Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos With Blue Cheese Dip
This recipe was born from an excess of celery in my fridge, a love for tacos, and a craving for buffalo wings. These tacos are great for both an easy weeknight dinner, or a party appetizer. The blue cheese dip cannot be skipped! Save the recipe, it makes a great dressing for your salads as well.
Create a quick marinade for the cubed chicken with buffalo sauce and corn starch. Sauté chicken and add celery at the very end so that it cooks some, but still tastes fresh and crunchy for some nice texture in the tacos. You are going to create your own crunchy tacos by brushing each with some oil before filling with chicken celery mixture. Top fillings with some blue cheese crumbles to help tacos stay together. Roast the tacos until nice and crispy, enjoy topped with celery leaves, extra buffalo sauce, and plenty of blue cheese dip!
Kitchen Tip!
Love hard shell tacos? Now you can easily make them from home! Simply heat tortillas so they don't crack when you bend them. Brush both sides with oil, fill with taco fillings, top with cheese to help stick together, and bake! You are going to want to bake these at a high temp (around 425F). for about 7 minutes, flip, and bake the other side for 5 minutes or until crispy. You may need to turn the oven on low broil to finish the tortillas until just starting to turn golden. I have found that making crispy tortillas works best if you are cooking them directly on a metal baking sheet, rather than on parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Nutrition Tip!
I am often asked which tortillas, corn or flour, are considered the healthiest. Both can be nutritious additions to meals, but one notable difference is corn tortillas are made from flour using entire corn kernel, therefore a whole grain product. Whole grains have been linked to lowering our risk for gastrointestinal disorders and certain cancers, as well as helping us to maintain our blood sugars, lower our cholesterol, and have a feeling of fullness after meals or snacks. Additionally, there as been an inverse association between type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease and whole grain consumption.1 Can you get these same benefits from flour tortillas? Of course! Aim for whole grain or whole wheat options, ensuring either term is listed as the first ingredient listed.
Crispy Buffalo Chicken and Celery Tacos with Blue Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 5oz blue cheese, divided
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 lb chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
- 4 Tbsp buffalo sauce (I used Franks), divided
- 3 tsp corn starch, divided
- 5-6 celery stalks, reserve leaves if still attached
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 10-12 white corn tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Make the blue cheese dip by mixing 3oz blue cheese, sour cream, buttermilk, shallot, black pepper, and red wine vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Cut chicken into 1/2 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Add 3 Tbsp buffalo sauce and 2 tsp corn starch to bowl with chicken and mix well so all of the chicken is coated in sauce. Let sit for 5-10 minutes while you chop celery.
- Slice celery ribs lengthwise down the middle. Dice into 1/4 inch pieces.
- Heat 1 Tbsp vegetable oil in a skillet. Once hot, add the chicken mixture. Cook, stirring often for about 8 minutes or until chicken pieces are almost cooked through. Add diced celery and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 Tbsp buffalo sauce and 1 tsp corn starch. Let sit for a few minutes while you prep tortillas to let mixture thicken.
- Microwave tortillas for 30 seconds to help soften to they don't split. Using a brush or your fingers, brush both sides of tortillas with remaining oil and set on a large rimmed baking sheet. Fill each tortilla half way with about 1/4 cup chicken celery mixture. Top mixture with a small sprinkle of remaining blue cheese, and press other half of the tortilla down to stick in the shape of a taco. If you are having trouble with the tortillas sticking, place in oven for 1-2 minutes and then fold over, they will stick better to the slightly melted cheese. Bake for about 7 minutes, then flip tortillas and bake for another 5. If they are not yet crispy on top, turn oven to broil and bake until tortillas are just starting to turn golden and get crispy.
- Serve tacos topped with fresh celery leaves if you have them, and extra buffalo sauce. Don't forget to dip each bite in blue cheese dip!
References
Wu H, Flint AJ, Qi Q, et al. Association between dietary whole grain intake and risk of mortality: two large prospective studies in US men and women. JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175(3):373-384. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.6283
