Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Celery Salsa

Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Celery Salsa are your new favorite way to eat buffalo chicken. Perfect for a quick dinner, party appetizer, or game-day treat, these tacos are simple to pull together and crisp up in the oven in no time. Plus, the celery salsa is unexpected in the best way. Yes, you read that right, I said celery salsa. Never heard of it? I hadn’t either until I dreamed up this recipe and honestly, I was unsure of myself when I got in the kitchen to test it out. But trust me, you do NOT want to skip out on making this delicious condiment. Let’s get to making some tacos!

Ingredients needed to make Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Celery Salsa

This recipe calls for cooked and shredded chicken, which is simple to do on the stove, in the Instant Pot, or pulled from a store-bought rotisserie chicken ahead of time. I love to make mine in the Instant Pot with a little splash of water and hot sauce then cooked on high pressure for 12 minutes. It shreds in seconds between two forks every time. Once you’ve got your cooked chicken, the recipe comes together in a snap. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • Hot sauce
  • Butter
  • Coconut or brown sugar
  • Soft corn tortillas
  • Avocado oil
  • Grated/shredded cheddar cheese
  • Celery
  • Jalapeno
  • Red onion
  • Cilantro
  • Fresh lime juice
  • Avocado
  • Salt

Tools used to make Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Celery Salsa

When it comes to recipes, this one requires minimal tools to execute it. All you really need is a medium saucepan, two sheet trays, a knife, a cutting board, and a mixing bowl. That’s it!

How to make Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Celery Salsa

As mentioned above, you’ll need to cook and shred 1-1.5lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breast ahead of time. You could do this in the Instant Pot as described above, or simply grab yourself a rotisserie chicken from the store and shred it. Either way, once you have your shredded chicken, this recipe takes less than 30 minutes to pull together.

You’ll make a simple wing sauce by combining hot sauce, butter, and either coconut or brown sugar and simmering it for a few minutes on the stove until the sugar has dissolved. Add the shredded chicken and stir to thoroughly combine.

Next, you’ll microwave some corn tortillas for about 30 seconds until they’re very pliable. Lay them flat on a sheet tray and brush each side with avocado oil, then layer on some shredded cheddar on the top half of each tortilla. Add buffalo chicken on top followed by a bit more cheese, then fold the tortillas over to create a taco. It’s helpful to flip each taco over (onto the side that you first put the cheese on) to help them stay closed, and you can also place another sheet tray on top to help them stay closed for the first few minutes of cooking. Let them bake for 10-12 minutes total, removing the top sheet tray after 3 minutes or so, then flipping over halfway through to allow the other side to crisp.

While the tacos bake, make the celery salsa. Combine the celery, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, fresh lime juice, and a pinch of salt and mix. Set aside.

Finally, you’ll top the tacos with the celery salsa and some fresh avocado and enjoy!

Looking for more easy dishes like these tacos?

Try these other recipes from The Ardent Cook!

Creamy Sausage and Kale Rigatoni

Mom’s Checkerboard Chicken Chili

Broccoli Salad with Quick Homemade Ranch

Recipe Ingredients

1- 1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 2 breasts), cooked and shredded

⅓- ½ cup hot sauce, such as Frank’s, divided

2 tbsp butter

1 ½ tbsp coconut or brown sugar

12-15 soft corn tortillas

2 tbsp avocado oil

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

5 stalks celery, finely diced 

1 small jalapeno, seeded and finely diced

½ red onion, finely diced

¼ cup cilantro, chopped 

Juice of ½ lime

Salt

Recipe Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium saucepan, combine hot sauce, butter, and coconut sugar and simmer for 3-4 minutes until sugar has dissolved. Stir in the shredded chicken and fully coat in the buffalo sauce.
  2. Microwave the corn tortillas for 20-30 seconds until very pliable. Place them on one of the sheet trays and brush both sides with avocado oil. Working only in the top semicircle of each tortilla, layer some shredded cheese, buffalo chicken, then more shredded cheese. Fold the tortilla over to form a taco, and repeat until all tacos are filled and folded.
  3. If the tacos aren’t staying closed, place the second sheet tray on top of the tortillas to help them stay shut. Bake for 2 minutes, then remove the sheet tray and continue baking for an additional 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the tacos are crispy and the cheese is melted.
  4. While the tacos bake, make the celery salsa. Combine the celery, jalapeño, red onion, cilantro, fresh lime juice, and salt to taste. Mix well and set aside.
  5. Let the tacos cool slightly, then serve topped with the celery salsa and fresh avocado. These tacos also taste wonderful with a side of ranch or bleu cheese dressing and extra hot sauce. Enjoy!

