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These Buffalo Chicken Taquitos are a fun spin on classic taquitos with bold buffalo flavor! Made with just 4 ingredients, everyone will love these easy and healthier buffalo chicken taquitos! Plus they are gluten-free and can be made in the air fryer or in the oven!
Awesome Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
I am all about taquitos and all about buffalo chicken! If you have made my Healthy Buffalo Chicken Dip, Buffalo Chicken Meatballs, or Buffalo Chicken Tenders, you know my love for buffalo chicken runs deep!
And, if you love my Oven Baked Beef Taquitos or my Classic Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos then you are going to absolutely love this new version of chicken taquitos that my entire family is loving! Meet these buffalo chicken taquitos! They are easy to make, flavor-packed, and the most fun way to serve up buffalo chicken!
Ingredients Needed for Buffalo Chicken & Cheese Taquitos
Here is an overview of the list of ingredients you need for this recipe. For the full recipe with measurements and instructions, keep scrolling to the bottom.
- Avocado Oil Spray: See note below on what to avoid when using oil spray with an air fryer.
- Tortillas: We’ve tested with corn, grain-free (Siete Foods brand), and whole wheat. For this flavor combo, it’s a personal preference on which you use.
- Shredded Chicken: I love making a batch of my Shredded Chicken in the Instant Pot but feel free to use rotisserie chicken here for an other shortcut!
- Hot Sauce: I use Frank’s!
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese or Cheddar Cheese: Either will work great!
- Garlic Powder & Black Pepper
That’s it! Want to add some other yummy add-ins? Some great additions are:
- Chopped Scallions
- Beans
- Crumbled Blue Cheese
How to Serve Them
Honestly, they’re so delicious they can be served all by themselves. But serving them with garnishes is fun too!
- Shredded Lettuce
- Diced Tomatoes
- Ranch Dressing
- Blue Cheese Dressing
- Crumbled Blue Cheese
- Additional Hot Sauce
- Scallions
- Avocado Slices
- 3-Ingredient Taco Slaw
- Diced Red Onions
- Guacamole
- Cilantro
A Note on oil sprays
Something worth noting, whether using Avocado Oil Spray, olive oil spray, or any other oil spray, avoid using an oil spray with propellant/aerosol. Aerosol spray cans can ruin your air fryer basket. It’s best to use a good quality oil mister or spray without any added ingredients.
What Type of Tortillas to Use
We tested this recipe with corn tortillas, almond flour tortillas (from Siete Foods), and whole wheat tortillas.
All worked well! We also know you can easily use traditional flour tortillas if you want. Just make sure they’re heated well (see below), and give a spritz of oil spray where they seal if needed.
For this chicken taquito flavor combination, my husband preferred the grain-free or whole wheat over the corn, while the rest of us liked all the options! Definitely a personal preference here.
Tips for Rolling Taquitos
My best tip for rolling taquitos is to make sure your tortillas are heated up! If you skip this step, your tortilla won’t be as flexible, and it could crack when filling, or unroll. So take the time to heat up the tortillas.
There are a few different methods of warming up tortillas, but the most common is to heat them up one by one in a hot skillet. Or to place them in the microwave to soften. I don’t recommend heating them over an open flame or under a broiler when making enchiladas as they can get too crispy.
If you are warming them up one by one, place the heated tortillas in a towel while you heat the others so they stay warm.
Once you’ve warmed up the tortillas, place the filling off the center toward one end of the tortilla in a small mound. Then, roll it up tightly and place it seam side down on your prepared sheet pan.
Pro-tip: Don’t roll it out so tight that you squish your filling down to the edges of the rolled tortilla. As this bakes, the filling will bubble and start to come out the sides. If you push the filling towards the edge of the tortilla before it bakes, more of the filling will spill out the sides than necessary.
Baked Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
While I am now fully obsessed with taquitos in the air fryer, you can also bake them in the oven on a sheet pan. You don’t need to use a ton of oil to get these crispy, but you need to use enough that it actually can crisp up.
We recommend rubbing or spraying oil on the parchment paper, and then doing the same with the tops of the taquitos after they have been rolled. We love this Avocado Oil Spray for this. It allows an even distribution of oil on both the sheet pan and the tortillas without adding too much, and the only ingredient in this spray is the oil!
How to Make Baked Chicken Taquitos:
- Preheat your oven.
- In a bowl mix together shredded chicken, hot sauce, garlic powder, black pepper, and shredded cheese.
- Warm the tortillas.
- Fill and roll your taquitos.
- Bake chicken taquitos at 400ºF oven for about 15-20 minutes.
- They should be flipped halfway through the baking time.
- I recommend baking them for 10 minutes first, flipping and then baking for the additional amount of time it takes for them to get lightly golden and crispy.
- Baking time will vary depending on the type of tortilla you use.
Buff Chicken Taquitos Air Fryer
- Preheat your air fryer.
- In a bowl mix together shredded chicken, hot sauce, garlic powder, black pepper, and shredded cheese.
- Warm the tortillas.
- Fill and roll your taquitos.
- Cook in batches flipping halfway though, until the tortillas are lightly crisp and the filling is melty.
- Serve taquitos as desired with optional garnishes of chopped lettuce, salsa, guacamole, cilantro, hot sauce, etc.!
