Loaded Buffalo Chicken Nachos

Loaded Buffalo Chicken Nachos start with crunchy Pan de Oro chips, topped with buffalo chicken, ranch queso, green onions, pickled jalapeños, and optional blue cheese.

What makes these Loaded Buffalo Chicken Nachos so special? It starts with Pan de Oro chips—authentically crunchy, sturdy enough to carry serious toppings, and absolutely unwilling to go soggy under pressure. Next comes the buffalo chicken, smothered in creamy ranch queso and topped with blue cheese crumbles (totally optional, zero judgment). Chopped green onions and pickled jalapeños add just the right kick before everything takes a quick trip to the oven to melt into nacho perfection. Finally, you let the skillet cool just long enough to avoid facial burns—because while dignity may be optional when nachos are involved, self-preservation is not. Don’t let them sit too long, though. Nobody likes soggy nachos (I’m tearing up just thinking about it), and you don’t want to sacrifice a single glorious drop of queso or buffalo sauce.

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Prep Time

10 Mins

Cook Time

10 Mins

Total Time

10

Ingredients

  • ½ bag tortilla chips
  • 2 chicken breasts, shredded (you can use rotisserie chicken, prepare in the crock pot, or poach them until cooked through, which is what I did here)
  • Franks buffalo hot sauce, to taste (about 1 cup)
  • 2 teaspoons powdered ranch seasoning
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 lb white american cheese, shredded
  • 8 oz Monterrey or pepper jack cheese, shredded
  • 1–2 tablespoons powdered ranch seasoning
  • 10 slices pickled jalapenos, or to taste
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • ¼ cup blue cheese crumbles
  • Buffalo sauce, to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Toss together the shredded chicken, buffalo sauce, and powdered ranch seasoning in a medium-sized bowl. Make sure the chicken has a good coating of buffalo sauce, but you don’t want it to swim in it. You will add a drizzle of buffalo sauce to your nachos in addition to the sauce on the chicken. Cover and set aside to keep warm.
  3. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream to a simmer. A handful at a time, stir in the cheeses, making sure they’ve completely melted before adding the next handful. Keep stirring and add in the ranch seasoning.
  4. Put a thick layer of nachos on the bottom of a cast iron skillet, and top with ½ of your buffalo chicken, making sure to get some in the nooks and crannies so all of the chips have a little chicken. Drizzle some of the queso on top.
  5. Add a second thick layer of tortilla chips, top with the remaining buffalo chicken, and drizzle again with queso. You will have queso leftover. Serve this on the side with additional nachos if you’d like, or save it in a refrigerated container.
  6. Add jalapenos, green onions, and blue cheese to taste, and drizzle with a tiny bit more buffalo sauce if you’d like. Remember, you don’t want to overdo it and wind up with soggy nachos.
  7. Place the nachos in the oven for 2-3 minutes, or until the blue cheese crumbles JUST begin to melt and the chicken is heated up. Serve warm.
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