These loaded buffalo chicken fries are the perfect game-day appetizer and are the biggest crowd-pleaser! They combine frozen french fries, shredded chicken, buffalo sauce, blue cheese dressing, and pico de gallo!
The combination of buffalo sauce and pico de gallo is such an unexpected match made in heaven! The fresh tomato mixture balances out the heaviness of the buffalo with a burst of freshness!
This recipe is inspired by a dish at Cold Town House, one of my favorite restaurants in Edinburgh, Scotland. They had an appetizer with french fries, fried chicken, buffalo sauce, and pico de gallo, and it was a revelation. The pico de gallo was the perfect ingredient to balance out the intensity of the buffalo chicken and leave you feeling great instead of full and heavy.
I love an easy appetizer, and these buffalo chicken fries fit right in with these easy mini buffalo chicken stuffed peppers, cheesy buffalo chicken egg rolls, and this fresh herb fried pickle dip.
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⭐ Why you will love this recipe:
- This is the easiest crowd-pleasing appetizer! Just layer all the prepared ingredients together and serve!
- Perfect for buffalo chicken lovers, this dish features shredded chicken tossed in homemade buffalo sauce and served on top of fries!
- The pico de gallo adds the perfect bit of freshness! Buffalo Chicken is a heavy and intense bite, and the fresh tomato adds a lovely layer of flavor to mellow it out.
🥘 Key Ingredients:
- Shredded Chicken: My preferred way to prepare shredded chicken is to boil chicken breasts, then let them cool, and shred them with a fork.
Pro tip:
For an even easier prep, use a rotisserie chicken!
- Frozen French Fries: you can make homemade oven-baked fries, but I found the frozen fries hold up better to the buffalo chicken.
- Blue Cheese Dressing: Blue cheese dressing is layered underneath the fries, and I highly suggest using high-quality blue cheese dressing from the store's refrigerated section.
- Pico de Gallo: Fresh pico de gallo is layered on top of the fries. It is best to use a fresh and drained pico; do not substitute with salsa.
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪 How to make this recipe:
Step 1: Bake the frozen french fries according to the package instructions.
Step 2: Prepare the buffalo sauce by cooking the butter, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce together.
Step 3: Toss the chicken with the buffalo sauce.
Step 4: Layer the blue cheese dressing, fries, buffalo chicken, and pico de gallo on a serving platter and enjoy!
Here's a video showing how to make this recipe:
📖 Ways to make shredded chicken:
- My preferred way is to boil chicken breasts for 15-20 minutes, remove them from the water, let them cool, then shred them with a fork.
- An easier way is to buy a rotisserie chicken, remove the meat, then shred it with a fork or pull it apart with your hands.
- For crispier chicken pieces, you can also bake chicken breasts at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, based on your breasts' size. Then shred.
🍽 Variations and substitutions:
- Make these loaded fries cheesy! Once the fries are done baking, add ½ cup of shredded Monterey jack cheese and ½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese, then bake for 3-5 minutes more or until the cheese has melted.
- Switch the blue cheese out for ranch!
- Use fried popcorn chicken instead of shredded for a fried twist.
💭 Expert tips
- Use your favorite french fries!
- Have your blue cheese and pico de gallo at room temperature when plating the dish, the fries can get cold quickly if the other ingredients are chilled.
- If you made the chicken in advance, heat it before adding it to the buffalo sauce and the fries.
FAQ
You can make all the elements head, like the buffalo sauce and the shredded chicken, but make the fries and layer everything together right before serving.
I love the Ore-Ida brand of fries for this because they hold up the best against the buffalo chicken.
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Loaded Buffalo Chicken Fries
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
These loaded buffalo chicken fries are the perfect game-day appetizer and are the biggest crowd-pleaser! They combine frozen french fries, shredded chicken, buffalo sauce, blue cheese dressing, and pico de gallo!
Ingredients
- 2 - 2 ½ cups shredded chicken
- 1 20-26 ounce bag of frozen french fries
- ⅔ cup hot sauce such as franks
- ½ cup butter
- ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp garlic garlic powder
- ½ cup pico de gallo
- ½ cup blue cheese dressing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and bake the frozen french fries according to the package instructions.
- While the fries are baking, prepare that buffalo sauce. Heat the hot sauce, butter, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce until everything has melted. Toss with the shredded chicken and keep warm until ready to serve.
- Spread the blue cheese around the bottom of a large serving platter.
- Top with fully baked fries and buffalo chicken, and finish with the pico de gallo. Serve warm.
Notes
- Use high-quality blue cheese dressing from the refrigerated section of the store.
- Drain the pico de gallo so that the fries don't get soggy.
- Heat the chicken before adding to the fries to help keep the dish warm.
Elizabeth says
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