These crispy air fryer buffalo chicken taquitos will quickly become your new favorite game day appetizer! Serve them with an easy buffalo ranch dipping sauce for maximum flavor.
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Football season is back! Which means more tasty game day recipes and savory snacks, perfect for munching on in front of the TV – starting with these air fryer buffalo chicken taquitos. We took one of our all-time favorite football snacks, buffalo chicken dip, and turned it into the most amazing crispy, crunchy, dippable finger food. Paired with a ridiculously easy to make buffalo ranch dipping sauce, they’re so good that you’ll be hooked after the first bite. Say hello to your new favorite game day appetizer!
If you’ve ever wondered how to make taquitos in an air fryer, this recipe will teach you how. In our opinion, air fryer taquitos are superior to oven-baked. They’ve got all the crispy crunch you know and love without being too greasy, oily, or soggy on the inside. The buffalo chicken filling in these air fryer taquitos gets so creamy, cheesy, and warm while the corn tortillas stay super fresh and crispy! Which all comes together for the perfect bite of crunchy tortilla shell with a soft buffalo chicken center, made even more delicious by the creamy buffalo ranch dipping sauce.
Is your mouth watering yet?
Ingredients For Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
There are 6 main ingredients in our buffalo chicken taquitos, but the real substance comes from only 3 ingredients: cream cheese, chicken, and cheddar cheese! These three ingredients make up the base of the taquito filling, along with light ranch dressing and Frank’s Red Hot for that delicious buffalo chicken flavor. For a classic crunchy fried taquito shell, you’ll need corn tortillas to roll it all up.
Here are some ingredient suggestions for this recipe, based on what we typically like to use:
- Chicken – Plain shredded chicken works the best for these taquitos, since it’s easy to bite into and takes on a ton of flavor from the hot sauce and cheese. We like to boil chicken breast and shred it ourselves, but you can use rotisserie chicken for an easy shortcut.
- Cream cheese – Choose a quality cream cheese for this recipe since it makes up the base of your taquito filling. We stand by Philadelphia cream cheese for the smoothest, creamiest texture!
- Sharp cheddar cheese – Freshly shredded cheese melts the best, so we recommend buying a block of sharp cheddar and grating it yourself. If you’re in the market for a cheese grater, check out this collapsible one by OXO. We love it and use it anytime we’re making something cheesy!
- Light ranch dressing – We prefer light ranch dressing, but feel free to use the regular kind if you like it better! You can also experiment with using blue cheese dressing in place of ranch if you want to shake things up.
- Frank’s Red Hot – Frank’s is our go-to for anything involving buffalo chicken. It’s basically just liquid cayenne, which means tons of heat and spicy buffalo flavor!
- Corn tortillas – We use 6-inch corn tortillas for the perfect snacking size taquitos. Look for ones that are freshly made or organic, if you can find them – these will be the easiest to roll without cracking.
How To Make Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
It’s super easy to make buffalo chicken taquitos! All it takes is three basic steps: make the buffalo chicken taquito filling, roll it up with corn tortillas, and cook in the air fryer. Here’s a full breakdown to help make sure you end up with a perfect batch of deliciously dippable taquitos:
- Make the buffalo chicken taquito filling. Mix together softened cream cheese, shredded chicken, cheddar cheese, light ranch dressing, and Frank’s Red Hot. (To soften the cream cheese, simply leave it on the counter for about 15 minutes before cooking). Stir very well to thoroughly combine the ingredients until the mixture has a somewhat smooth consistency.
- Roll the taquitos. First, heat up a few corn tortillas in the microwave so they’re pliable and will roll without cracking. Simply place two or three tortillas between sheets of slightly damp paper towels and microwave for about 15 seconds or until warm. Then, quickly work to fill and roll the taquitos while the tortillas are warm. Place the rolled taquitos on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Keep reading for a full tutorial on rolling taquitos below.
- Cook the taquitos in the air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it’s ready, lightly grease the basket with cooking spray and fill with as many taquitos as you can comfortably fit in a single layer, seam side down. Grease the tops of the taquitos with cooking spray and cook for about 5 minutes or until bottoms are slightly crispy. Flip them over, spray them again, and cook for another 5 minutes or so until crisped. Transfer the cooked taquitos back to the baking sheet to drain on the parchment paper before serving.
