Buffalo Chicken Wraps with Ranch Slaw
Buffalo chicken wraps with saucy skillet chicken, sharp cheddar, and a crisp ranch slaw rolled into soft flour tortillas. Ready in 30 minutes.
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Buffalo chicken wraps are what I make when it’s too hot to turn on the oven and everyone still wants something with a little heat. Chicken strips cook fast in a skillet, get tossed in a butter-and-hot-sauce glaze right in the pan, then get rolled into soft tortillas with sharp cheddar and a cold, crunchy ranch slaw. The hot filling against the cold slaw is the whole point.
Making the buffalo sauce in the same pan the chicken cooked in is a small move that changes the flavor a lot. Bottled buffalo sauce is mostly cayenne pepper sauce with some oil, and it tastes flat and vinegary poured straight from the bottle. Melting real butter into the hot sauce over low heat softens that sharp edge and turns it glossy, and doing it in the skillet means it picks up the browned bits the chicken left behind.
If you want this on the table even faster, our Crockpot Buffalo Chicken is the shortcut. Pull about three cups of it straight from the fridge, warm it in a pan, and skip the first two steps entirely. The slaw takes five minutes and the wraps roll up the same way.
Why You’ll Love This Buffalo Chicken Wraps Recipe
- Hot filling, cold crunch. Warm buffalo chicken against crisp romaine and celery is the contrast that makes these worth making.
- Sauce made in the pan. Butter melted into hot sauce right in the skillet tastes rounder and richer than sauce poured from a bottle.
- Thirty minutes, start to finish. The chicken cooks in under ten, and the slaw comes together while it does.
- Easy to dial the heat. Cut the hot sauce back or add more ranch and the same wrap works for kids who don’t want their mouth on fire.
Buffalo Chicken Wraps Ingredients
Reach for a cayenne pepper hot sauce like Frank’s RedHot rather than a thick, sweet wing sauce. Wing sauces already have butter and sugar in them, so adding more butter here makes the filling greasy instead of glossy.
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup cayenne pepper hot sauce, such as Frank’s RedHot
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 cups shredded romaine lettuce
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
- 2/3 cup ranch dressing, divided
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
- 6 large flour tortillas, 10-inch
Recipe Variations
- Use blue cheese dressing in place of the ranch, and add a handful of crumbled blue cheese to the slaw for a sharper, more classic wing-shop flavor.
- Swap the romaine for shredded green cabbage if you want a slaw that stays crunchy longer in a packed lunch.
- For a hot wrap, leave the slaw out and roll them with just the buffalo chicken and cheddar. Toast them seam side down in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes per side to melt the cheddar and crisp the tortilla, then open one end and tuck the cold slaw in before serving.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Wraps
- Season and cook the chicken: Toss the chicken strips with the garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the chicken in a single layer for 5 to 6 minutes, turning once, until browned outside and a thermometer reads 165°F in the thickest strip.
- Make the buffalo sauce in the pan: Turn the heat down to low. Add the butter and the hot sauce right to the skillet and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until the butter melts into a glossy sauce that coats every piece of chicken. Take the pan off the heat.
- Mix the ranch slaw: In a bowl, toss the romaine, carrots, and celery with 1/3 cup of the ranch dressing until everything is lightly coated. Keep it cold until you’re ready to roll.
- Warm the tortillas: Stack the tortillas, wrap them in a damp paper towel, and microwave for 20 to 30 seconds. Warm tortillas fold without cracking down the seam, which is what makes these buffalo chicken wraps hold together.
- Fill the wraps: Lay a tortilla flat and drizzle a little of the remaining ranch down the center. Add a scoop of cheddar, then a sixth of the buffalo chicken, then a handful of the ranch slaw, keeping everything in a line and leaving a two-inch border at each end.
- Roll them tight: Fold the short ends in over the filling, then roll the wrap up from the long side, tucking as you go so it stays snug.
- Slice and serve: Cut each wrap in half on a diagonal and serve right away, with extra ranch for dipping.
Recipe FAQs
Can I Use Rotisserie or Leftover Chicken?
Yes, and it’s the fastest way in. Warm about 4 cups of shredded cooked chicken in a skillet with the butter and hot sauce for 2 to 3 minutes, then build the wraps as written.
