Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels are bursting with spicy buffalo flavor and savory blue cheese. They’re the ULTIMATE football food – they’ll disappear faster than you can say “touchdown!”
We LOVE party food ideas, especial a good buffalo wing! Serving a good buffalo chicken roll-up has a lot less mess so it’s perfect for a party! We’ve got you covered with more of our favorite party food like Spicy Chicken Tortilla Roll-Ups, Buffalo Chicken Dip in a Crock Pot and Ham and Cheese Sliders!
Whether you call them pinwheels or Buffalo Chicken Rollups this classic pot luck dish is always a hit! They’re like having a small bite option of a chicken wrap! I love buffalo chicken everything so Buffalo Chicken Tortilla rollups are right up my alley!
I am a self-proclaimed buffalo chicken addict. My friends and family joke that when anything buffalo chicken is on a menu, it’s almost a guarantee that I’m going to order it. So when my husband and I decided to host a Sunday Night Football party, I knew that I had to serve some buffalo chicken to feed my spicy cravings!
I whipped up these Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels in less than 30 minutes because they’re the perfect finger food for a party. They’re delicious, fan favorites, and most importantly – SUPER easy to make! If you’re a spice lover like me, but you need some time away from buffalo, you have to try Jalapeno Lime Chicken Wings – they’re also great finger food, perfect for game day!
BUFFALO CHICKEN PINWHEELS
Like this recipe? Pin it to your APPETIZER pinboard!
Follow Real Housemoms on Pinterest
Like I said before, buffalo chicken anything is my absolute weakness. I would even venture to say I could eat it for breakfast (…ok, maybe that’s a stretch…maybe. Wing sauce on eggs anyone). So, when I’m in charge of creating food for a potluck of any sort, I try to weave buffalo chicken in if I can!
With football season in full swing, you really can’t get a more classic football food than Buffalo Chicken Wings. Whether you dip them in blue cheese or ranch dressing those little chicken bites are the best! They’ve got that spicy vinegar taste with the creamy cheesy flavor of the dressing. THE best!
However, chicken wings can also be a recipe for disaster. My husband and I get into our football games, I mean REALLY into the game. The jumping, the screaming, the yelling, the clapping… you get the picture, now add in some saucy chicken wings to some unexpected touchdowns – I can already see the stains on my couch.
I needed a way to transform the ultimate party food into white couch-safe finger food, that’s how these delicious buffalo chicken pinwheels were born! They’re bite-sized and not messy, perfect for popping in your mouth in between plays.
Ingredients for Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels
- Blue cheese crumbles
- Whipped cream cheese
- Cooked chicken breast (shredded)
- Buffalo-style hot sauce
- Flour tortillas
I know some people are totally turned off by blue cheese (my kids included…apparently they don’t take after me in their blue cheese-loving…weird). If you’re one of those people, don’t fret, you can TOTALLY still make this pinwheels recipe. All you’ll have to do is swap out the blue cheese for ranch – be mindful of how much you add, however, because ranch is much runnier than the blue cheese crumbles!
You could also stir ranch dressing mix into the cream cheese mixture if you have it on hand. Using the powder mix of the dressing will help to keep your buffalo chicken filling from getting too runny.
If you want the blue cheese but don’t have crumbles on hand you could always use some dressing. I would add it in slowly to the cream cheese mixture. You want to make sure that it doesn’t get runny, All blue cheese dressings are different so I can’t tell you exactly how much to add, so just add to taste.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels
- You’re going to want to grab two of your favorite mixing bowls, in one, combine the blue cheese crumbles and the room-temperature cream cheese, in the other mix together the shredded chicken and 1/2 cup buffalo sauce, this is the step where I take a quick taste test of the chicken to make sure it is the optimal level of spiciness – for me that level is the “I need to grab a glass of water right now” level. For most people, it’s the “yum, that’s got a little kick to it” level. You do you.
- Next, it’s assembly time! Layout a flour tortilla and spread an even layer of the cheese mixture all the way to the edges – you want to get as close to the edge as possible to make sure that all the bites have the delicious flavor! On top of the cheese layer, you’re going to spread an even layer of the chicken mixture.
