Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

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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.

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

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:

1. Combine equal parts Frank’s Red Hot and ranch dressing (¼ cup of each) in a small bowl.
2. Whisk in a tablespoon of melted butter.
3. 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 🙂