bites all work well.
Once the chicken is ready, the rest is almost effortless. Just pile it into your favorite taco shell and add your favorite toppings.
Why These Buffalo Chicken Tacos Just Work
Here’s why this recipe stays in my regular rotation:
- Super flexible. Serve them on almond flour tortillas, butter lettuce cups, or classic flour tortillas. Whether you’re keeping things lighter or going traditional, they adapt easily.
- Chicken your way: Use simple shredded chicken, rotisserie or any of my air fryer buffalo chicken recipes. It’s a great way to repurpose what you already have.
- Minimal prep. Once the chicken is ready, dinner practically assembles itself. Add your favorite toppings and you’re done.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This section walks you through the key ingredients you’ll need to make these Buffalo Chicken Tacos turn out just right. You’ll find the exact measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken
If you want a full walkthrough for making buffalo chicken in the air fryer, I have a separate post dedicated to that with all the tips and step-by-step details. I won’t repeat everything here, but you’ll have everything you need in the recipe card below to make these tacos successfully.
For this recipe, I use my air fryer buffalo chicken, which uses chicken, oil, and simple spices air fried to perfection. Then, tossed in a 2-ingredient buffalo sauce (hot sauce and butter).
I usually make a batch and slice it thin for tacos. It works with chicken breasts, buffalo chicken thighs, or even buffalo chicken tenders.
Taco Ingredients
- Tortillas: I used one pack; the number depends on the brand and size you choose.
- Shredded Romaine Lettuce
- Blue Cheese Dressing: I’m using my recipe, but you can use your favorite one from the store. When I don’t make my own, I get mine from the refrigerated section of the market since they taste closest to homemade.
- Avocado oil: For lightly browning the tortillas
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Tacos
Making buffalo chicken tacos in the air fryer is easy. Use this step-by-step photo as a guide to learn how to make it in a few key steps:
Prepare the chicken
Make the Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken and slice it thinly for tacos.
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Warm and assemble
Heat tortillas in a pan or griddle with avocado oil, then top each with blue cheese dressing, lettuce, and sliced buffalo chicken.
No Stress Flavor Tips
Here are my top tips to get the most flavor from your Buffalo Chicken Tacos with minimal effort:
- Serve with extra sauce: Keep a small bowl of blue cheese dressing and/or leftover hot sauce on the side.
- Shortcut with shredded chicken: Use about 2½ cups of shredded chicken from the Instant Pot Shredded Chicken or a rotisserie chicken, then mix it with the buffalo sauce. You can also use my Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken for these tacos as well.
- Pick your tortillas: I like Maria & Ricardo’s almond flour tortillas for a lower-carb option or Rise & Puff tortillas for a simple-ingredient flour tortilla.
Swaps & Variations
Here are easy swaps and tweaks:
- Protein swaps: Use shredded chicken from the Instant Pot Shredded Chicken or rotisserie chicken for a quick shortcut.
- Veggie options: Top with my creamy coleslaw for crunch and extra flavor. You can also top this with Pickle de Gallo, or Guacamole.
- Budget-friendly tip: Make a double batch of chicken to use in other meals like sandwiches or salads.
- Low-carb option: Serve on almond flour tortillas or butter lettuce cups.
- More flavor: Add extra blue cheese dressing or a drizzle of leftover hot sauce to amp up the heat.
More Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Recipes
If you love Frank’s Buffalo Chicken Tacos, here are some other recipes you might enjoy:
- Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Bites
- Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Thighs
- Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Breasts
- Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
- Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken
FAQs
Buffalo chicken tacos usually include shredded or bite-sized chicken, buffalo sauce, tortillas, and optional toppings like lettuce, cheese, blue cheese or ranch dressing, and diced veggies. But, they are super flexible, meaning you can use whatever you have on hand.
Serve with crunchy sides like celery sticks, carrot sticks, or coleslaw, or pair with a simple side salad. Ranch or blue cheese dressing makes a perfect dipping sauce.
Cool, creamy sides like ranch or blue cheese dressing or fresh vegetables are my go-to options.
I don’t marinate my buffalo chicken for this recipe. But, if you choose to, you can add the oil and spices to a bowl with the chicken, mix and store it in the refrigerator overnight for an extra flavor boost.
Storage & Reheating
- Store: Keep leftover buffalo chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days.
- Freeze: Freeze cooked buffalo chicken (without tortillas or toppings) in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- Reheat: Warm the chicken in the air fryer at 325–350°F for 3–5 minutes until heated through. Reheat the buffalo sauce separately if needed, then toss with the chicken before serving to keep it flavorful and juicy.
Buffalo Chicken Tacos
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Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken
- 1.25 lb Chicken Breasts, boneless and skinless
- 1/4 tsp Natural Ancient Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 2 tbps Avocado oil, or Olive Oil
Buffalo Sauce
- 1/3 cup Franks Red Hot Wing Sauce
- 1 tbsp Butter, melted, unsalted
Taco Ingredients
- 8 tortillas, I used one pack and the amount varies depending on the brand of tortillas that you use
- 2 cups Shredded Romaine Lettuce
- Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing, click for the recipe
- 1 tbsp Avocado oil, for browning the tortillas
Instructions
Make the Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken
- Mix the spices together in a small bowl.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 °F for 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken breasts to a large mixing bowl with the spices and oil. Toss to coat the chicken evenly.
- Place the chicken breasts in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
- Air fry at 400 °F for 7-9 min per side, depending on how large your chicken breasts are.
- Mix the buffalo sauce ingredients.
- Toss the cooked chicken in sauce, allow it to rest in the Buffalo sauce for 5 minutes
- Cut the chicken breast into thin slices.
Assemble the tacos
- Heat avocado oil in a large cast iron pan or griddle over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Place the tortillas on the griddle (as many as you can fit).
- Heat the tortillas for 30-45 seconds per side to get them warm
- Assemble your tacos: Add 1 large spoonful of blue cheese dressing, generous amount of lettuce, and chicken.
- Leftover sauce can be served with the wrap in a dipping cup along with extra blue cheese.
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Recipe Notes
- Serve with extra sauce: Keep a small bowl of blue cheese dressing and/or leftover hot sauce on the side.
- Shortcut with shredded chicken: Use about 2½ cups of shredded chicken from the Instant Pot Shredded Chicken or a rotisserie chicken, then mix it with the buffalo sauce. You can also use my Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken (just cook it as is without making any extra buffalo sauce).
- Pick your tortillas: I like Maria & Ricardo’s almond flour tortillas for a lower-carb option or Rise & Puff tortillas for a simple-ingredient flour tortilla. You can also add the meat to butter lettuce.
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into Spoonacular API, a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used.
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