Buffalo Chicken Potato Skins
Potato skins make a fun, crowd-pleasing party food. Here’s a recipe for buffalo chicken potato skins that are cheesy and have a spicy kick. They are perfect for watching the game or as a side dish for dinner.
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Buffalo Chicken Potato Skins Ingredients
You can add salt and pepper if you would like but I found that the cheese I bought added enough salt to the dish. Season to your preference.
I love the added chicken because it helps up the protein. A high protein appetizer is always a good choice to keep everyone full and satisfied.
You can serve these by themselves or as a side with chicken, steak, or these delicious air fryer ribs.
Tools you’ll need
This recipe doesn’t require anything special to make (yay). You’ll need a sheet pan (baking sheet), a mixing bowl, a spoon, and a serving platter.
Buffalo Chicken Mixture
I wanted to keep this as simple as possible. I had every intention of adding cream cheese but turns out I had none so I wung it and it turned out so good.
These buffalo chicken potato skins are spicy.
If you’re sensitive to heat, I would start by mixing together the recipe with 1/3 of the Franks Red Hot Sauce. Taste it, and add another few tablespoons until you’re comfortable with the heat level.
I did a 50/50 blend of ranch salad dressing and Franks Original Red Hot Sauce and it worked for our family but I always encourage you to make little tweaks to make it work for your family (especially with simple recipes like this – don’t go and deconstruct a cake recipe okay?).
I used Franks Red Hot Sauce instead of the Buffalo Chicken variety because…well it’s gross in my opinion. I stuck with the ingredients we knew and it paid off.
What to do with the leftover potato flesh from potato skins?
After you slice the potato in half length-wise and de-potato them, don’t let all that potato goodness go to waste when you scoop out the potato from the skins.
Set it aside and use it for the following:
- Mashed potatoes
- Potato pancakes
- Make Shepherds pie (or cottage pie) the next day and save the potatoes for the topping.
- Baked potato casserole (mix it with cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, and bacon and bake it in a casserole dish).
- Freeze them. You can freeze the mashed potatoes to reduce food waste. Just make sure that the potatoes are completely cool before you freeze them in an air-tight bag.
Tip:
When making buffalo chicken potato skins, don’t forget to wash the potatoes. Give them a good scrub and let them dry before you bake them.
Another tip: make sure you poke a few holes with a fork to let the steam escape.
How to Make Potato Skins in the Air Fryer
If you have an air fryer that you’d like to use instead of an oven here are the instructions:
- Heat the air fryer to 400F.
- Pierce the potatoes with a fork and air fry for 50-60 minutes (or until the potatoes are soft).
- After you add the buffalo chicken mixture and top the potatoes with cheese, air fry at 400 until the cheese is melted and the potato skins are getting crisp (about 5-8 minutes).
Air Fryer Tip
Just a heads up on the air fryer: keep your eye on it. I have a few different varieties and have found that they all cook a little differently. One cooks a bit hotter than the oven air fryer I have, so check the potato skins at the 5 minute mark and judge how it goes from there.
Serve Them With…
- Celery sticks
- Carrots
- Bell peppers
- Blue cheese (you can crumble it on top of the potatoes before you bake them but I have a picky husband so I skipped that).
- Chili
- Sour cream
- Hot sauce
- Ranch dip
- Fresh toppings like chives, green onions, etc.
Popular Appetizers
If you’re looking for more appetizers for your get together, then you’ll love these fan favorites:
Recipe Note: When scooping out the potato, leave roughly 1/4″ on the potato intact. This keeps the potato skins from falling apart. See the photo for example.
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Buffalo Chicken Potato Skins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 Russet Potatoes cleaned and dried
- 2 cooked chicken breasts shredded (a little over two cups)
- 1/2 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce the original variety
- 1/2 cup ranch dressing
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 2 green onions diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F and line a 13×9 sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Pierce each potato a few times with a fork and bake for 60 minutes (or until cooked).
- While the potatoes are cooking, it's time to make the buffalo chicken mixture.
- In a medium bowl add the shredded chicken, hot sauce, ranch dressing, and 1/2 the cheese in a bowl. Mix together.
- When the potatoes are cool, slice them in half and take a spoon and scoop the insides out. You'll want to leave roughly 1/4 inch of the potato in so it holds it shape. Save the potatoes for mashed potatoes, potato cakes, or whatever you want.
- Spoon the buffalo chicken mixture into the potatoes, top with the rest of the shredded cheese and green onions and bake for another 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and the potato skins are crispy.
Notes
Nutrition