Here are the detailed instructions – with photos – explaining how to fill and roll a taquito:
- Spoon the taquito filling into a line down the center of the tortilla
- Fold the tortilla in half over the filling
- Gently squeeze the tortilla to secure the filling as you begin rolling the tortilla over itself
- Place the rolled taquito seam side down on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet
One very important note: Dampen paper towels or clean dishcloths and lay them over the rolled, uncooked taquitos to keep them moist! If the taquitos sit out on the counter for too long before you get them in the air fryer, the tortillas will start to dry out and crack – which means your taquitos may come unrolled or lose their shape.
We learned this trick while making large batches of pork dumplings. Wrapping and shaping any sort of shell around a filling can be a tricky process, and there’s nothing more disappointing than putting in the hard work before seeing your snacks fall apart as you wait for the air fryer to preheat! So for these taquitos, keeping the tortillas slightly damp until they’re in the air fryer will help ensure you end up with perfectly crispy, fully intact taquitos.
Easy Buffalo Ranch Sauce
Our buffalo ranch sauce is exactly what it sounds like: ranch dressing with buffalo flavor. It’s the perfect dip for these air fryer taquitos! The creamy texture and fresh flavor contrasts the crispy, slightly greasy taquito shell beautifully for the most amazing bite. It’s just like dipping your buffalo wings into a side of ranch dressing, only better.
You’ll just need 4 simple ingredients to make this easy buffalo ranch dressing recipe:
- Frank’s Red Hot
- Light ranch dressing
- Butter
- Salt
Inspired by the sauce for our crispy air fryer buffalo chicken wings, this tasty buffalo ranch is the most delicious dip – and definitely worth making since it only takes a few minutes. Here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Combine equal parts Frank’s Red Hot and ranch dressing (¼ cup of each) in a small bowl.
- Whisk in a tablespoon of melted butter.
- Add a pinch of salt, to taste.
That’s it! Only four ingredients and a few minutes for a ridiculously easy buffalo ranch sauce that’s super creamy and packed with spicy flavor. While our buffalo chicken taquitos are indeed delicious on their own, they’re even better dipped in this sauce – trust us. It adds just the right amount of extra heat and spicy buffalo flavor to really take these taquitos up a notch.
And come on, who doesn’t love dipping finger foods into savory sauces? That’s one of our favorite pastimes, especially while watching football and snacking in front of the TV 🙂
Try the recipe for air fryer buffalo chicken taquitos and buffalo ranch dipping sauce below! If you’re a fan of football snacks, we guarantee you’ll love these taquitos as much as we do. Let us know what you think in the comments and don’t forget to like, rate, and share this post with your fellow appetizer fanatics!
Love this recipe? You may enjoy these recipes, too:
- Air Fryer Buffalo Wings
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Buffalo Chicken Sliders
- Tiny Tacos with Spicy Dipping Trio
- Easy Soft Pretzel Bites & Beer Cheese Dip
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Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
Equipment
Ingredients
Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
- ⅓ lb shredded chicken
- 2 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 tbsp Frank's Red Hot
- 1 tbsp light ranch dressing
- 8 small corn tortillas 6-inch
- Chives minced (optional garnish)
Buffalo Ranch Dressing
- ¼ cup light ranch dressing
- ¼ cup Frank's Red Hot
- ½ tbsp butter melted
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- First, prepare the buffalo chicken taquito filling. Add chicken, softened cream cheese, cheddar cheese, ranch dressing, and Frank's Red Hot to a medium bowl and stir very well to combine.
- Next, prepare to roll the taquitos. Line a small plate or baking sheet with parchment paper so you have somewhere to put the rolled taquitos.
- Heat 2 to 3 corn tortillas in the microwave between sheets of dampened paper towels until warm, about 15 to 20 seconds. They should be flexible enough to roll without cracking.
- Next, add about 2 tbsp of the filling in a line down the center of each tortilla. Then fold each tortilla in half and gently pinch around the filling to secure it before fully rolling the tortilla. Place rolled taquitos seam side down on the parchment paper.
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all of the taquitos have been rolled. As you're working, keep an eye on the rolled taquitos and cover with a damp paper towel if you notice the tortillas are starting to dry out. This will prevent them from cracking.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees. Lightly grease the basket with cooking spray, then place as many taquitos as you can in a single layer in the basket. Grease the tops of the taquitos with cooking spray and cook for 5 minutes. Then flip the taquitos, lightly spray them again, and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until crispy. Transfer cooked taquitos back onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet to drain before serving. Continue cooking taquitos in batches as needed.
- In the meantime, prepare the buffalo ranch dressing. Whisk together ranch dressing, Frank's Red Hot, and melted butter in a small bowl. Season with a pinch of salt, to taste.
- Serve taquitos hot with a side of buffalo ranch dressing, optionally garnished with chives. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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