Name: 20-Minute Baked Buffalo Chicken Cups
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 min
Ingredients: 2 cups cooked chicken (shredded); 1 cup cheddar cheese; ½ cup buffalo sauce; 40 tortilla scoops; sour cream (for topping); Green onions (for topping)

These baked buffalo chicken-filled cups are the perfect bite-size appetizer idea! Ready in 20 minutes, they’re made with tortilla chip scoops, cooked shredded chicken, cheddar cheese, and homemade buffalo sauce (or store-bought buffalo sauce). Top with sour cream and green onion, and serve!

If you like Buffalo chicken wings, you’ll love these baked Buffalo chicken bites. The easiest appetizer you’ll ever make. They have such a quick prep time they’ll be done well before your oven is even preheated. They are a great finger food idea for a party. I’m always on the lookout for easy appetizer ideas.

Just stir together three ingredients and spoon into tortilla scoops, bake, then top with sour cream and green onions. No one can resist the warm, fresh-from-the-oven taste.

This Buffalo chicken appetizer idea is a quick and simple alternative to fried chicken wings.

They have all the bold Buffalo flavor but there’s no need for deep frying. That means no oil splatters and no smelly kitchen.

An individual chicken bite topped with sour cream.

If you love Buffalo flavor, try a Buffalo chicken dip and Buffalo chicken tater tot casserole, two more recipes featuring this popular sauce.

What is Buffalo sauce?

Traditional Buffalo sauce is a mixture of butter, vinegar, and hot sauce. The butter makes the sauce thicker and richer than regular hot sauce. Sometimes other ingredients like brown sugar, cayenne pepper or garlic powder are added for more flavor.

You can buy pre-made buffalo sauce, or try my easy from-scratch Buffalo sauce. With only five ingredients, it takes just a few minutes to stir together and heat. It’s great because when you make it from scratch you can control the spice level depending on your preference.

Why you’ll love tortilla chip cup appetizers

Easy instructions and only six ingredients
Total time is less than 20 minutes
The slightly spicy, creamy filling is delicious with crunchy chips
No forks required for these one-bite appetizers
Big Buffalo chicken flavor without the mess of wings

What you’ll need for these game day appetizers

Ingredients for Buffalo chicken appetizers, — Gather the ingredients.

Chicken – cooked chicken breasts or use a rotisserie chicken to save time

Cheese – choose from mild, sharp or extra sharp cheddar

Buffalo sauce – make your own or use your favorite, like Frank’s Red Hot. If making your own, you’ll need brown sugar, butter, vinegar, Frank’s Red Hot and one other hot sauce.

Ingredients for homemade Buffalo Sauce — The ingredients for from-scratch Buffalo sauce.

Buffalo sauce in a sauce pan next to a jar of hot sauce. — Combine butter, brown sugar, vinegar and Frank’s Red Hot and simmer.

Chips – tortilla scoops are the perfect size to hold the chicken filling

Sour cream – You can use low fat or regular or substitute greek yogurt

Green onions – sliced green onions add a fresh, bright flavor

How to make baked chicken bites

Start by preheating the oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up.

Step 2 – mix the filling

Stir together the chicken, cheese and buffalo sauce in a medium bowl. Make sure all the ingredients are well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.

A bowl of chicken mixed with Buffalo sauce. — Combine chicken, buffalo sauce and cheese.

Pro tip: To make these ahead of time, combine the filling ingredients and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before scooping into chips and baking.

Step 3 – fill the chips

Use a spoon or small cookie scoop to fill 40 tortilla scoops. You’ll use about 1 tablespoon per chip. Sprinkle a little extra cheese on top if you’d like.

A pan of Buffalo chicken bites filled with chicken — Fill the tortilla cups with filling.

Step 4 – bake

Bake the bites for 8 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the filling is warmed through. If you’re cooking for a crowd, bake them in batches and allow them to cool for a few minutes before serving. Top each bite with sour cream and green onions. You could also add a dash of paprika for extra color.

A pan of Buffalo chicken bites next to a bowl of sour cream.

If you loved this recipe, give it a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating! Also, snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #butterandbaggage and tagging me @butterandbaggage.