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Weeknight-style Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Creamy Jalapeño Ranch. Chicken slow cooked in homemade buffalo sauce, then mixed with cheese, stuffed into tortillas, and oven-baked. Each buffalo taco is crunchy on the outside, and spicy, saucy, and cheesy inside. Serve with a creamy, tangy jalapeño ranch and an avocado on top. These come together easily and are so delicious. The perfect crispy taco that everyone loves!

Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Ranch | halfbakedharvest.com

The very first full week of September and I’m already back with the buffalo chicken recipes. The second football season starts back up all I can think about is fun game night appetizers and dinners. That’s the month of September for me. Then, when October hits I move on to Halloween 24/7.

But for now, it’s fun game day style recipes. And while I know these aren’t traditional tacos, they really are so delicious!

Here are the details

These are easy you guys. I want to start out by saying you can make these in either the crockpot, instant pot, or on the stove. Either option works, so use whichever method suits you best! They will all give you the same outcome.

For the crockpot, simply add all the ingredients right into the crockpot. For the hot sauce, I like to use Frank’s Red Hot. Next, add the butter, seasoned salt, and pepper. Let it all slow cook, then shred the meat right into the buffalo sauce.

The very same with the instant pot, except the cooking time is much, much shorter (just 8 minutes).

And for the stove-top, it is slightly more involved, but it’s still easy. Just cook the chicken in a skillet until seared, pour in the sauce, butter, and seasoned salt. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Then shred the chicken right into the sauce.

For the crispy shells

Instead of using store-bought taco shells, I like to take corn tortillas and stuff them with the buffalo chicken and cheese. Then I throw them into the oven to bake until the tortillas are crispy.

This method is my favorite and I use it every time I make tacos for my family. We love the crispy oven “fried” shells and melty cheese. It’s the best when some of the cheese melts out onto the pan and gets crispy too. Delicious.

Of course, feel free to use store-bought shells when in a time crunch! The directions I gave in the recipe calls for store-bought, but I provided my homemade recipe too!

The creamy jalapeño ranch

I know that making homemade ranch is just another step, but it really is worth it. And it’s easier than running to the market to pick up a bottle.

I keep mine pretty simple and straightforward. Sour cream or yogurt, mayo, buttermilk, parsley, dill, onion, garlic, and of course, the jalapeños. Instead of fresh jalapeños, I like to use pickled. Using pickled jalapeños adds a subtle, tangy kick that I find especially delicious.

Finish these up with avocado on top, fresh cilantro, and extra buffalo sauce.

Simple to make, but so yummy and fun for fall nights. My family loved these crunchy, crispy tacos!

Looking for more simple game day recipes? Here are a few favorites:

Crispy Jalapeño Cream Cheese Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

Sheet Pan Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup with Salty Lime Chips

Healthier Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme

Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch

Lastly, if you make these Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Ranch, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Ranch

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 762 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Creamy Jalapeño Ranch

Instructions

Crockpot

  • 1. In the bowl of your crockpot, combine the chicken, hot sauce, chipotle, butter, seasoned salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for 3-4 hours or on HIGH for 2 hours.
    2. When finished cooking, shred the meat and toss with the sauce, then remove the chicken from the sauce, saving the extra sauce for serving. Preheat the oven to 425° F.
    3. Line the taco shells up in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Transfer to the oven and bake 5 minutes. Stuff the chicken in each taco shell and top with cheese. Bake 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are crisp.
    4. Meanwhile, make the Creamy Jalapeño Ranch. Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until creamy. Season with salt.
    5. Serve the tacos topped with cilantro, green onions, avocado, additional buffalo sauce and Creamy Jalapeño Ranch.

Instant Pot

  • 1. In the bowl of your instant pot, combine the chicken, hot sauce, chipotle, butter, seasoned salt, and pepper. Seal the and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Release the steam.
    2. When finished cooking, shred the meat and toss with the sauce, then remove the chicken from the sauce, saving the extra sauce for serving. Preheat the oven to 425° F.
    3. Continue on with the recipe as directed in steps 3-5 above.

Notes

For Easy Homemade Hard Shells: Warm 8-12 corn tortillas for 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave, until pliable. On a baking sheet, rub the tortillas with olive oil. Lay each flat and then layer evenly with cheese and chicken. Fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling, gently pushing to adhere (see above photo). Transfer to the oven and bake for 5-8 minutes, then flip and cook another 5 minutes more, or until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are crisp. 
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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Made the buffalo chicken part last night and it’s delicious already on its own…and I didn’t even do the taco crispy/cheesey ranch part yet. Doing that for dinner tonight…can’t wait to put it all together!

