Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Burgers cook perfectly in about 15 minutes! Buffalo sauce and a ranch slaw topping make these burgers so flavorful and a fun twist from the usual.
Is it just me or is buffalo sauce one of the great American culinary inventions? We love the stuff – even if we do combine it with ranch instead of blue cheese most of the time! 😉
We get yelled out about that every time we share a new buffalo sauce recipe, but I just love the tangy spice of buffalo sauce paried with ranch. You can see it in our Buffalo Ranch Potatoes, Buffalo Chicken Bombs, and Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls, or you can be a purist and swap the ranch for blue cheese dressing.
This time around, we are making a chicken burger with buffalo sauce mixed in the ground chicken and brushed on the outside, then we top it all with an easy, cool, crisp ranch slaw to fight the heat. Such a good combo!
Table of Contents
Ingredient Notes:
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Chicken – You’ll use one pound of lean ground chicken. If you can’t find ground chicken, ground turkey will work just fine and no one will realize the difference once it’s seasoned and popped on a bun.
Patty Mix-ins – We use Panko, ranch seasoning, ranch dressing, egg, and wing sauce to the chicken to add flavor and help it all hold together during cooking.
Cheddar – We use sliced cheddar on this burger, but any cheese you like will work nicely. Crumble some blue cheese over the top if that’s your style!
Ranch Coleslaw – Grab a package of cole slaw mix, ranch seasoning, and ranch dressing. This is an easy slaw but so flavorful.
We like to serve our Buffalo Chicken Burger on a toasted bun, but these are also great in a lettuce wrap if you’re watching carbs.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Burgers in an Air Fryer:
- Combine– Add your ground chicken, panko, wing sauce, ranch seasoning, ranch dressing, and egg to a bowl. Stir to combine and add panko as needed until the chicken holds it shape when formed into a patty. Form the chicken mixture into four evenly sized patties and press your thumb into the center of each patty to make an indention. That indention helps keep the burger from puffing up as it cooks.
- Air Fry – Spritz your air fryer basket with oil and arrange your patties in a single layer. Air fry for 14 minutes at 360 degrees F. Turn off your air fryer, brush the burgers with more buffalo sauce, and top with a slice of cheese. Return to the air fryer with the heat turned off and let sit for about a minute. The residual heat will melt the cheese.
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- Ranch Slaw– While the patties are in the air fryer stir together coleslaw mix, ranch dressing, and ranch seasoning. You can add more or less ranch dressing, depending on how ‘wet’ you like your slaw.
- Assemble– When the patties are done put them on a plate and cover them with foil. Spread butter on your buns and place butter side up in the air fryer. Cook for 1 minute at 360 degrees F. You can cook longer if you want them more toasted. Place a burger patty on each toasted bun then top with your prepared coleslaw.
FAQ:
We recommend using an internal meat thermometer to check for doneness any time you’re cooking chicken. The internal temperature should be 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
For an extra kick, add ground cayenne pepper to your burgers when stirring the mixture together. You may use as much or as little as you’d like, depending on your spice preference.
Reheat your burgers in the air fryer at 350 degrees for 4-5 minutes or until warmed through.
Karly’s Tips!
If you prefer turkey burgers this recipe works great with ground turkey also!
For extra spice, stir ground cayenne into the meat mixture.
You may swap out the cheddar for any type of cheese you like.
Turn this into a blue cheese slaw by using blue cheese dressing and a handful of crumbled blue cheese in place of the ranch.
More Air Fryer Sandwich Recipes To Try:
- Air Fryer Frozen Burger Recipe
- Air Fryer Grilled Cheese
- Snack Wrap
- Bacon Grilled Cheese
- Air Fryer Sliders
Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Burger
Equipment
Ingredients
For the burgers:
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2/3 cup panko more as needed
- 1/4 cup wing sauce plus more for topping
- 1 tablespoon prepared ranch dressing
- 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning powder
- 1 large egg
- 4 slices cheddar cheese
- 4 hamburger buns
- 4 tablespoons butter
For the slaw:
- 1 ½ cups coleslaw mix
- 2 tablespoons prepared ranch dressing more as needed
- 2 teaspoons dry ranch seasoning
Instructions
To make the burgers:
- Add the chicken, panko, wing sauce, ranch seasoning, ranch dressing, and egg to a large mixing bowl and stir together to combine. Add additional panko as needed, up to 1/3 cup more, until the chicken will hold it’s shape as you form patties.
- Form the chicken mixture into 4 patties. Lightly press your thumb into the center of each patty to make an indention. This will help the patties hold their shape as they cook rather than puff up in the air fryer.
- Arrange the patties in a single layer in a greased air fryer basket and air fry at 360 degrees for 14 minutes. Chicken should be 165 degrees internally when finished cooking.
- Brush the outside of each patty with additional buffalo sauce, if desired. Top each patty with a slice of cheese and return to the air fryer for 1 minute with the air fryer turned off to melt the cheese.
- Transfer burger patties to a plate and cover with foil.
- Spread the buns with butter and place butter side up in the air fryer. Cook at 360 for 1 minute or until as toasted as you prefer. Alternately, toast the buns on a hot skillet while the burgers are cooking.
- Place each burger on a toasted bun and top with the prepared slaw before serving.
To make the slaw:
- While the burgers are cooking, stir together all of the ingredients for the ranch slaw to combine. Add additional ranch dressing to reach the consistency you prefer.
Notes
Nutrition
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