If you love the viral smash tacos, then just wait until you try these buffalo chicken smash tacos! With seasoned ground chicken, melty mozzarella, bold buffalo sauce, and crumbled blue cheese, this is the ultimate griddle recipe for tailgating or an easy weeknight dinner.

buffalo chicken smash tacos with ranch dressing, shredded lettuce, and diced tomatoes

If you caught our Chicken Caesar smash tacos, you already know the drill – ground chicken smashed thin right onto a flour tortilla, griddled hot and fast, then loaded up with toppings. That recipe was too good not to run back, so we grabbed the buffalo sauce and went a different direction. Same technique, completely different flavor. If you want to see the full lineup of what this method can do, check out all of our smash tacos recipes here.

Why You’ll Love These Buffalo Chicken Smash Tacos

These hit every mark for tailgate food. Ground chicken is budget-friendly and stretches further than you’d think, so you can feed a crowd without blowing the food budget. The smash technique means the chicken cooks fast and the tortilla crisps up right along with it – no separate steps, no extra pans.

Then there’s the flavor. That buffalo sauce gets brushed on right at the griddle, so it caramelizes into the chicken instead of just sitting on top cold. Add crumbled blue cheese, some crunch from lettuce and tomato, and a side of homemade ranch for dipping, and you’ve got everything people actually want to eat while they’re standing around before kickoff. Grab-and-go, minimal cleanup, big flavor. That’s the whole point of tailgate food.

buffalo chicken smash taco with ranch dressing, shredded lettuce, and diced tomatoes

Ingredients and Notes

Ground chicken – Lean meat, so it needs a little help so it doesn’t dry out on the griddle. That’s what the rest of this mixture is doing.
Shredded mozzarella cheese – Mixed right into the chicken, not just on top. It melts into the mixture as it cooks and helps hold everything together. The pre-shredded, bagged cheese works just fine here.
Spice That Jalapeño All-Purpose Seasoning – This is our Shake That seasoning taken up a notch with dehydrated jalapeños and buttermilk worked in, so it’s already leaning into that buffalo flavor before the sauce even hits the pan.
Egg, beaten – Works as a binder to hold the mixture together.
Mayonnaise – Adds moisture and a little tang so the lean chicken doesn’t cook up dry.
Flour tortillas – Stick with flour here, not corn. You want something that can hold up to the smash and crisp on the griddle. We used street taco sized tortillas.
Buffalo sauce – Use your favorite bottled sauce. This gets brushed on at the griddle, not stirred into the chicken mixture.
Toppings – Crumbled blue cheese, shredded lettuce, and diced tomato are our go-to. Set the blue cheese on the side if you’ve got people in your crowd who don’t do blue cheese.
Homemade buttermilk ranch – Not required, but it’s the move. Serve it on the side for dipping.

How to Make Buffalo Chicken Smash Tacos

Mix the chicken. In a medium bowl, combine the ground chicken, shredded mozzarella, Spice That Jalapeño seasoning, beaten egg, and mayonnaise. Mix until everything is well incorporated – don’t overwork it, just get it combined.

Portion it out. Portion out about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture and put it on each street taco-sized tortilla. Equal portions matter here, so we like to use our 2 tablespoon quick-release cookie scoop for this step (2 scoops equals 1/4 cup). It keeps your cook times consistent and means you’re not fighting thick spots and thin spots on the same taco.

Build your tacos. Press each portion of chicken out on the flour tortillas in a thin, even layer, working it almost all the way to the edge.

ground chicken mixture pressed flat on a flour tortilla

Griddle, meat side down. Get your griddle hot and add a little oil. Place the tortillas meat-side down and let them cook undisturbed. This is where that crust builds – don’t rush it or move it around before it’s ready. Cook until the chicken is almost completely cooked through, about 3-4 minutes depending on the temperature of your griddle.

cooking chicken smash tacos meat side down on a griddle

Flip and sauce. Flip so the tortilla side is down, then brush the buffalo sauce over the cooked chicken. Sprinkle on a bit of shredded mozzarella. Close the lid if you’ve got one or add a melting dome to help the cheese melt. You’ll cook about another 2-3 minutes on the tortilla side.

brushing buffalo sauce onto smashed chicken tacos on a griddle

Check for doneness. Make sure the chicken hits 165°F internal before you pull it. Since the ground chicken mixture contains extra fat from the mayo and egg, it can take a little extra time on the griddle and still come out juicy, so don’t stress about overcooking it. The bottoms of the tortillas should be golden brown and slightly crispy.

cooking buffalo chicken smash tacos on a griddle

Top and serve. Load each taco with crumbled blue cheese, shredded lettuce, and diced tomato. Serve immediately with the homemade ranch on the side for dipping.

Recipe Tips

Spray a little oil on the tortillas before you flip. A light spritz of your favorite spray oil helps to crisp up the tortilla as it cooks on the griddle.
Close the lid to melt the cheese. After you flip and sauce the chicken, sprinkle on a little extra shredded mozzarella and close the lid or add a melting dome for a minute.
They’ll firm up as they sit. Right off the griddle these can feel a little loose, especially with the sauce brushed on. Give them a minute – they set up fast and hold together fine.
Equal portions really do matter. Scooping and pressing consistent portions of chicken means every taco cooks at the same rate – no thick spots taking longer than the rest of the batch.