Melty cheese, cool ranch, and tongue-tingling spicy Buffalo chicken atop crunchy salty tortilla chips? Buffalo chicken wings, meet, sheet pan nachos! Whether it’s game day or movie night, Buffalo Chicken Nachos are THE PERFECT app to snack on!
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Buffalo Chicken Nachos are a deliciously spicy twist on traditional nachos and the perfect appetizer for football season, movie night, or your next game night! This easy appetizer recipe uses simple ingredients: your favorite buffalo wing sauce, ranch dressing, sour cream, crunchy tortilla chips, and two kinds of cheese.
Top it off with diced celery, green onions, and a drizzle of ranch dressing and hot sauce and you’re ready for the BEST NACHOS EVER!
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Nachos
This Buffalo Chicken Nachos recipe is simple to make and can be partially prepped ahead, making it a convenient appetizer for your next party.
The only part that takes some time is cooking and shredding your chicken. But making the shredded Buffalo chicken is also the part that can be made ahead.
Save time by shredding a store-bought rotisserie chicken, buying pre-cooked and shredded chicken, or simply using canned chicken. Canned chicken in particular may change the flavor and texture of your buffalo chicken a bit, but if you’re short on time or energy, it’s a doable swap.
- Poach your chicken breasts. Trim excess fat from 1 lb. of chicken breasts. Place them in a medium pot and add water until just covered. Add one or two chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes to the water to give the chicken some flavor. Or, simply shake in some salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder, and a bay leaf if you have one. Alternatively, you can use a broth instead of water.
Bring the water to a boil, and if needed, stir to break up the bouillon cubes. Turn the heat down to a simmer and continue to cook for about 20-25 minutes. Once your chicken is cooked (internal temp of 165°F), take it out and let it cool on a plate until it can be handled.
- Shred your chicken. Place the cooked chicken on a cutting board and use a fork to pull the meat apart until you have thin shreds. You can also use a stand or hand mixer to shred your chicken faster. (see below for more info)
- Prepare the Buffalo Chicken. In a large bowl, add your shredded chicken, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup ranch, 1/4 cup buffalo sauce, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder. Stir everything until well combined.
- Assemble the Nachos. Preheat your oven to 450°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Add an even layer of tortilla chips, then drop scoops of the buffalo chicken mixture, spreading it out a little if needed. Sprinkle with 1.5 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. I use pre-shredded cheese for convenience, but of course you can shred your own.
Note: I prefer to do a single layer of nachos spread out on a sheet pan, but you can do multiple layers if you prefer your nachos stacked.
- Bake the Buffalo Chicken Nachos. Bake the nachos for 7-10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the chips start to turn golden on the edges.
- Finish up with Toppings. Top the nachos with diced celery, green onions, and drizzles of hot sauce and ranch. You can also add blue cheese crumbles if you’d like. Serve with ranch, blue cheese dressing, or spicy sour cream (just mix some hot sauce into sour cream!)
- DEVOUR your Buffalo Chicken Nachos. And acknowledge that these are your new game day favorite!
Easiest Way to Shred Chicken
The most shreddable, falls apart as you lift it chicken, comes from an Instant Pot or Slow Cooker. But Instant Pot shredded chicken is faster so it wins! You can find instructions for Instant Pot here and Slow Cooker here. Shredded chicken is also great to make in larger batches and freeze for future use!
The second tip to making shredding chicken easier is to use a stand or hand mixer. You can use either one to help you shred chicken SUPER FAST!
Using a hand mixer can feel a little trickier, but it’s truly very simple. Since more people have hand mixers over stand mixers, I found this video to show you how simple it is to do!
With a stand mixer, use your blade attachment on a low speed (2) for about 15 or so seconds. It’s super quick and easy, just keep an eye on it as you don’t want to over shred and make the chicken mushy.
Ingredient Substitutions
Sure! I mean, my buffalo chicken mixture is pretty darn good, and works particularly well in this recipe because it doesn’t use cream cheese so it’s not overly creamy and instead you get really good chunks of chicken on your nachos. But if you’re looking to throw this together in 10 minutes and be done, I TOTALLY get it and say GO FOR IT!
Can I use Canned Chicken or a shredded Rotisserie Chicken to make the Buffalo chicken dip for the nachos?
Yes! Canned chicken will save you the most time, as it’s essentially pre-shredded but it does have a distinct flavor. Rotisserie chicken will decrease your cook time, but you still have to shred it. I would recommend a plain rotisserie chicken instead of a flavored one. A lot of stores nowadays also sell cooked and shredded chicken in the refrigerated section.