What Type of Air Fryer to Use
We’ve tried quite a few air fryers over the years. We’ve have and use this basket style, this Instant Pot air fryer attachment and this toaster-style air fryer! They all work great! It’s quite a personal preference which you choose. Do you want/need a new toaster? Do you have space for a solo new appliance? All these things will go into consideration when shopping and deciding which of those will work for you.
What there is to be aware of about air fryers though is that some of them can be quite small. If yours has a small capacity, you may have to make the air fryer taquitos in batches. Though I’m guessing if you’ve been using this air fryer for a while, you’ve already learned that. Cooking it in batches, if you have a small capacity air fryer, ensures there is plenty of air circulation around the wings so they can get crispy.
Freezing and Reheating Chicken Taquitos
We love a good freezer meal, and these buffalo chicken taquitos freeze so well! I always have chicken taquitos in the freezer or bring them to a new mom or a friend in need.
To freeze them: Let them fully cool down. Freeze them flat on a sheet tray until they’re frozen solid (about 8 hours in the freezer), and then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag. They keep well for 3-6 months.
To reheat them: When ready to heat, place in a toaster oven or back in the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through until very hot and crispy.
Love Buffalo Chicken? Try These Other Recipes:
- Air Fryer Buffalo Cauliflower Nuggets
- Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- 5-Ingredient Buffalo Chicken Baked Hummus Dip
- Crispy Buffalo Chicken Bites
- Baked Buffalo Wings
- Buffalo Chicken Burgers
Want More Air Fryer Recipes? Here Are Some Hits:
- The Juiciest Air Fryer Chicken Breast
- Air Fryer Home Fries
- Air Fryer Eggplant Parm
- Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Air Fryer Chicken Tenders
Watch The Video:
Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients
- 12 tortillas see note
- 3 cups shredded chicken make it yourself or rotisserie chicken
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese or cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup hot sauce I use Frank's
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- Avocado oil spray see note
Instructions
Air Fryer Directions:
- Preheat air fryer to 400ºF and spray with avocado oil cooking spray.
- In a bowl combine chicken, hot sauce, cheese, garlic powder, and black pepper.
- Warm tortillas up either in a hot cast-iron skillet or in the microwave until malleable. Place 1 tortilla down on a flat surface and fill it with about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture off to the side. Roll up the tortilla tightly, spray with cooking oil spray at the seam, and place it, seam side down on a baking sheet or cutting board while you make the remaining taquitos. Continue until all of the filling has been used up.
- Place in the air fryer, seam side down and cook in batches for 6 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the tortillas are lightly crispy and filling is melty.
- Serve taquitos as desired with optional garnishes of chopped lettuce, tomato, ranch or blue cheese dressing, cilantro and hot sauce!
Oven Baked Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400ºF and line a rimmed baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Lightly oil the parchment paper.
- In a bowl combine chicken, hot sauce, cheese, garlic powder, and black pepper.
- Warm tortillas up either in a hot cast-iron skillet or in the microwave until malleable. Place 1 tortilla down on a flat surface and fill it with about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture off to the side. Roll up the tortilla tightly and place it, seam side down on the baking sheet. Continue until all of the filling has been used up.
- Lightly oil the tops of the tortillas.
- Bake on the lowest rack in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway though, until the tortillas are lightly crisp and the filling is melty.
- Serve taquitos as desired with optional garnishes of chopped lettuce, tomato, ranch or blue cheese dressing, cilantro and hot sauce!
Notes
- We tested this recipe with corn tortillas, almond flour tortillas (from Siete Foods), and whole wheat tortillas. All worked well! We also know you can easily use traditional flour tortillas if you want.
- We have found that cooking oil spray like avocado oil spray (with no other additives) is useful for applying oil to the tops of the tortillas. If you don't have that, you can use your hands or a pastry brush to lightly oil the tops of the tortillas.
- To freeze them, let them fully cool down. Freeze them flat on a sheet tray until they’re frozen solid (about 8 hours in the freezer), and then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag. They keep well for 3-6 months. When ready to heat, place in a toaster oven or back in the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through until very hot and crispy.
This was so super easy to make and toddler approved! Adding to my go-to recipe list for quick dinners and gatherings.
These are so deicious and easy to make! we devoured them, and I made a second batch for the freezer!
Made these taquitos and they were a hit! Super easy and delicious. We used siete almond flour tortillas and they were perfect. My 1 and a half year old devoured them. We liked them so much I made a huge batch the next day to have in the freezer.
These are delicious! So simple but packed with flavour. Yum!
Super easy to make and delicious! My husband is already asking when I will make them again and said they need to be added into the regular dinner rotation.
I’m a big foodie, and was on a chicken fix, so when I saw Lexie post this on her Instagram, I knew I HAD TO TRY THEM OUT! BUFFALO CHICKEN TAQUITO! Yes please! These were SO easy to make, I had almost everything in my pantry already, and came out SUPER DELICIOUS! Not only were they super delicious freshly made, but I even froze have of the batch, and they were STILL just as tasty when heating them up after being frozen! You will NOT regret trying these! I even threw a little avocado cream sauce on top! DELISH! Thanks!