Buffalo Chicken Tacos has a quick and easy buffalo marinade flavoring chicken tenders, wrapped in soft tortillas, and topped with creamy blue cheese, cilantro slaw. Healthy buffalo chicken can be grilled, baked, or shredded!
Any recipe preempted by the words buffalo and chicken is hard for me to pass up. I’m such a sucker for the touch of heat paired with a cool, tangy, creamy dressing.
The popularity of recipes such as Buffalo Stuffed Potatoes, Buffalo Chicken Chili and Buffalo Chicken Bake tell me I’m not alone in my obsession. Now I have another vice to throw into the mix, along with a perfect recipe to serve on game day for a Super Bowl party recipe!
Buffalo tacos uses a simple marinade for flavoring chicken, with extras set aside for a serving sauce. The chicken tenders takes minutes to grill then they are chopped, stuffed in taco shells and topped with a 5 minute creamy slaw.
If you rather have shredded buffalo chicken, the recipe also includes instant pot instructions. Cooking the buffalo chicken in the instant yields an equally flavorful, tender, shredded buffalo chicken to stuff into taco shells.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Tacos
- Whisk together buffalo chicken marinade ingredients – hot sauce, oil, garlic powder, celery salt, and paprika.
- Remove 1/4 cup and use that to marinate chicken for 2 hours.
- With the remaining marinade add the honey. Set aside to use for serving sauce for extra juicy, flavorful chicken.
Next, you’ll want to start the creamy blue cheese slaw so it has time to refrigerate and infuse the flavor. Mix together mayonnaise, blue cheese, cilantro, honey, and cider vinegar. Add the coleslaw mix and stir to combine.
After the chicken has marinated, grill chicken for 4-5 minutes per side. Instead of grilling, the chicken may also be baked for 15-20 minutes. Set aside and grill tortillas briefly to warm and prepare any additional toppings.
What to Serve With Buffalo-style Tacos
Whether serving for a family dinner or as a party food, it’s fun to build grilled Buffalo Chicken Tacos just how you like them!
First start with the quick and easy Blue Cheese Slaw to pair perfectly with the spicy chicken, then pile on any of these perfect toppings!
- shredded cheddar cheese
- chopped red pepper
- diced celery
- avocado
- fresh cilantro
- diced tomatoes
- blue cheese crumbles
- ranch dressing
Other ways to cook Buffalo Chicken
Don’t feel like firing up the grill? No problem! You can still dine on delicious Buffalo Chicken Tacos using alternative methods to cook the chicken.
Baked: Place marinated chicken on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway, until chicken registers 160ºF.
Shredded Stovetop: Place plain chicken in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Remove chicken and shred. Toss with 1/4 cup of marinade sauce, reserving rest for serving sauce.
Shredded Instant Pot: Add chicken and 1 cup of water to Instant Pot. Cook on HIGH pressure for 10 minutes. Quick release, remove chicken, and shred. Toss with 1/4 cup of marinade sauce, reserving rest for serving sauce.
Intimidated by using an Instant Pot? Learn in minutes with this Easy Start Instant Pot Guide full of tips, hacks, and tricks.
Can I Use Chicken Breasts Instead of Tenders?
Of course. I like using tenders because they are already portioned in uniform sizes, making prep a little easier. However, if you prefer using chicken breasts either pound uniformly or slice evenly in 2 inch wide strips.
Click here to see the
step-by-step web story instructions for this recipe!
Other ways to use Buffalo Chicken
This versatile buffalo marinade works great for these other favorite Buffalo Chicken recipes as well!
- Buffalo Chicken Pizza – Spread pizza dough with ranch dressing, top with chicken, celery, and cheese. Drizzle buffalo sauce on for serving.
- Buffalo Chicken Salad or Lettuce Wraps – Use chicken on a bed of greens with corn, avocado, chopped celery, red pepper, and blue cheese crumbles.
- Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas – Grill flour or corn tortillas stuffed with buffalo chicken, chopped celery, red pepper, and colby jack cheese. Serve with ranch dressing for dipping.
- Buffalo Chicken Nachos – Top tortilla chips with buffalo chicken, chopped celery, red pepper, and colby jack cheese. Drizzle with ranch dressing before serving.
- Buffalo Chicken Sandwich – Serve on a toasted bun with cheese, lettuce, and ranch dressing.
- Boneless Buffalo Chicken Tenders – Simply grill or bake marinated chicken and dip in ranch dressing for a healthy appetizer or light dinner.
SAVE THIS BUFFALO CHICKEN TACOS RECIPE TO YOUR PINTEREST BOARD!
Let’s be friends on Pinterest! I’m always sharing great recipes!
Buffalo Chicken Tacos
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
Buffalo Chicken
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breast tenderloins (see recipe notes for using chicken breasts)
- ⅓ cup hot sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika (regular paprika may be substituted)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey, for sauce
Creamy Blue Cheese Slaw
- 1/3 cup regular or light mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 ½ tablespoon cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 14 ounce bag coleslaw mix
- 12 flour or corn tortillas
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk together hot sauce, garlic powder, celery salt, paprika, pepper, and olive oil. (DO NOT ADD HONEY YET). Remove 1/4 cup of sauce to marinate chicken in. Place chicken in a ziplock bag or large shallow bowl, add 1/4 cup marinade, and toss evenly to coat. Refrigerate 2-4 hours.
- Add 1 tablespoon honey to remaining marinade, cover, and store in refrigerator for later use.
- While chicken is marinating make Blue Cheese slaw at least one hour before serving. Stir together mayonnaise, blue cheese, cilantro, vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper. Add coleslaw mix and stir to combine. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours. Slaw will seem dry at first, but as it chills the sauce will become creamier.
- Heat grill to medium high heat and grease grill grate. Grill chicken undisturbed for 5 minutes on one side, or until char marks appear and chicken releases easily from grill. Flip and cook a few minutes more on other side or until internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove chicken and let rest while tortillas are heated or grilled.
- For grilled tortillas, clean grate then place tortillas directly on dry grill. Grill for 2 minutes per side, or until char marks start to appear. Store warm tortillas in foil until ready to serve.
- For Serving: Chopped cooked chicken and serve on tortillas. Drizzle with reserved marinade. Top each taco with coleslaw and any other additional desired toppings.
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?? DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE FEEDBACK AND/OR CLICK A STAR RATING ON THE RECIPE CARD
Recipe Notes
Using Chicken Breasts Instead of Tenders
I like using tenders because they are already portioned in uniform sizes, making prep a little easier. However, if you prefer using chicken breasts either pound uniformly or slice evenly in 2 inch wide strips.Other ways to cook Buffalo Chicken
Baked: Place marinated chicken on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway, until chicken registers 165ºF. Shredded Stovetop: Place plain chicken in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Remove chicken and shred. Toss with 1/4 cup of marinade sauce, reserving rest for serving sauce. Shredded Instant Pot: Add chicken and 1 cup of water to Instant Pot. Cook on HIGH pressure for 10 minutes. Quick release, remove chicken, and shred. Toss with 1/4 cup of marinade sauce, reserving rest for serving sauce.Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links. My opinions are always my own. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, I make a small commission – at no cost to you. Read full Privacy Policy here.
Mike says
Great content with surprising results.