Buffalo Chicken Smash Burger Tacos with Ranch Slaw
If you crave buffalo chicken, smash burgers, and tacos, you will love these easy buffalo chicken smash burger tacos that don’t make you choose a favorite. Three iconic guilty pleasures collide in one creative masterpiece. Ground chicken is tossed in spicy buffalo sauce and gets the smash burger treatment on a tortilla for crispy edges, then cool, crunchy ranch slaw with blue cheese and onions get piled on. It’s the kind of dinner that makes you forget it’s only Tuesday. The whole thing comes together in under 30 minutes, requires zero specialty equipment beyond a spatula, and tastes like you just invented a new food category. Full recipe card below!
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What are Smash Burger Tacos?
If you have not seen the smashed taco trend yet, let me explain. It all started last year with a TikTok – make video. A creator combined the smash burger with a tortilla and reinvented how a taco can be made. Instantly this trend went viral.
Essentially a smash taco takes the taco meat, usually ground beef, and smashes it on a tortilla. The taco is then cooked with the meat side down. Once the meat is cooked, you fold it like a taco and fill it up with your favorite toppings.
I was heavily inspired by this smash taco idea but decided to add a twist. Rather than a typical beef smash burger, I combined it with ground chicken, buffalo wing sauce, blue cheese, and fresh slaw to create the perfect handheld taco for a quick lunch or dinner.
Smash Burger Tacos Ingredients
These simple spicy buffalo chicken smash tacos are the perfect recipe for a quick dinner on a busy weeknight. Here are my notes on the ingredients that will give you the best results.
- Ground Chicken – To mimic traditional buffalo chicken wings I used ground chicken for the meat of the taco. When making smash tacos, a ground meat is essential to spreading it out on the tortilla. You could also use ground turkey, but I have not specifically tested it.
- Tortillas – I usually use a single layer of the street taco size small flour tortillas. They hold up much better than corn tortillas and the street taco size is just perfect for the amount of toppings.
- Buffalo Hot Sauce – Frank’s RedHot or similar cayenne based hot sauce. While Frank’s is the well known classic, I actually prefer the Buffalo Wild Wings medium spicy buffalo sauce. Our grocery store sells these bottled sauces in the condiment section. But it’s really your personal preference here. Just make sure it’s buffalo wing sauce and not just hot sauce. You can also make your own homemade buffalo sauce if you prefer.
- Ranch Dressing Mix – I use the dry ranch to season the ground chicken as well as the slaw. I prefer the dry because it has more concentrated flavor without making either one too runny. And ground chicken needs a fair amount of seasoning.
- Blue Cheese Crumbles – You either love blue cheese or you hate it. I personally love blue cheese and think it makes a great topper on this smash burger taco recipe because blue cheese pairs really well with buffalo sauce. But if you are not a fan of the moldy looking cheese, feel free to skip it or use your favorite cheese instead. For a slightly milder flavor you could use gorgonzola instead.
- Shredded Cheese – To add a little more cheesy goodness to these tacos I also use a little bit of shredded cheese that I melt on top when they are cooking on the griddle. You can use whatever kind you like, mozzarella, cheddar, or a blend.
- Coleslaw Mix – This ingredient provides a good crunch without instantly becoming soggy like romaine lettuce. To keep it easy I buy a bag of pre-shredded cabbage and I mix in a small amount of the dry ranch and sour cream for a cool and light flavor.
- Sour Cream – When it comes to the ranch slaw, I use a simple ranch mix using dry ranch and sour cream. It is much lighter than regular ranch dressing and has a tangy taste that makes the perfect herby ranch slaw.
- Red Onion – I chose to use a red onion here since it is raw and doesn’t get cooked. Red onions are the best onion to use in raw applications and have a slightly spicy flavor to them. I mix this into the ranch slaw. If you don’t have a red onion you can use a white or yellow onion they will just have a slightly more aggressive taste raw.
- Celery – Commonly paired with buffalo chicken wings, celery gives these smash burger tacos a little extra crunch and flavor. I like to dice celery sticks up into small pieces so they are not hard to eat.
