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Weeknight-style Grilled Buffalo Ranch Chicken Tacos. Chicken grilled with buffalo sauce, stuffed into hard shells, topped with cheese, and grilled until melty. Each buffalo taco is crunchy on the outside and spicy, saucy, and cheesy inside. Serve with a creamy, tangy jalapeño ranch, greens, and an avocado on top. These come together easily and are so delicious. They’re the perfect crispy taco that everyone loves, and they’re so fun for summer!!
With every season, I find new inspiration, and right now, I’m excited about summer grilling, I think everyone is. After a long winter and spring, I’m excited to be outside. Sharing simple but delicious summer recipes is what we all need right now!
I’ve been craving buffalo chicken! At first, I was just thinking I’d do some grilled buffalo chicken, but that felt boring, and tacos sounded equally good.
So I thought, why not grilled buffalo chicken stuffed inside crispy shells? Yum!
Usually, when I make buffalo chicken, I make a breaded variation to really soak up the sauce. These, however, are nothing like that. They’re fresher, which is so nice for summer!
I tend to make a lot of tacos all summer long, but these buffalo-style tacos are a new favorite. They require so little effort, I know you’ll love them!
Let’s Get Into Details
Step 1: season the chicken
This is pretty simple: toss some chicken tenders (or, if you love thighs, use those) with seasoned salt, chipotle chili powder, and buffalo sauce. You can use store-bought buffalo sauce or make your own.
If you want to make your own sauce, it’s pretty easy. Mix 1/2 cup or so of hot sauce (I use Franks) with an equal amount of melted butter. Then add seasoned salt and pepper. That’s it!
Step 2: grill the chicken
Now you grill! You can use a grill pan or an outdoor grill, both are great.
Grill the chicken until lightly charred on either side. If you’re using chicken tenders, this takes 5 minutes or so! So fast!
Step 3: shred the chicken and assemble
Shred the chicken and toss with more buffalo sauce.
Next, grab your taco shells. Stuff them with cheese and chicken and place each shell directly on the grill or use a grill basket. Cover the grill and let the cheese melt.
Step 4: make the ranch
I know that making homemade ranch is just another step, but it really is worth it. And it’s easier than running to the market to pick up a bottle.
I keep mine pretty simple and straightforward: sour cream or yogurt, mayo, buttermilk, parsley, dill, onion, garlic, and, of course, the jalapeños. Instead of fresh jalapeños, I like to use pickled. Using pickled jalapeños adds a subtle, tangy kick that I find especially delicious.
Toss a whole bunch of shredded lettuce with the ranch. I like to add cilantro, scallions, and lime juice, too.
Step 5: finish these up!
Stuff the dressed-up greens into each shell on top of the chicken and cheese. Add extra sauce and avocado.
And that’s it! Quick and easy! Love that for summer!! Enjoy!
Looking for other summer tacos, try these:
Chili Crisp Chicken Tacos with Spicy Mango Salsa
Crispy BBQ Salmon Tacos with Avocado Mango Salsa and Jalapeño Cream
Crispy Chipotle BBQ Chicken Tacos with Creamy Charred Corn Salsa
Hawaiian Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Pineapple Salsa
Sheet Pan Jalapeño Pineapple Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Garlic Sauce
Lastly, if you make these Grilled Buffalo Ranch Chicken Tacos, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Grilled Buffalo Ranch Chicken Tacos
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 582 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless chicken tenders or small thighs
- 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1 cup buffalo sauce
- 12 hard shell tacos
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 4 cups shredded lettuce
- cilantro, green onion, and avocado, for serving
Ranch
- 1/2 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 -1/2 cup pickled jalapeños
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- 1. Set your grill, grill pan, or skillet to medium-high heat. 2. In a bowl, toss the chicken, seasoned salt, and chili powder together. Add 1/3 cup buffalo sauce. Grill the chicken until lightly charred, 5-8 minutes per side, depending on the size of your chicken. 3. Shred the meat and toss with 1/3 cup buffalo sauce. Reserve the remaining sauce for serving. Stuff a handful of cheese and chicken into each taco shell. Place the shells upright on the grill so nothing falls out. Cover and grill over low heat for 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melty. 4. Meanwhile, make the Jalapeño Ranch. Combine all ingredients in a jar, mixing until creamy. Then, season with salt.5. Toss the lettuce with ranch, cilantro, scallions, and lime juice. Top each taco with greens, avocado, and extra sauce. Yum!
These were delicious! Don’t skip putting the assembled tacos back on the grill – made them perfection!
Hey Abby,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for making it! Have a great week! xx
this looks so good but I have nowhere to buy the Buffalo sauce. I cant make it either because I cant buy worcestershire sauce. 🙁
Hey there,
Here is a buffalo sauce recipe of mine that does not require Worcestershire.
Buffalo Sauce: Mix 1/2 cup hot sauce, 1/2 cup olive oil or melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon smoked, paprika, and a 1/2 teaspoon each onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a glass jar or measuring cup.
I hope this helps! xx
Thank you, actually I was pleasantly surprised because I found all the ingredients at Carrefour 😉 chicken is grilling right now!
And I will def use the recipe when I run out of Buffalo
Thank you! I do see the shell recipe you noted as below:
For Easy Homemade Hard Shells: Warm 8-12 corn tortillas for 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave, until pliable. On a baking sheet, rub the tortillas with olive oil. Lay each flat and then layer evenly with cheese and chicken. Fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling, gently pushing to adhere (see above photo). Transfer to the oven and bake for 5-8 minutes, then flip and cook another 5 minutes more, or until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are crisp.
But the photo in the post above shows the shells cooked without the filling sitting in a bowl. Can you share how you made those?
Hey Emily,
So if you follow this recipe and then just take a cylinder of foil and drape the tortillas over and bake as directed, you will have shells that can be filled:) I hope this makes sense! xT
YES – thank you!!!
You’re covering the tacos under the grill? Forgive me but I don’t really understand that? Is it just so that the cheese melts? If so wouldn’t a covered dish in the oven be simpler?
Also do you have a recipe for making the crispy tortilla shells? Here in the UK we mostly get ready made supermarket packets, but your homemade ones look so appetising I want to try making some myself! Thank you.
Hey Patricia,
Yes, that is correct:) Sure, you could do this in the oven if you wanted to as well. You can find my recipe for homemade hard shells here:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/crispy-carnitas-tacos/
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Looks so tasty! It looks like the shell is a pre-baked corn tortilla – how did you get it to bake with the opening for filling and what temp/time? Cant wait to try!
Thanks so much Emily!! You can find my recipe for homemade taco shells here:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chipotle-chicken-tacos/#wprm-recipe-container-87308
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hi Tieghan, The shell recipe doesn’t direct on how to make the shells without the filling. Is it possble to share that? For the grilled buffalo ranch tacos, it looks like you fill them after they are prepared crispy? Thanks!!
Hey Kelly,
So you can just follow that recipe and then make a cylinder with some foil, drape the tortillas over the foil and then bake as directed!
Thank you!! Excited to make tomorrow night!!!😊