If you love buffalo wings, you’ll love these buffalo chicken nachos. Crispy tortilla chips are topped with loads of buffalo shredded chicken, melted Colby jack cheese and crispy, refreshing celery then drizzled with a tangy buffalo yogurt sauce that makes each bite irresistible.

A plate of buffalo chicken nachos topped with melted cheese, sliced jalapeños, and chopped green onions. In the background, there's another plate of nachos and fresh celery sticks. The setting appears to be on a white surface.

Everyone knows the saying “you can’t outrun a bad diet.” Well, back in my Crossfit days, there was a local pizza place literally right next door to the gym making that statement hit home hard. For four solid years, I worked my ass off in the gym only to shove buffalo chicken pizza in my face once or twice a week. While it was a major frustration to not look like I spent 6 days a week in the gym, every delicious bite was worth it.

They called this pizza “buffalo chicken thin crust Sicilian.” It was served in squares with a crust that was thinner than regular Sicilian pizza but still somehow doughy in the middle. The chicken was drenched in the most perfectly tangy and spicy buffalo sauce and sprinkled with pieces of cool, crisp celery. It was like buffalo wings in pizza form and downright crave-worthy.

I haven’t had that pizza in about a decade, but these buffalo chicken nachos were created with it in the back of my mind as inspiration and it’s been fun to revisit all those flavors and textures in this recipe, now that we live 3 hours away from that pizza place.

This is true comfort when you’re craving a bar food fix. If you want healthier ideas for indulging in buffalo sauce try this buffalo chicken soup or these baked buffalo chicken cheddar bites. Need something gluten-free and kid friendly? Our air fryer buffalo chicken tenders are simple and delicious!

A close-up of a nacho being lifted with tongs. The nacho is covered in melted cheese, buffalo chicken, and topped with blue cheese crumbles and sliced celery. A blurred stack of plates can be seen in the background.

Why These Nachos Are A Favorite In My House

They’re the perfect game day munchie. Whether it’s football, basketball or any other sport, these are the kind of nachos that everyone will like.
Craving wings but don’t want to deal with frying? Buffalo chicken nachos are the answer. You get all the same flavors, even down to the celery on the side in these nachos and they’re so much easier and quicker to make.
Loaded but customizable. Like all nacho recipes, you can tweak these to include your favorite toppings. The melty cheese and addictive heat from the buffalo sauce make the base recipe something you’ll want to eat again and again, but the toppings you finish it with are entirely up to you. I personally love the fresh celery and how it contrasts to the spicy, tangy buffalo sauce, but pickled jalapeños, green onions and cilantro are also great finishing ideas.

Making Buffalo Chicken Nachos

This is a short overview of the recipe, please see the recipe card below for detailed instructions and ingredient quantities.

Ingredients for buffalo chicken nachos on a marble surface: tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese, cooked shredded chicken, buffalo sauce, fresh cilantro, blue cheese crumbles, sliced jalapeños, green onions, and sour cream.

Preheat the oven to 400°F and grab a large rimmed sheet pan. Spread the tortilla chips out onto the baking sheet. They should be in an even layer, but can overlap each other a bit.
Add the shredded chicken to a bowl. Mix together the buffalo sauce and ranch seasoning until combined. Pour the sauce over the chicken and toss until all of the chicken is fully coated in the buffalo sauce mixture.
Layer the buffalo chicken on top of the tortillas. Add the grated cheese and half of the celery and crumbled blue cheese.
Bake the nachos for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and the chips start to toast.
While the nachos bake, mix together the sauce toppings (buffalo sauce and yogurt). When the nachos come out of the oven, drizzle the sauce all over the top and garnish with the remaining celery, blue cheese and any additional toppings you like.

A baking sheet filled with tortilla chips surrounded by bowls of various ingredients including shredded meat, diced green peppers, crumbled cheese, and sauces. Fresh herbs and green onions are placed nearby on a light-colored surface.

A bowl of buffalo sauce is surrounded by ingredients: triangular tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sliced jalapeños, sour cream, chopped green onions, and fresh scallions on a white marble surface.

A bowl of shredded buffalo chicken sits on a countertop. Surrounding it are dishes with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and a small bowl of ranch dressing. A green cloth and green onions are visible beside the setup.

A baking tray filled with tortilla chips topped with shredded buffalo chicken. Surrounding the tray are bowls of green onions, jalapeños, blue cheese, and sour cream, with cilantro and green onions on the side.

A bowl filled with orange buffalo sauce topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt on a marble surface. Surrounding it are sliced jalapeños, chopped green peppers, blue cheese crumbles, cilantro, and green onions on a green cloth.

A bowl of vibrant orange buffalo wing sauce is centered on a marble surface, surrounded by fresh cilantro, green onions, sliced jalapeños, crumbled blue cheese, and chopped celery. A green cloth partially underlies the ingredients.

My Pro Tips

Helpful Recipe Tips

Rotisserie chicken makes throwing these nachos together so easy. It literally falls apart and you can have it shredded before the oven is done pre-heating. You can also simply boil some chicken breasts or air fry frozen chicken breasts to get meat quickly. I always shred my cooked chicken by placing it in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed. Save your fingers and try this method, you’ll never use forks again!
Use sour cream if you don’t have yogurt to make the buffalo sauce. Cream cheese is another option too. This is an important ingredient as all these options tame the heat of the buffalo sauce and help turn it into a creamy topping that takes these nachos to the next level.
Choose a sturdy chip. Not all tortilla chips are created equal. With the heaviness of the toppings in this nacho recipe, I like to use a heavy-duty chip that can handle it without breaking. Choose your chip wisely!

A tray of buffalo nachos topped with melted cheese, slices of jalapeño, chopped green onions, and crumbled blue cheese. The tray is placed on a surface with scattered jalapeño slices, cilantro, and a bundle of green onions nearby.

How To Adjust The Heat

Buffalo sauce can be spicy. If you’re serving this to kids or a crowd that just doesn’t love spice, you can adjust the heat level easily by adding more powdered ranch seasoning to the sauce before tossing with the chicken. Additionally, add some yogurt (or sour cream/cream cheese) to the buffalo sauce that you toss the chicken with too, not just the sauce that gets drizzled on top.

How To Prep These In Advance

You can definitely make parts of this recipe ahead of time to cut down on the prep time if you want. Although this is an easy recipe and relatively quick, this prep work can be especially helpful if you’re making these for a gathering and have lots of other cooking to do.

Grate the cheese and chop the celery ahead. Shred the chicken in advance and combine the buffalo sauce with the powdered ranch as well. The buffalo sauce topping can also be mixed in advance. Everything should be kept in their own containers and refrigerated until you assemble the nachos.

Close-up of buffalo chicken nachos, melted cheese, and crumbled blue cheese. Bright orange sauce covers the top, adorned with sliced celery pieces. The textures and colors suggest a flavorful and spicy culinary creation.

More Nacho Recipes To Try

BBQ pulled pork nachos have the same crave-worthy vibe going on as these buffalo chicken nachos but with pork and BBQ sauce. This a great recipe to make if you have leftovers from cooking a pork shoulder or butt.

Carne asada nachos will satisfy a craving for steak and a comfort food appetizer at the same time. They’re refreshing and hearty at the same time and the marinade used on the steak is one of my all-time favorites and most used for cooking steak year round.

Both butternut squash pita nachos and spring lamb nachos are perfect if you’re sporting a nacho craving but want something original and out of the box.

Gina Matsoukas

Founder and Writer at Running to the Kitchen | About

Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.

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