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One Skillet Buffalo Ranch Chicken Enchilada Bake. Quick-cooking ground chicken, seasoned with fajita seasoning and tossed in a mix of spicy buffalo sauce and smoky salsa verde. Top this saucy enchilada skillet with ranch-seasoned cheese tortillas, then bake it up in the oven. The most delicious smells, a bubbly buffalo verde sauce, and melty cheese are all tucked into this skillet meal. It’s a delicious twist on the combination of baked enchiladas and saucy buffalo chicken. Serve with dollops of ranch and avocado on top. So yummy!
I’ve said this before, but it’s the recipes that I come up with at a moment’s notice and with a little bit of a time crunch, that I end up loving most.
I’ve been wanting to make enchiladas for the last 2 weeks. I even tried two new recipes but ended up scratching them both because I did not love them. This idea came to me at the end of the day this week. I knew I really didn’t have time to fully complete the recipe from start to finish, but I tried anyway.
And while I didn’t finish the recipe to my exact liking on day one, I knew I LOVED the idea. Yes, these enchiladas are different, but it’s the buffalo sauce that really makes them special.
The details
Just like any chicken enchilada, this recipe starts with chicken, onions, and peppers. I love to use ground chicken since it’s so quick cooking.
Everything is pan-cooked in a skillet with a mix of seasonings, buffalo sauce, and salsa verde. I use a bit of fajita seasoning (you can also use taco seasoning or just chili powder), and then black pepper.
Once the chicken, onions, and peppers are cooked, add the beer. I use beer for an additional flavor boost, but you can easily replace the beer with water if you prefer.
And the key, the sauce! This is extra saucy with both buffalo sauce and salsa verde. I took inspiration from my white chicken chili, we just love this flavor combination!
For the buffalo sauce, I did a homemade sauce, but you can use one from the store as well. I always recommend Franks!
Now, the cheesy tortillas! Traditionally you would roll the tortillas up with the chicken, then place each in enchilada sauce. But I didn’t want to bother with the mess of rolling up the sauce. Instead, I rolled each tortilla up with the creamy mix that would make up a classic buffalo chicken dip: cream cheese, ranch, and then some shredded cheddar cheese.
The tortillas go right over the sauce. Then I finish this bake with a handful more of cheese and throw the whole pan in the oven.
Bake until the sauce is bubbling up around the skillet and the cheese is melted.
What ends up happening is that the tortillas get a nice crispy crunch around the edge of the skillet, but the cheese inside each melts into the creamiest ranch dip. Which of course is so delicious with any buffalo chicken recipe.
For toppings, I do dollops of salted lime yogurt, avocado, cilantro, and jalapeños. Green onions would be great too!
Simple to throw together with a nice mix of texture and flavor. You get saucy, crispy, and spicy.
The perfect game-day style enchiladas, but really great for a fun dinner with friends or family too!
Looking for other Mexican-inspired recipes? Here are a few…
Spicy Buffalo White Chicken Chili
Mini Ranch Pretzels with Buffalo Cheese Sauce
Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Ranch
One Skillet Street Corn Chicken Enchilada Bake
Crispy Jalapeño Cream Cheese Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
Lastly, if you make this One Skillet Buffalo Ranch Chicken Enchilada Bake, 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!
One Skillet Buffalo Ranch Chicken Enchiladas
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 671 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon fajita seasoning
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 2 poblano peppers, chopped
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- 1 cup beer (or use water)
- 1 cup buffalo sauce
- 1/2 cup salsa verde
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temp
- 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon dried chives
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 6 tortillas, warmed
- avocado, limes, and cilantro, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400°.2. In a large oven-safe skillet, combine the olive oil, chicken, onion, and peppers. Cook, breaking up the meat as it cooks, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the fajita seasoning, then pour in the beer, the buffalo sauce, and the salsa. Simmer 5-8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. 3. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, yogurt, parsley, chives, dill, paprika, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Stir in half of the shredded cheese.4. Spoon the cream cheese mix down the center of each tortilla, tuck, and roll. Place the tortillas, seam side down, into the skillet overtop of the chicken. Top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese has melted.5. Serve warm, drizzled with yogurt mixed with lime and salt. Top with avocado, cilantro, and jalapeños. Add extra buffalo sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
Buffalo Sauce: Mix 1/2 cup hot sauce, 1/2 cup olive oil or melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, and a 1/2 teaspoon each onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a glass jar or measuring cup. Mix together.