There may be affiliate links in this post! By purchasing a product I recommend, I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I love and use myself. Thank you for your continued support of The Ardent Cook, it does not go unnoticed.

Green Curry Chicken Tacos

Curry of any kind is one of my favorite foods and I truly think I could eat a variety of curry every night for dinner. In an effort to change it up from the usual protein, vegetables, curry sauce, and rice, I thought I’d give a curried taco recipe a go and BOY am I glad I did. This easy green curry chicken comes together in under 15 minutes in the Instant Pot, then gets stuffed into a delicious soft tortilla and topped with a few effortless garnishes. So easy and SO flavorful- let’s make ’em!

Ingredients needed to make Green Curry Chicken Tacos

Here’s everything you’ll need to make Green Curry Chicken Tacos:

Tools used to make Green Curry Chicken Tacos

These chicken tacos come together fastest and easiest when you use a pressure cooker, such as the Instant Pot. If you don’t have one, you can also cook the chicken in the oven using a covered Dutch oven, but be prepared that this method takes significantly longer. In addition to the Instant Pot, you’ll need the following tools:

How to make Green Curry Chicken Tacos

The entire process takes about 30 minutes start-to-finish when you factor in the time it takes the Instant Pot to pressurize and depressurize. You’ll start by mincing or grating your garlic and ginger and cutting each chicken breast in half crosswise. Place the chicken, garlic, ginger, curry paste, and coconut milk in the instant pot and stir until roughly combined. Set the Instant Pot to manual high pressure and set the timer to 11 minutes. Let the Instant Pot do its magic while you prepare the toppings.

Finely chop the cilantro and set aside. In a small, dry skillet, toast the cashews over medium-low heat until lightly browned and fragrant. Transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop them.

Once the chicken has finished cooking, allow the Instant Pot 5-7 minutes of natural release, then carefully open the valve to quickly release the rest of the pressure. Using tongs, place the chicken onto the cutting board (you could also do this in a large mixing bowl) and shred using two forks. Turn the Instant Pot to sauté and allow the sauce to simmer for about 10 minutes to reduce and thicken. Return the chicken to the pot to soak in the curry sauce.

Warm your tortillas over the flame of your gas stove, or in the same dry skillet that you toasted the cashews in. Place the chicken into each tortilla, then top with the cilantro, cashews, and a little sriracha if desired. Enjoy!

Looking for other quick and easy recipes?

Instant Pot Lemongrass Pork Bowls

Herbed Chicken Tortellini Soup

Roasted Apricot Chicken

Recipe Ingredients

2-3lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast (3 medium breasts)

1-inch knob ginger, minced or grated

3 cloves garlic, minced or grated

3oz green curry paste, such as Mike’s Organic Curry Love

1 13.5oz can full-fat coconut milk, unsweetened

Small (taco-sized) tortillas, any variety, or jicama wraps

1/2 cup raw cashews

Sriracha, for serving

Cilantro, roughly chopped, for serving

Salt and pepper, to taste

Recipe Instructions

  1. Cut each chicken breast in half crosswise. Place chicken, ginger, garlic, curry paste, and coconut milk into the bowl of the Instant Pot. Turn the Instant Pot to Manual, then High Pressure, and set the timer for 11 minutes. Let the Instant Pot do its work, then allow for 5-7 minutes of natural pressure release before carefully opening the valve to quick-release the remaining steam. **If using oven method, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and add above ingredients to a large Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid, then bake for 1-1.5 hours until the chicken easily shreds with a fork.**
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the toppings for the tacos. In a small, dry skillet, toast the cashews over medium-low heat until golden in color and fragrant. Transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop, then set aside. Roughly chop the cilantro, then warm the tortillas in the same skillet that you toasted the cashews in. Alternatively, you may char the tortillas over the open flame if you have a gas stove.
  3. Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and shred using two forks. Turn the pot to the sauté feature and let the curry sauce simmer for 10 minutes or so, until reduced and slightly thicker. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Return the chicken to the sauce.
  4. Assemble the tacos. Place a serving of chicken into each tortilla, then top with the cilantro, cashews, and sriracha, if desired. Serve immediately!

There may be affiliate links in this post! By purchasing a product I recommend, I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I love and use myself. Thank you for your continued support of The Ardent Cook, it does not go unnoticed.