Buffalo Chicken Nachos (Printer-friendly)

Crispy chips piled with spicy buffalo chicken, melted cheese, and ranch drizzle—perfect for game day entertaining.

# What You'll Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
02 - 1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce

→ Nachos

03 - 7 oz tortilla chips
04 - 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
05 - 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

→ Toppings

06 - 1/4 cup sliced green onions
07 - 1/4 cup diced celery
08 - 1/4 cup diced tomatoes, optional
09 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, optional

→ Ranch Drizzle

10 - 1/3 cup ranch dressing

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F.
02 - In a medium bowl, toss the shredded chicken with buffalo wing sauce until well coated.
03 - Spread tortilla chips evenly on a large oven-safe platter or baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
04 - Scatter the buffalo chicken evenly over the chips.
05 - Sprinkle cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese evenly over the chicken and chips.
06 - Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbling.
07 - Remove from the oven and drizzle ranch dressing over the hot nachos.
08 - Top with green onions, diced celery, tomatoes, and cilantro as desired.
09 - Serve immediately while hot.

# Expert advice:

01 -
  • Everything happens on one sheet pan, so cleanup is faster than the game itself.
  • The tangy buffalo heat with cool ranch creates that addictive sweet and spicy contrast people can't stop reaching for.
  • It looks like you tried hard, but you're really just layering and baking.
02 -
  • If you pile the chips too thick, the bottom layer steams instead of crisping, so spread them wide and consider making two smaller trays instead of one giant heap.
  • Add the ranch after baking, not before—baking it makes the dressing split and turn oily instead of creamy and cool.
03 -
  • Shred your own cheese from a block instead of buying pre-shredded—it melts smoother and doesn't have that weird anti-caking coating.
  • If you don't have buffalo sauce, mix hot sauce with melted butter (about 2 parts hot sauce to 1 part butter) and toss the chicken in that.
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