Buffalo Chicken Tacos
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Shredded chicken tossed with tangy buffalo sauce, tucked inside warm tortillas, topped with a creamy cilantro lime sauce, life doesn’t get much better than these Buffalo Chicken Tacos!
This easy recipe is made in just 29 minutes, perfect for weeknight dinners! Take these tacos to an entire other level of buffalo sauciness by serving them with Buffalo Queso Dip!
Over the years, I’ve been given the nickname “The Queen of Buffalo Sauce”. My love of the hot sauce has been apparent since day one on the blog. This recipe for Buffalo Chicken Cheesy Penne was one of the first recipes I ever posted on the blog. And it was the first of dozens of buffalo sauce recipes that I would share over the years.
Buffalo sauce is flavorful, tangy and low in calories, vegan and gluten free (most brands!) making it a healthy sauce choice. I generally use Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce. I love the flavor and it’s vegan, gluten free and contains ZERO calories!
In this recipe, I’m using buffalo sauce to make homemade Buffalo Chicken Tacos. What’s not to love? First and foremost, they’re tacos and I’ve yet to meet a taco I didn’t love! Second, they’re saucy, flavorful, quick and easy to make!
I served the tacos topped with pepper jack cheese, slaw and creamy cilantro lime sauce. But the great thing about tacos is that you can make them your own. Swap out the pepper jack cheese for blue cheese or the cilantro lime sauce for ranch dressing. Add some avocado or shredded lettuce instead of the slaw.
No matter how you top these tacos, I guarantee they’ll be a hit in your kitchen!
How to make Buffalo Chicken Tacos
- Prepare (or purchase) the shredded chicken. You’ve got a few options here, so let’s break them down!
- Purchase already cooked rotisserie chicken and shred it at home. This is definitely the quickest option.
- Use this super easy Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken recipe to pressure cook and shred the chicken at home.
- Slow cook chicken breasts covered in buffalo wing sauce for 6-8 hours on low. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred.
- Sauté veggies with buffalo chicken.
- Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add diced jalapenos and onions. Sauté for 5-7 minutes.
- Add the shredded chicken and buffalo sauce.
- Mix everything together, turn the heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Prepare the slaw.
- While the veggies and buffalo chicken are simmering, toss together the slaw.
- Combine shredded red and green cabbage and carrots together in a medium mixing bowl. Add fresh squeezed lime juice and toss everything together.
- Prepare the creamy cilantro lime dip.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine sour cream with crushed garlic, lime juice, green onions and cilantro.
- Put the tacos together.
- Warm the tortillas, either on the stove or in the microwave.
- Quick Tip! I used flour tortillas in this recipe, but corn tortillas can be used instead to make this recipe gluten free. Taco shells can also be used to make crispy buffalo chicken tacos. Most taco shells are gluten free, but be sure to check the package before purchasing.
- Place the buffalo chicken mixture in the tortillas.
- Top with the slaw and cilantro lime dip.
- Add an extra drizzle of buffalo sauce, if you’d like!
- Warm the tortillas, either on the stove or in the microwave.
Other Buffalo Chicken Taco Toppings
- Raw Veggies
- Instead of sautéing the onion and jalapeno, simply leave them raw and serve them on top of the tacos.
- Shredded iceberg or chopped romaine lettuce – a great substitute for the slaw to add a fresh, crisp crunch to these tacos!
- Sliced avocado – add extra creaminess on top of the tacos with sliced avocado.
- Chopped celery – we all know that celery and carrots are buffalo sauce’s best veggie friends. Feel free to add some chopped celery to the slaw or put it right on top of the tacos!
- Sauces
- Ranch dressing – instead of the creamy cilantro lime dip, try ranch dressing for a perfect buffalo chicken pairing.
- Blue cheese dressing – blue cheese is “the other white sauce” that some people (hi!!) prefer over ranch dressing with their buffalo chicken.
- More buffalo sauce!! – If you’re looking to cut calories or dairy, leave off the creamy sauces. Just add more buffalo sauce on top of the tacos!
- Cheeses
- Blue cheese – crumbled blue cheese makes a terrific topping for these tacos.
- Cheddar cheese – if you’re looking for something more mild, shredded cheddar is the perfect fit for these tacos!
Love buffalo sauce as much as I do? Check out these other buffalo saucy recipes!
- Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats – a healthy, low carb way to get your buffalo chicken fix!
- Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Alfredo – if you love buffalo chicken, you’re going to love this spin on Chicken Alfredo!
- Buffalo Chicken Wrap – these easy 5 minute recipes is perfect for lunch at home or on the go!
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Cheesy Sausage Balls – these 4 ingredient sausage balls are always a huge hit at parties!
- Buffalo Chicken Burgers – the BEST chicken burger ever is, of course, made with buffalo sauce!
Buffalo Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
Buffalo Chicken Tacos
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breasts
- ½ cup buffalo sauce
- 8 small corn or flour tortillas
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 lime, sliced into 8 small wedges
Slaw
- 1 cup green cabbage, shredded
- 1 cup red cabbage, shredded
- ½ cup carrots, shredded
- 2 tbsp lime juice, fresh squeeze
Cilantro Lime Dip
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsp lime juice, fresh squeezed
- 2 tbsp green onions, diced
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
Instructions
Buffalo Chicken Tacos
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Once heated, add the jalapeños and onions.
- Sauté for 5-7 minutes, then add the shredded chicken.
- Add the buffalo sauce, mix together, turn the heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the chicken mixture to the tortillas, then top with pepper jack cheese, slaw, cilantro lime dip, fresh cilantro and one lime wedge to squeeze over the taco.
Slaw
- Combine all of the ingredients for the slaw in a medium mixing bowl
Cilantro Lime Dip
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a small mixing bowl.
Notes
- Gluten free option: Serve these tacos on corn tortillas to make the recipe gluten free. Always make sure to check labels on buffalo sauce to make sure it's gluten free. Frank's Red Hot is the brand I recommend and it's gluten free.
- Dairy free option: Omit the pepper jack cheese and cilantro lime dip to make this recipe dairy free. Add extra buffalo sauce on top of the tacos to replace the cilantro lime dip.
- Shredded chicken: the shredded chicken can come from a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or can be made at home in an Instant Pot or slow cooker. To pressure cook the chicken, follow this Instant Pot BBQ Chicken recipe. To prepare the chicken in a slow cooker, add boneless, skinless chicken breasts to a slow cooker. Cover in buffalo sauce and cook for 6-8 hours on low. Remove from the slow cooker and shred.
Nutrition Facts
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