How Spicy Are These?
Medium. A half cup of cayenne pepper sauce cut with butter and cooled by ranch lands somewhere around a mild wing. Use 1/3 cup hot sauce for a gentler version, or add a pinch of cayenne if you want more.
How Do I Keep the Wrap from Falling Apart?
Warm the tortilla first, keep the filling in a narrow line down the center, leave a border at both ends, and fold the ends in before you roll. A cold tortilla splits every time.
Can I Make These Ahead for Lunches?
Roll them up to a day ahead, wrap tightly in foil, and keep them cold. Use cabbage instead of romaine if you’re making them the night before, since romaine goes limp once it sits in dressing.
What Else Can I Put in Them?
Diced red onion, sliced avocado, pickled jalapeños, or a scoop of black beans all work. Just don’t overfill; a fat wrap is a wrap that bursts.
Cooking Tips
- Cut the chicken into strips of even thickness. Thin tails cook through and dry out while the thick pieces are still pink in the middle.
- Add the butter to the hot sauce over low heat, not high. Boiling buffalo sauce splits, and you’ll get an oily slick on top instead of a sauce that clings.
- Dress the slaw right before you build, not ten minutes early. Salt and dressing pull water out of the lettuce fast, and soggy slaw makes a soggy wrap.
Storage and Freezing
To store: Store the buffalo chicken and the slaw in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days, and roll the wraps fresh.
To freeze: The buffalo chicken freezes well on its own for up to 3 months. Don’t freeze assembled wraps; the lettuce, ranch, and tortilla all come out limp and wet.
To reheat: Warm the chicken in a skillet over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or microwave it for about a minute, then build the wraps with cold slaw.
How to Serve Buffalo Chicken Wraps
Buffalo chicken wraps go with anything you’d want next to wings: a pile of kettle chips, sweet potato fries, celery and carrot sticks with extra ranch, or a bowl of tomato soup if it’s a cooler night. For a slow-cooker take on the same flavors, our Crockpot Buffalo Chicken is the one to make. More easy weeknight dinners like this are on the way.
Loved This Recipe?
Buffalo chicken wraps hit that hot-sauce-and-ranch craving in half an hour, with no fryer and no delivery order.
Leave a star rating in the comments below, it helps other people find this recipe. Made it? Tag @allwellfed on Instagram, I love seeing this one in other people’s kitchens.
Buffalo Chicken Wraps with Ranch Slaw
Equipment
- Instant-Read Thermometer 165°F, checked in two spots rather than one.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts boneless, skinless, cut into thin strips
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup cayenne pepper hot sauce such as Frank’s RedHot
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 cups shredded romaine lettuce
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 2 stalks celery thinly sliced
- 2/3 cup ranch dressing divided
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
- 6 large flour tortillas 10-inch
Instructions
- Season and cook the chicken: Toss the chicken strips with the garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the chicken in a single layer for 5 to 6 minutes, turning once, until browned outside and a thermometer reads 165°F in the thickest strip.
- Make the buffalo sauce in the pan: Turn the heat down to low. Add the butter and the hot sauce right to the skillet and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, until the butter melts into a glossy sauce that coats every piece of chicken. Take the pan off the heat.
- Mix the ranch slaw: In a bowl, toss the romaine, carrots, and celery with 1/3 cup of the ranch dressing until everything is lightly coated. Keep it cold until you’re ready to roll.
- Warm the tortillas: Stack the tortillas, wrap them in a damp paper towel, and microwave for 20 to 30 seconds. Warm tortillas fold without cracking down the seam, which is what makes these buffalo chicken wraps hold together.
- Fill the wraps: Lay a tortilla flat and drizzle a little of the remaining ranch down the center. Add a scoop of cheddar, then a sixth of the buffalo chicken, then a handful of the ranch slaw, keeping everything in a line and leaving a two-inch border at each end.
- Roll them tight: Fold the short ends in over the filling, then roll the wrap up from the long side, tucking as you go so it stays snug.
- Slice and serve: Cut each wrap in half on a diagonal and serve right away, with extra ranch for dipping.
Notes
If you made this, leave a star rating down in the comments. It takes about ten seconds, and it’s how other cooks decide whether a recipe is worth trying.
