Buffalo Chicken Nachos

Buffalo chicken nachos are a game day favorite like none other. They're crunchy, spicy, cheesy, and just plain delicious. Best of all, they are super easy to make and perfect for large and small gatherings.

(This recipe was originally published in January 2011, but was updated with new photos and content in 2021).

Two of the most popular game day snacks include Buffalo wings and nachos. Combining them to create Buffalo chicken nachos is both brilliant and delicious.

Crunchy tortilla chips are drizzled with spicy Buffalo sauce and topped with tender pieces of shredded Buffalo chicken. The addition of crisp celery, gooey cheddar cheese and robust blue cheese crumbles takes these spicy nachos to another level.

When football season is inevitably over, break out this recipe for other sporting events, poker night, movie night, game night, etc. It's such a crowd-pleaser and it's really so easy to make! You can prep the toppings in advance and then just assemble/layer and bake. Easy peasy!

Ingredient notes

• Chicken: You'll need shredded cooked chicken to make these Buffalo chicken nachos. Either cook chicken breasts yourself (either in the oven, Instant pot, etc.) and shred them, or use leftover shredded rotisserie chicken. About 2 large chicken breasts will yield 4 cups of shredded chicken meat. I like shredding it into bigger chunks rather than very small/fine pieces, but do whichever you prefer.
• Hot Sauce: Although you can purchase bottled Buffalo sauce, I usually opt to make it myself because it's so easy. I recommend using Frank's Red Hot Original Sauce heated together with butter to make your own Buffalo sauce for these easy nachos. You can, however, substitute about 1 ¼ cups bottled Buffalo wing sauce for the hot sauce and butter combination called for in this recipe. Just note that the bottled wing sauce contains "Butter Type Flavor" as an ingredient rather than real butter (which is why I make my own).
• Blue Cheese: There are two basic camps when it comes to Buffalo chicken, those on team blue cheese and those on team ranch. I'm on team blue cheese and cannot imagine anything Buffalo chicken without its inclusion. With that said, you can definitely omit the blue cheese crumbles if you aren't a fan. You may also finish your Buffalo chicken nachos with a drizzle of ranch dressing if that's your jam.

How to make it

Place a rack in the top third of the oven and preheat the oven to 475°F. Line a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the hot sauce and butter. Heat and stir until the butter emulsifies into the hot sauce and the mixture heats through, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the shredded chicken and stir to coat with the sauce and heat the chicken through, another 2 minutes. Remove the chicken from the sauce with a slotted spoon and reserve the chicken and Buffalo sauce separately.

Arrange the tortilla chips in the prepared sheet pan and top with the shredded Buffalo chicken. Add the sliced celery and about ½ the shredded cheddar, making sure to distribute the toppings evenly over the chips.

Drizzle the reserved Buffalo sauce over the top of the nachos. It will infuse more flavor into the cheese and soak into some of the chips. Finish with the crumbled blue cheese and the remaining shredded cheddar.

Bake in the top third of the oven for 5 to 7 minutes until the the nachos are hot and the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown at the edges. Top with sliced scallions, if desired, and serve immediately.

Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.

Expert tips

Reduce or multiply the recipe to feed a small group or a large crowd. The photos in this post are of a half recipe, which still makes a lot.

Prep the ingredients (like shredding the chicken and cheese) for these Buffalo chicken nachos in advance and then finish and bake right before you're ready to serve.

I strongly recommend grating your own cheddar cheese rather than using pre-shredded cheese. Bags of shredded cheese contain anti-caking agents which prevent them from melting as smoothly as regular grated cheese. Nachos will always be better if you grate the cheese yourself.

There will be a fair amount of Buffalo sauce to pour over the nachos. A few of the chips will soften a bit but most will simply infuse with the sauce and get crunchy in the oven. The sacrifice is totally worth it to infuse all that extra Buffalo flavor into the remaining chips.

Other recipes you may like

• Buffalo Chicken Dip
• Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
• Baked Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
• Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells
• Buffalo Chicken Quiche
• Volcano Fries (Garlic Fries with Sriracha Aioli and Furikake)
• Chilaquiles Rojos (Red Chilaquiles)

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