Can I use a packet of Ranch seasoning mix?
Ranch seasoning would give a similar flavor, but it would obviously be drier. I suggest increasing your sour cream by about 1/2 cup.
Can I use other types of cheese?
Sure! Monterey Jack Cheese, Colby Jack Cheese, and Bleu Cheese are all good substitutes for the Mozzarella cheese.
Which Hot Sauce is Best for Buffalo Chicken?
For “Buffalo” anything we use either Crystal or Frank’s, and typically have both in our house. I’ve used both when I make these spicy buffalo chicken nachos and both are equally delicious! This article in the Chicago Tribune comparing the top hot sauces is a good read!
FAQ
Yep! You can prepare the buffalo chicken up to 3 days ahead of time and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Warm up the chicken in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes and give it a stir before assembling your nachos. Otherwise, the chicken might not get thoroughly warmed up in the oven when melting the cheese.
If you don’t have a microwave, you can instead bake the nachos on 350°F for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is warmed through.
Can I reheat Buffalo Chicken Nachos? And what’s the best way to reheat nachos?
Unfortunately, nachos are typically not great for reheating. The moisture from the sauces makes the chips soggy and the celery and green onions would be wilted.
More Deliciously Spicy Recipes to Try
Jiffy Corn Casserole with Spicy Cheese and Bacon
Cold Buffalo Chicken Dip
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RECIPE CARD
Buffalo Chicken Nachos
4
servings15
minutes35
minutes50
minutesBuffalo chicken wings, meet sheet pan nachos. Melted cheese, cool ranch, and spicy Buffalo sauce-coated chicken layered on top of crispy tortilla chips. These Buffalo Chicken Nachos are the BEST game-day appetizer or movie-night snack!
Keep your screen from going dark while you cook
Ingredients
- Shredded Buffalo Chicken
1 lb chicken breasts (about 2 packed cups of cooked, shredded chicken)
1 cubes chicken or vegetable bouillon (or broth/seasonings as noted)
1/8 – 1/4 cup hot sauce (like Frank’s RedHot Original or Crystal Hot Sauce)
1/4 cup ranch
1/3 cup sour cream
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
- Nachos
1 bag tortilla chips (regular size bag)
1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I recommend Tillamook Farmstyle Shredded cheese*)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup celery, diced
3 Tbsp green onions, diced
drizzle hot sauce
drizzle ranch
- Optional Toppings and Dips
blue cheese crumbles
spicy sour cream (hot sauce + sour cream)
blue cheese dressing
Directions
- Psst… Click the “Cook Mode” button above to keep your screen from going dark while you make this recipe!
- Poach the Chicken
Trim chicken breasts of excess fat. Place in medium pot, add water until just covered. Add one bouillon cube (chicken or vegetable). Bring to a boil, stirring to break up the bouillon cube if needed. Turn heat down and simmer for about 20-25 minutes. Once chicken is cooked (internal temp of 165°F), take it out and let it cool on a plate until it can be handled. - Make the Shredded Buffalo Chicken
Shred chicken breasts using forks, a hand mixer or stand mixer*(see post above for more info)
In a large bowl, add shredded chicken, hot sauce, sour cream, ranch, salt, and garlic powder. Stir until well combined.
**It’s always easier to add heat than take it away. If you’re unsure how spicy you want your buffalo chicken, start with 1/8 cup of hot sauce. Once mixed, try a bite and add more if you’d like. - Assemble Your Nachos
Preheat oven to 450°F, with a rack in the top third of the oven. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spread a layer of tortilla chips, add shredded Buffalo chicken, then mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. I prefer to do a single layer, but you can also do a double or triple stack. - Finish it Up!
Bake nachos for 7-10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly and chips start to turn golden.
Top your nachos with diced celery, green onions, and a drizzle of hot sauce and ranch. Serve with additional ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, or spicy sour cream (hot sauce plus sour cream!) Enjoy!! - Devour & Rate!
DEVOUR your Buffalo Chicken Nachos then leave a 5-star rating at the top of this recipe card because your taste buds are super satisfied rn and I would really appreciate the support! 💜
Notes
- Poaching Chicken – If you don’t have bouillon cubes, you can use chicken base, or your own seasonings such as salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and a bay leaf. Alternatively, you can use chicken or vegetable broth instead of seasoned water.
- Use a rotisserie chicken instead of poaching your own to save about 25 minutes of cook time and make this a quick meal!
- HAVE A MINUTE? I’d really appreciate a comment and/or a star-rating on this recipe! Ratings help my recipes get found on Google and comments are nice to read and can be helpful to others! Thank you ⭐️💜⭐️💜
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