- Additional Toppings – Feel free to add any additional toppings you love like bell peppers, creamy avocado, or even crispy fried onions.
Cooking Method
The best way to make these is on the stovetop on a griddle pan or on a flattop grill pan. If you do not have one you can also make them in a large skillet but it may take longer if you cannot fit more than one at a time. I can make four street taco size at a time on my griddle pan or all at once on the flattop grill insert.
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Buffalo Chicken Smash Burger Tacos with Ranch Slaw
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 10 street tacos 1x
Description
Forget choosing between game day wings, taco night, and smash burgers. These buffalo chicken smash burger tacos are a guilty pleasure mash up delivering all three with saucy tangy flavor, smashed lean protein, bold blue cheese, and crisp herby ranch slaw all in taco form. This quick weeknight meal is the perfect way to spice up your taco Tuesday. Trust me, this great recipe will find its way into your regular meal prep because they are that good!
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Chicken
- 3 tbsp Buffalo Sauce
- 2 tbsp Dry Ranch Seasoning divided
- 1/4 Red Onion diced
- 2 Celery Stalks diced
- 3 cup Cole Slaw Mix
- 2 tbsp Sour Cream
- 10 Street Taco Flour Tortillas
- 3/4 cup Shredded Cheese
- 3 tbsp Blue Cheese Crumbles
Instructions
- In a medium size bowl, combine the raw chicken with 1 tbsp dry ranch and 3 tbsp buffalo sauce. This works best if you use your hands.
- Then divide the buffalo chicken mixture into 10 equal size balls.
- Pre-heat your pan over medium-high heat and spray with cooking spray.
- Place each ball in the center of a tortilla. Cover with a piece of wax paper and smash the ground chicken down into a thin layer until it covers most of the tortilla. You can also just use your hands or a burger press if you have one but it definitely isn’t needed.
- Flip the tortilla onto the hot griddle meat side down. Cook for 3 minutes then flip so the bare tortilla is on the pan. Reduce the heat to low and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until the tortilla is toasty and cheese is melty. *Pro tip, to melt the cheese faster cover the griddle pan with a baking sheet. If using a skillet, use a lid.
- While the tacos cook, In a small bowl add coleslaw mix, 1 tbsp dry ranch, and 2 tbsp sour cream, diced onion, and celery, and toss. Set aside.
- Transfer the tortilla with the cooked chicken to a plate or taco stand.
- Add a spoonful of the slaw mixture to the bottom of the taco.
- Top with a sprinkle of bule cheese and a drizzle of buffalo sauce.
Equipment
Notes
The number of tacos will vary slightly depending on the size of your tortillas and how full you stuff them, but I usually end up with 10 full street tacos.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Entree, Lunch
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Looking for more taco ideas? Try my fresh Mediterranean chicken smash burger tacos, Caribbean jerk chicken tacos, air fryer salmon tacos with mango salsa, crispy potato egg and cheese breakfast tacos, or my frozen Costco tilapia fish tacos.
Looking for more buffalo chicken recipes? Try my ground buffalo chicken lettuce wraps, buffalo chicken dip wonton appetizer cups, buffalo chicken pizza recipe, or my English muffin buffalo chicken bites.
Storage
These tacos are best eaten immediately, but life happens and sometimes you have leftovers. Store leftover buffalo chicken smash tacos disassembled in the fridge for up to 3 days. The slaw should be stored in a separate airtight container but will become soggier the longer it sits.
When to Make Buffalo Chicken Smash Tacos
While I do love to make tacos on Tuesday, these delicious buffalo chicken smash burger tacos are a great choice any night of the week. They combine three iconic favorites for one easy weeknight dinner that feels like takeout in less than 30 minutes. You could even make them as a game day appetizer or snack. They are a great way to add something bold and exciting to the tired nightly meal plan. No matter when you decide to make them, these will definitely become a household favorite!
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This post, Buffalo Chicken Smash Burger Tacos with Ranch Slaw, appeared first on Garrison Street Eats.
Great idea! Looks delicious!!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy them 😉