    1. Hey Denise,
      Happy Monday!! Thanks a lot for making this dish and sharing your review, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great week! xx

  2. I made this recipe and it was really good but was way to salty. I will definitely make it again but will probably omit the seasoned salt altogether.

  3. Very tasty but my corn tortillas don’t look like your picture. Is your picture with taco shells? My tortillas split and curled.

    1. Hi Brenda,
      Did you follow the notes for making them at the end of the recipe? That is key! Thanks for trying the recipe! xTieghan

    1. Hi Brenda,
      You can oil both sides of the tortillas. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx

  4. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! What an easy and quick recipe in the Instant Pot. Used the homemade hard shells with corn tortillas, so crunchy! This is a keeper!

  5. 5 stars
    I loved this recipe! I made the instant pot version and I made the hard tacos, but next time I’ll buy hard shells to save a few minutes.

    This recipe made a lot of chicken, so I had leftovers for wraps the next day

    The ranch for this recipe was absolutely unreal. The only change I made was I had to use 2 tsp. Of dried chives instead of 2 Tbsp. of fresh because I didn’t have any fresh.

    1. Hey Melinda,
      Awesome!! Thanks so much for making these tacos, I am so glad to hear that they were enjoyed! Happy Friday! xTieghan

    1. Hi Amber,
      Sure, that would work! Chipotle peppers in adobo will also work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xx

  6. 5 stars
    I’ve made these two times so far. The first time was a run through to see if we’d like to make them for a dinner that we host with my sister every other week. I doubled the ranch recipe so that I had it prepped for the dinner party a few days later (this ranch is yummy). I couldn’t find chipotle peppers so I used canned chipotle peppers that were in a red sauce (probably adobo). The first run we used store bought crunchy taco shells. They were delicious but I did learn a few lessons. I used an instant pot and cooked for 10 mins. The chicken wasn’t as easy to shred so next time, 12 mins. I did not drain the chicken from the juice in the instant pot which made the base of the taco shell soggy and blow out when trying to remove them from the pan. I laid aluminum foil down in the pan and the cheese stuck to the foil and the soggy tacos did too. The 2nd go around the 12 mins in the instant pot allowed the chicken to shred more easily. We also drained the chicken so the tortillas weren’t soggy. We decided to use corn and flour tortillas and use the “homemade” method. They turned out better (still delicious) but the bottoms still blew out. After studying the photos on this recipe page I think I know what I’ll do next time. It looks like Tieghan used parchment paper to protect the pan and laid the tacos on their side rather then upright (which is how I orientated them). I think this will help with the bottom blowouts and create a better, all around crunchy taco.

      1. 5 stars
        Tieghan,
        Made these for the 2nd time and they are a huge hit with my family! The sensational flavors that meld together are absolutely incredible! I used boneless thighs each time and chipolte peppers in Adobe. My season salt is a Mississippi favorite that I use on almost everything that calls for a season salt and the Ranch Dip is a favorite! I could put this on toast! It is so tasty and flavorful, we have to triple the dip so there is enough to share between us! Thanks for sharing this hugely successful meal!

        1. Hey SusanBeth,
          Thanks so much for your kind message and making this recipe, I am so glad it was a winner! Happy Monday! xT

    1. Thanks so much Abbey!! I honestly wouldn’t use shredded already cooked chicken here:) You really want to allow the chicken to cook with the sauces and seasonings to absorb all of the good flavors! Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xT

  7. 5 stars
    My husband is obsessed with these! He especially loves the ranch. Im lactose intolerant so I omitted the buttermilk and it turned out delicious even without it! I think next time Ill try using corn tortillas instead of store bought shells since they seemed to break easily and it made stuffing with chicken a bit challenging. We obviously didn’t care because it tasted awesome! Thank you for sharing this 🙂

    1. Hey Chris,
      I would cook for at least 7 hours on low and just make sure your pot is large enough to handle doubling the recipe! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

  8. 5 stars
    I made these tacos over the weekend & they were absolutely delicious! Make sure not to skimp on the homemade jalapeno ranch- it’s a game changer!

  9. 5 stars
    These tacos are delicious! I used soft taco shells to make homemade hard shells and they came out so good! Nice and crispy and the way the cheese melts, perfection.