Buffalo Chicken Fries are a delicious side dish or main dish with crispy french fries, hot, melty cheese, and buttery, spicy, tender strips of chicken. You can fry the chicken while the fries bake for a super quick recipe. To finish the dish, garnish with sliced green onions and my Best Ever Ranch Dressing recipe.
Jump to:
- What are Buffalo Fries?
- Is Buffalo Chicken Poutine spicy?
- Why is this called Buffalo Chicken Poutine?
- Ingredients for Buffalo Chicken Fries
- Instructions for Buffalo Chicken Poutine
- How to store Buffalo Chicken Fries
- What to serve with Buffalo Chicken Fries
- More Loaded Fries Recipes?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Hot sauce spice levels
- Recipe
You can call this recipe buffalo chicken fries or buffalo chicken poutine and it's a really easy recipe to make. This is one of those recipes that can come together in about 20-30 minutes. This is the perfect recipe for game-day snacking.
You can make the most of the time while the fries bake to prepare all of the toppings - like the spicy buffalo chicken, the grated cheese, and the sliced green onions.
If you're looking for something comforting, decadent, and boldly flavored, these buffalo fries are it!
What are Buffalo Fries?
When something has a buffalo flavor, it means it's coated in a buffalo sauce, typically made with butter, hot sauce, and garlic. These fries are topped with chicken and buffalo sauce, making them super flavorful and mildly spicy.
Is Buffalo Chicken Poutine spicy?
Buffalo sauce is made with butter and hot sauce. Typically, a Lousiana style hot sauce like Frank's Hot Sauce is used which has a spicy and tangy flavor. Buffalo Chicken Fries have a bit of spice to them from the buffalo sauce but also taste tangy, buttery, and cheesy.
I eat something spicy like sambal oelek, Sriracha, or spicy hot sauces every day, and I have a high spice tolerance and find buffalo sauce super mild, but you might find it spicy depending on your heat tolerance.
Jump to my spice levels chart.
Why is this called Buffalo Chicken Poutine?
I call this recipe either buffalo chicken fries or buffalo chicken poutine because it kind of includes the main characteristics of Canadian poutine:
- fries
- sauce
- cheese
Purists will dislike it, but delicious food is just that - delicious food. It's not that serious, have fun with life! Add buffalo sauce and cheese to your fries and enjoy it.
If you want to try other recipes like this, try my Butter Chicken Poutine, Palak Paneer Loaded Fries, or my Taco Fries. Explore the rest of my Loaded Fries Recipes.
Ingredients for Buffalo Chicken Fries
See the recipe card for exact amounts.
- for the chicken: I use chicken breast for this recipe and slice it into thin strips before cooking it and then simmering it in the buffalo sauce.
- the sauce: the buffalo sauce for this recipe is made with butter, hot sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- the fries: use your favorite fries, whether they are homemade french fries or frozen french fries. Just be sure to cook them nice and crispy because you'll be loading them up with sauce.
- the cheese: I like shredded Monterrey jack with these fries but you can use a different cheese if you prefer. You can also top these buffalo fries with blue cheese crumbles if you like. I don't, so I keep it like this but I do add my homemade ranch dressing on the side for dipping.
Instructions for Buffalo Chicken Poutine
1. Bake the fries of your choice according to their package instructions. Meanwhile, make the chicken and sauce. Saute the chicken for about 4 minutes per side or until cooked through. Add the butter hot sauce and spices and let it heat together, stirring occasionally. Let simmer while the fries bake.
2. Once the fries are baked, cover them with half of the grated cheese.
3. Add the chicken and sauce to the fries and then add the rest of the cheese. Bake for 5-8 minutes or until the cheese melts.
4. To top the fries, I like to serve them with a drizzle of my Ranch Dressing and some sliced green onions. To drizzle the dressing add some dressing into a zip-top bag and then snip a small corner off. Use the bag as a piping bag to drizzle the sauce.
You can also just use a spoon or serve some dressing in a bowl on the side for dipping.
How to store Buffalo Chicken Fries
Fries don't reheat well. The potatoes dry out and can't really be resurrected in my opinion, but you can make the buffalo chicken a day or two ahead and store it in the fridge. When you're ready for buffalo chicken fries just bake the fries and top them with the buffalo chicken and some freshly grated cheese.
What to serve with Buffalo Chicken Fries
If you're making up a game day spread, these fries would be great with my Cauliflower Bites, Cheeseburger Spring Rolls, or Breaded Oyster Mushrooms.
If you're having these buffalo fries for dinner, you could have them on their own or as a side dish with my Buffalo Chickpea Quesadillas, a Crispy Chicken Burger, or a Vegetable Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
More Loaded Fries Recipes?
- Butter Chicken Poutine - Savory butter chicken sauce on top of fries with yogurt and cilantro
- Loaded Taco Fries - Tex Mex taco fillings on top of fries
- Greek Fries - Fries with a Greek-style tomato and cucumber salsa, feta cheese, and Tzatziki sauce
- Pizza Fries - Pizza, but fries
- Fries with Curry Sauce - British pub-inspired curry sauce on fries
- Garlic Parmesan Fries - Fries baked with garlic and Parmesan cheese, bistro style
- Palak Paneer Fries - Indian Inspired spinach gravy with paneer cheese all on top of fries
- Chili Fries - Greek burger restaurant-style chili on top of fries
Frequently Asked Questions
Buffalo sauce is made with a cayenne pepper hot sauce, garlic, and a fat - usually butter.
Buffalo sauce is usually made with a Louisiana hot sauce like Franks' red hot sauce which in my opinion is one of the least spicy sauces on the market
Hot sauce spice levels
These are some of my favorite hot sauces and their spice levels. I use hot sauce on a daily basis. You can see Frank's Hot Sauce comes in at the bottom as the least spicy. You may or may not find it too spicy, depending on your heat tolerance.
| Hot Sauce Name | SHUs on Scoville Scale |
|---|---|
| Frank's Hot Sauce | 450 |
| Sriracha Hot Sauce | 2200 |
| Tobasco Hot Sauce | 2500 |
| Tapatio Hot Sauce | 3000 |
| Cholula Hot Sauce | 3600 |
Recipe
Buffalo Chicken Fries
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon cooking oil
- 2 large chicken breasts sliced thin
- ½ cup Frank's hot sauce or other Louisiana style hot sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter ¼ cup, ½ stick
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 kg french fries
- 2 cups shredded Monterrey jack cheese 2oz
- ranch dressing to dip, optional
- sliced green onions to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Make the fries: Bake your choice of fries according to package instructions.
- Make the buffalo chicken: Add a teaspoon of cooking oil to a frying pan over medium heat. Add the sliced chicken and cook for about 4 minutes, flipping, or until cooked through.
- Add the butter, hot sauce, and spices. Stir until the butter melts and then let simmer for a few minutes.
- Second bake: Once the fries are cooked remove them from the oven. Scatter half of the cheese over the fries. Add the buffalo chicken and sauce. Scatter the rest of the cheese over.
- Bake again for 5-8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and browned.
- Serve: Add a portion of fries to a plate and drizzle with ranch dressing (or just serve on the side, or omit.) To drizzle, add the dressing to a zip-top bag and then snip a small section out of one corner. Use as a piping bake to drizzle on the fries.
- Sprinkle with green onions and serve.
Equipment
Video
Notes
Nutritional information is an estimate. Values vary based on products used. Read our full Nutrition Disclaimer.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.
SHARE THIS RECIPE
Rating, commenting, and sharing my recipes really helps. Thanks for taking the time! Mention @pipercooksblog on Instagram.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!