Homemade Fajita Seasoning: mix 2 tablespoons chili powder, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and black pepper. Makes 1/2 cup.
Hands down one of the best recipes I have ever made. This is the first time I have commented on a blog – but just felt the need to.
I have taken some liberties too, and it still comes out delicious. Thank you for sharing this this Gem
Hey Neil,
Wonderful!!🎅 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and your comment! xT
Absolutely loved this recipe! Going to try doubling it next time because we definitely didn’t have any leftovers the first time!
Hey Sara,
Wonderful!!🎅 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it and your comment! xT
Made this tonight & my husband loved it, he said it was a keeper! (I subbed chickpeas for the chicken) So many great flavors in this & easy to make. Thanks Tieghan!
Hey Nicole,
Happy Tuesday!! Thanks a lot for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it turned out tasty for you! xT
Loved this recipe, it was so fun to make and so yummy! Next time I will add less dill, but other than that, this was a great dinner
Hey Mackenzie,
Awesome! Love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend:)
OMG! How do I give this recipe more than five stars?
I love all your recipes, Tieghan but this one HAS to be my favorite.
I ate it three times in one week and loved the leftovers just as much as the night I made the dish. Can you say “keeper”?
Hey Nancy,
Happy Friday!!🌻 I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for trying it and sharing your review:) Thanks so much for your kind message! xT
I loved it. My kids thought it was too saucy. Next time I’d cut back on the buffalo sauce or double the meat.
Hey Natalie,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
Love this!! I thought it was going to be hard to make but it was easy and the flavors work well together
Hey Jeanette,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! xx
Maybe a bit too much dill, it was a little overpowering, would probably do less next time 🙂 everything else was great
Hi Shaye,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xT
I never would have put these ingredients together but WOW these are a must try if you’re looking to mix up your average enchilada!
Hi Shelby,
Happy Saturday! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xT
I like almost everything in this recipe but the buffalo sauce. I love buffalo sauce but in this recipe, I feel like it made it hard to enjoy the other flavors. I wish I had used less or gone with a more traditional enchilada sauce. Everything else was perfect! From the crispness of the tortillas, the yogurt+lime drizzle, and yogurt+cream cheese in the tortilla.
Hi Melaney,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear you didn’t like the buffalo sauce. I would try this recipe next time:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chicken-enchilada-bake/
I hope this helps! xT
I had to try this recipe, I mean who doesn’t like buffalo and ranch?!!! I’m so sad, unfortunately this did not work for my family! It was just not to our liking. BUT… if you want the tang of buffalo sauce in your enchiladas as well as ranch tasting filling then this is great for you!
Hi Tavia,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xx
Wondering if this recipe would work just as well with Ground Turkey? Any thoughts?
Oops – I thought this was made with chicken breast not ground chicken, lol!
Hi Tabitha,
Yes, that should work well for you! Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love it! xx
Wow, this was extremely spicy and extremely delicious! I made your fajita seasoning, which will be useful for other recipes, and was unsure what size tortillas to buy (in some comment “3 inch tortillas” were mentioned, which I was pretty sure didn’t exist) but by chance bought the ones you linked to, although I only had enough filling for four of them. I was afraid the enchiladas would be too crispy after coming out of the oven, but in fact they were perfect and especially nice baked on top of, instead of covered by, the sauce. An innovative recipe, and one I’ll definitely be making again.
Hey Helen,
Fantastic!! 🍁🍂 I am delighted to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review! xT
2 Thumbs was up! My picky eater, “only eat if we have to” sons both went back for seconds of this dish (mind you this NEVER happens!!) I left out the dill and the beer and it was still amazing, thank you for coming up with such delicious & creative concoctions!
Hi Christine,
Happy Wednesday! I really appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it was a winner! 🤩
Delicious, and so easy to make. Just enough spice; and tastes better than restaurant enchiladas. I love how most of these recipes are ingredients I can find at almost any store; and the recipe is so easy to follow! Thank again for another great recipe!
Hey Connor,
Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for trying it out! Have a great weekend! 👻
Kind of a different idea, and I wasn’t sure about it going in, but they were very tasty and they were quickly consumed, even by my spice-phobic kid! I will make again. I may increase the enchilada portion next time.
Hey there,
Happy Tuesday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xT