Easy buffalo chicken empanadas with a spicy chicken empanada filling! They’re a fantastic app for your next game night.
I admit I’ve been obsessed with buffalo-flavored foods recently, but the spicy flavor is so addicting! It never gets old and I hope you like it too since I have several more “buffalo” recipes I want to share!
First up, these buffalo chicken empanadas. These tasty hand pies are currently at the top of my list thanks to the generous chicken filling and crispy fried shell.
Plus, they are really simple to make yet packed with so much flavor.
These are going to be a hit at your next party, as part of your game day eats, or an inspiring way to use up leftover chicken.
Let’s walk through the recipe really quick and you’ll be on your way to flavor town.
Chicken
The chicken should be already cooked and shredded for this recipe. I love to make a large batch of chicken in my Instant Pot and use it for various recipes throughout the week.
You can use chicken breasts or thighs. I prefer the flavor and juiciness of thighs.
Some people opt for a rotisserie chicken, and that’s perfectly fine, but it may impact the cooking time. The key here is tender chicken!
If your shredded chicken is not already seasoned, sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder before adding to the filling mixture. You can also use adobo seasoning or seasoning salt.
One of the tricks to good cooking is to season each component of your dish so you achieve maximum flavor.
Hot Sauce
Frank’s Red Hot is my preferred brand of hot sauce, but the taste is up to you. Different hot sauces will lend different flavors, so experiment away.
I use 2 tablespoons per 1 cup of chicken. If that’s too spicy for you (or the kids), you can dilute it with butter. So 1 tablespoon hot sauce + 1 tablespoon melted butter per 1 cup of chicken.
Blue Cheese
I love the sharpness blue cheese crumbles add to these empanadas. I realize not everyone likes the flavor, so feel free to leave it out, or make some with and some without.
Cheese is great in empanadas in general, which is why I also have recipes for guava cheese empanadas and pizza empanadas! Be sure to try both — in general, I recommend making a variety of flavors, especially for a larger gathering, so people have a range of options to choose from.
Empanada Discs/Shells/Wrappers
These flaky pastry shells can be found in the frozen section of many grocery stores. It doesn’t take long, but make sure these are thawed ahead of time.
You can also follow my recipe for homemade empanada dough. Make a double batch while you’re at and freeze some discs for later use!
This particular recipe is for fried empanadas. If you want baked empanadas, there are discs you can buy that are labeled for baking or you can use pie crust.
Assembly and Cooking
After combining the spicy chicken filling, place a couple of tablespoons in the center of an empanada disc and fold in half.
Make sure you seal the edges well by crimping with a fork. Sometimes I crimp on both sides just to be sure there won’t be any leaks.
Next, you’ll want to add enough oil in a frying pan to come halfway up the sides of the empanadas so they cook evenly. You can also deep fry them.
They only take a few minutes to cook, so prepare a cookie sheet with paper towels to drain them after removing from the oil.
For serving, they’re great dipped in extra hot sauce, blue cheese dressing, or ranch dressing. For the pictures I drizzled some with our sauces because I’m extra like that and we ate them right away. Delicioso!
Planning a dinner party and need some inspiration?
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Some people like to dip their flaky empanadas in sour cream — to each their own!
Also, people often ask me if you can make empanadas in an air fryer and the answer is yes, but this is my preferred method.
More Buffalo Chicken Recipes
If you love this easy buffalo chicken empanadas recipe, you should definitely also try my buffalo chicken calzones recipe, which is similar but definitely distinct!
Here are a few more buffalo chicken recipes you might love:
More Empanada Recipes
Love this empanada recipe but need a little variety? I totally understand. Here are a few you should consider:
And don’t forget the guava and pizza-flavored recipes I already shared above! Thanks for trying these delicious buffalo chicken empanadas — I promise you won’t regret serving them as the perfect appetizer or entree whether for a casual evening at home, a family gathering, or on Super Bowl Sunday.
You should also try this pastelitos de hongos recipe from Karla Tatiana Vasquez’s SalviSoul Cookbook.
Buffalo Chicken Empanadas Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups Cooked Shredded Chicken
- Salt and Pepper optional
- Garlic Powder optional
- 6 tablespoons Hot Sauce
- 3 tablespoons Crumbled Blue Cheese
- 10 Empanadas Dough Disc
- Vegetable Oil for frying
Instructions
- If your chicken has not been seasoned, season to taste with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
- In a large bowl toss the chicken, hot sauce and blue cheese until combined.
- Place 2 heaping tablespoons of chicken in the center of 1 empanada disc. Fold in half and press edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with remaining filling and discs.
- In a medium frying pan over medium-high heat, add enough oil to come halfway up the sides of the empanada, about 1/2" or so depending how thick they are.
- Working in small batches, add empanadas in a single layer and cook approximately 2-3 minutes per side, or until dough is golden brown and no longer raw. Drain on paper towels or on a cooling rack.
- Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing and extra hot sauce for dipping at your next event.