Buffalo Chicken Smash Tacos

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 Zageer Plus. I truly appreciate you so much 💕 And I hope you love this exclusive recipe as much as my boyfriend does!

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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.

Hand picking up buffalo chicken smash taco from platter.

Holding a buffalo chicken taco with more in the background.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @Zageer on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.

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. Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 30 mins

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

For the Buffalo chicken tacos –

1 lb ground chicken, (500g)
¼ cup buffalo hot sauce
¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
12 mini tortillas
Olive oil, for cooking

For the slaw –

½ of a white cabbage, shredded
2 scallions, (spring onions), finely sliced
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar, or rice vinegar

For the blue cheese ranch sauce –

½ cup plain Greek yogurt, or use mayo, egg-free garlic aioli, Kewpie mayo, sour cream, or whipped cottage cheese
1 tablespoon blue cheese, crumbled (plus extra to serve)
2 teaspoons ranch seasoning
A handful of fresh chives, chopped (plus extra to serve)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

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.

Nutrition

Serving: 3tacos
Calories: 440kcal
Carbohydrates: 32g
Protein: 33g
Fat: 20g
Saturated Fat: 6g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g
Cholesterol: 105mg
Sodium: 1300mg
Fiber: 3g
Sugar: 4g

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES: If you’re not a blue cheese fan, swap it for creamy feta or freshly grated Parmesan. I like Greek yogurt for the sauce because it adds a nice tangy element, but you could swap it for mayo (or garlic aioli or Kewpie mayo), sour cream, whipped cottage cheese, or crème fraîche. Use a store-bought slaw if you like, to make things even easier. You could use ground turkey, pork, beef, or a plant-based alternative instead of chicken. PREP AHEAD: There are a few ways to get ahead with this recipe. You can mix the Buffalo chicken topping up to 3 days in advance, then keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also top the tacos 24 hours in advance, then store them stacked on top of each other, with a piece of parchment paper between each layer, in an airtight container in the fridge. The slaw can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. And the blue cheese ranch will keep for at least 3 days in the fridge too. TOPPING NOT STICKING TO YOUR TORTILLAS? There are a few ways to combat this. 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.