Buffalo Chicken Taquitos - Baked or Fried

These buffalo chicken taquitos are a bold appetizer loaded with buffalo sauce, shredded chicken, and cheese. Best of all, they can be prepared baked, or fried!

I like this recipe because it combines chicken taquitos with my love of buffalo sauce, and is the perfect use for leftover chicken! It is also a recipe that can be made in advance if you are having a party.

Ingredients Needed

• Shredded chicken - This is the perfect time to shred up any leftover chicken in the fridge, otherwise a rotisserie chicken from the store works perfectly too!
• Cream cheese - You will want to soften the cream cheese so it mixes well with the other ingredients.
• Ranch dressing - Your favorite brand works fine.
• Buffalo sauce - I specifically recommend using Buffalo sauce, but if you don't have it on hand you can substitute Frank's Red Hot Sauce instead, as it is the primary ingredient in traditional buffalo sauce recipes.
• Shredded mild cheddar cheese - You can substitute pepper Jack, or any other easy melting cheese.
• Tortillas - I recommend using taco-size corn tortillas if you are frying, and flour tortillas for baking.

The Filling

Creating the buffalo chicken filling is simple. The chicken needs to be shredded and then placed in a large bowl. Separately I mix together the cream cheese, ranch dressing, buffalo sauce, and shredded cheese. Once combined, this gets mixed with the chicken.

Tip: If you or your guests are sensitive to spicy food, you may want to add less buffalo sauce at first and then continue to add more until it fits your tastes.

How to bake them

Add 2-4 tablespoons of filling to your flour tortilla then roll shut. Place seam side down on a baking sheet to keep it rolled, or use a toothpick to secure it in place. Then paint them lightly with cooking oil, which will lightly fry them as they bake.

Set the baking sheet in a 425-degree oven for 10 minutes, rotating the buffalo chicken taquitos after 5 minutes. The filling will be piping hot, so it is best to let them sit for a few minutes prior to serving.

How to fry them

Begin by adding about ¾" of oil to a large skillet and heating it to 350 degrees. Fry your corn tortillas for approximately 45 seconds, flipping them halfway through, then remove them from the hot oil and set on paper towels to soak up any excess oil.

Add 2-4 tablespoons of filling to a corn tortilla and roll them shut. These can also be secured with toothpicks, or just placed seam side down. Place these back in the frying oil for 3-5 minutes, flipping as needed to ensure the exterior is evenly crisped.

Removed the fried buffalo chicken taquitos from the skillet and let drain on paper towels and cool slightly prior to serving.

Taquito Dipping Sauce

My favorite way to enjoy taquitos is by dipping them in sour cream. However, traditionally buffalo chicken is paired with blue cheese dressing. The easy solution here is to combine them together and make a flavorful blue cheese sour cream dip.

You can make the sauce by combining equal parts of blue cheese dressing and sour cream. If blue cheese isn't a flavor you enjoy, you can make this dip with ranch instead.

Tips and Tricks

• If you are having trouble keeping your rolled tortillas shut you can pierce them with toothpicks to hold them in place until they are cooked.
• Corn tortillas will fall apart if they are not pre-fried. This is an important step. You want to cook them just enough to firm them up but not turn them into a crispy chip.
• If you want to save on calories you do not have to paint the baked buffalo chicken taquitos with cooking oil, however, the texture will suffer.
• The cream cheese can be softened in the microwave, or set the unopened package in hot water for 10 minutes.

FAQs

More Chicken Appetizers