- Now it’s time to get rolling! Starting at the edge, roll up the tortilla tightly. Place your rolled-up tortilla on a plate and repeat steps 1-3 until you’ve filled all your tortillas.
- Refrigerate the tortillas for at least an hour – this is like their “marinating time.” I swear with more time, these things get tastier. I think they reach optimal tastiness after sitting in the fridge overnight (covered in plastic wrap), but an hour will do if you’re in a time crunch.
- After they’ve chilled, take out the tortillas and chop off the edges (these have less filling, they’re not great for serving, but they are great for sneaking a taste!). Cut them into 1-inch thick tortilla pinwheels. Plate them and watch them FLY into your guest’s mouths!
Can you Freeze Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels?
The answer to this frequently asked question is an absolute, and whole-heartedly screamed – YES! One of the best things about this recipe is that you can make it ahead of time. No one wants to be stuck in the kitchen prepping food when you have guests over (not to mention, I actually enjoy watching football too… I don’t love missing the action because my appetizers keep me tied to the kitchen).
When I know ahead of time that I’m making these as my party food contribution, I will typically prep everything the night before. That way all I have to do is cut them up and plate them, I won’t miss a single play!
Sometimes, (like this past weekend…) my husband “forgets” to mention that everyone is coming over to watch the game. That’s why I almost always have a batch of these prepped and ready in the freezer. I fill the tortillas, roll them up, and place them in a plastic freezer bag, that way, when my husband asks the morning of the game, “what appetizers are we making” I can reach into the fridge, grab the bag, and let the buffalo pinwheels thaw out on the counter for the morning.
On these occasions, it’s my husband’s job to cut them and plate them – he owes me :).
Other Ways to Serve Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels
I love when recipes can be used to make multiple dishes! I’ve added more chicken and used blue cheese dressing instead of crumbles to the cream cheese mixture and turned them into a buffalo chicken lettuce wrap!
You can also turn it into a buffalo chicken wrap! Just substitute blue cheese or ranch dressing for the crumbles, add a layer of lettuce to the tortilla and then layer the chicken mixture on top. Roll it up and you’ve got a delicious lunch! I’ve even done this with Buffalo Chicken Dip!
Need some more football fan food? Check out these other great Real Housemoms Appetizers!
- Buffalo Chicken Pizza Bites
- Rotel Dip
- Philly Cheesesteak Sliders
- Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
- Buffalo Chicken Dip in a Crock Pot
- The Ultimate List of Football Appetizers!
- More APPETIZER recipes…
Tools used to make Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels
Mixing Bowls: these nesting mixing bowls are my absolute favorite! They’re great for mixing, storing, and even serving!
Rectangular Serving Platter: this platter is my go-to for serving appetizers. It looks great on any table!
*This post originally posted on 01/22/2015.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces blue cheese crumbled
- 8 ounces whipped cream cheese room temperature
- 3 cups cooked chicken shredded
- ½ cup Buffalo-style hot sauce
- 4 flour tortillas burrito-sized
Instructions
- in a mixing bowl combine the blue cheese and the cream cheese.
- in a separate mixing bowl, combine the chicken and Buffalo sauce until evenly mixed.
- Lay a tortilla out on a plate and spread an even layer of the blue and cream cheese mixture all the way to the edges (about 2 to 3 tablespoons).
- Spread out about 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture over the blue cheese mixture.
- Starting on the edge and roll up the tortilla into a log. Place the rolled tortilla on a plate and then repeat until all the ingredients have been used.
- Refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Remove tortillas from the fridge, and slice off the ends of the tortillas. (Keep the ends as a snack for you!)
- Cut the tortilla roll-ups into 1-inch thick pinwheel slices (about 8 per roll-up) and place on a platter. Serve immediately, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Connie Ellis says
Could you make these with rotisserie chicken, shredded, cheddar cheese, cream cheese and ranch mix??
Jennifer Kimmel says
Connie, that sounds wonderfully easy! Go for it!
Kelly says
So delicious and easy! Huge crowd pleaser and it’s easy to make a lot of these at once. Thanks for the great recipe!
Melody Cox says
What is buffalo sauce and what isle is it on?
Jennifer Kimmel says
Hello Melody! You will find it with all other hot sauces.
Emily says
YUM! These look great!