Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Patties with Spicy Ranch Recipe
Published Mar 27, 2018 Updated May 14, 2024
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Easy air fryer chicken patties with flavorful, homemade buffalo sauce and spicy ranch dressing. Prepped and cooked in just 30 minutes, this adult and kid-friendly recipe is ready in no time, absolutely delicious, and perfect for weeknights or gatherings! Whole30, Keto, Paleo, Gluten-Free, and Dairy-Free.
Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe Great
These Air Fryer Chicken Patties may look extravagant, but they are one of the easiest meals to throw together. Seasoned with a homemade buffalo sauce and dipped in my spicy ranch dressing, they are flavor-packed and absolutely delicious!
Even better, this recipe is Whole30 compliant, Paleo, Keto, Low-Carb, Gluten-Free, and Dairy-Free! A recipe almost everyone can enjoy!
Air fry the chicken patties or cook them in a skillet. Serve these chicken burgers as a quick and easy weeknight meal or as an appetizer for a family gathering. All you need is 30 minutes to prep, cook, and serve! And if you’re not a big fan of spice, these are actually pretty mild! Even my 5-year-old enjoys them!
Ranch makes everything better, it’s like the unicorn of food. My spicy ranch recipe can totally transform any meal into a majestic and delicious one. I drizzled my patties with this spicy ranch dressing and it was the icing on the cake. It made them explode with flavor!
Ingredient Notes
Air Fryer Chicken Patties
- Ground chicken: You can also substitute ground turkey if preferred.
- Egg
- Almond flour: This is a great substitute for breadcrumbs or regular flour to help bind and keep these patties together. Almond flour keeps the carbs down too!
- Garlic powder
- Franks Red Hot sauce: This is my preferred hot sauce. You can substitute it for something similar, just keep an eye on the ingredients if you have a special diet.
- Onion: This recipe calls for two kinds of onions, sweet onions, and green onions.
- Sea salt & Black pepper
- Mayo: If you’re Whole30, make sure to use a compliant mayo. I have a 60-second homemade mayo recipe that is delicious and so easy to make.
- Ghee: You can also use vegan butter.
Spicy Ranch Recipe
This homemade dressing is easy to whip up with some pantry staples! For this recipe, you’ll need mayo or Greek yogurt if not dairy-free, salt and pepper, dried chives, parsley, dill weed, garlic powder, onion powder, apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, canned coconut milk, Frank’s Red Hot sauce, and fresh lime juice.
See the recipe card below for ingredient amounts and instructions.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Air Fryer Version
- In a large mixing bowl add the ground chicken, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onions. Mix together.
- Add in the Franks Hot Sauce, beaten egg, mayo, and almond flour. Mix with a spoon until everything is combined.
- Roll the chicken mixture into 8 large or 12 mall balls and place on a plate or parchment paper.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400F.
- Spray the basket with cooking spray and add each ball in a single layer and press down using a spatula. Depending on how big your air fryer is, you may need to do this in 2 batches.
- Set the time for 14 minutes. Flip the patties halfway through cooking. The internal temp for the patties should be 165F to be fully cooked.
- Remove and enjoy!
Skillet Version
- Complete steps 1-3 from above.
- Heat a large skillet on medium/high heat with 1 tbsp of ghee.
- Add each patty to the skillet and use a spatula to press each ball into a disc shape.
- Let each patty cook for 4-5 minutes on each side. It is important to check the middle to make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through. The internal temp for the patties should be 165F to be fully cooked.
- Remove and add to a plate and drizzle with spicy ranch and sprinkle with green onions.
Spicy Ranch Dressing
- Add your mayo and the rest of the ingredients to the mayo and mix together with a spoon until combined. This spicy ranch lasts about a week in the fridge.
- Note: For a thinner consistency, add more coconut milk.
Mac’s Pro Tips
Expert Tips
- If the chicken mixture is still too wet, add another tablespoon of almond flour.
- If you prefer, you can swap out the ground chicken for ground turkey.
- You can also use this spicy ranch recipe as a dressing for a southwest salad!
Serving Tips
- Serve as chicken sandwiches wrapped between two slices of lettuce, on a bun, or by themselves.
- Add additional toppings if desired: tomato, red onion, pickles, banana peppers, etc.
Storage Tips
- Leftovers: Store leftover chicken patties in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat and serve.
- Spicy Ranch Dressing: Store leftover spicy ranch dressing in a small airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Make Ahead: These air fryer chicken patties are great to meal prep on Sunday or even at the beginning of the month and throw in the freezer for quick and easy meals.
- Freezer: Store chicken patties in a freezer-safe container without the ranch on top. Reheat in the oven or microwave until warm and drizzle with the spicy ranch dressing.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Cooking frozen patties in an air fryer is pretty easy. Just know that the buffalo sauce will need to be made separately since you are not mixing it into the meat.
Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the patties. Air fry the patties at 400F for 7-10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Add a few extra minutes if your patties are on the thick side.
Of course! If you don’t have extra time to make the spicy ranch recipe, simply use storebought ranch! You can even throw a little Frank’s Red Hot in the ranch to give it a kick!
More Air Fryer Recipes
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Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Patties with Spicy Ranch Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pound ground chicken
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp Franks Hot Sauce or sub buffalo sauce of choice
- 1/2 sweet onion diced
- 1/4 cup green onions
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp mayo
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp ghee or vegan butter for frying
Spicy Ranch
- 1 cup mayo or sub Greek or dairy-free yogurt (won't be dairy-free or whole30 if using Greek)
- 1/2 tsp salt more or less to taste
- 1 tbsp dried chives
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 2 tsp dill weed
- 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp coconut milk canned
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp Franks Hot Sauce
- 1 tsp lime juice
Instructions
Air Fryer Version
- In a large mixing bowl add the ground chicken, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onions. Mix together.
- Add in the Franks Hot Sauce, beaten egg, mayo, and almond flour. Mix with a spoon until everything is combined.
- Roll the chicken mixture into 8 large or 12 mall balls and place on a plate or parchment paper.
- Set the air fryer to 400F.
- Spray the basket with cooking spray and add in each ball and press down using a spatula. Depending on how big your air fryer is, you may need to do this in 2 batches.
- Set the time for 14 minutes. Flip the patties halfway through cooking. The internal temp for the patties should be 165F to be fully cooked.
- Remove and enjoy!
Skillet Version
- Complete steps 1-3 from above.
- Heat a large skillet on medium/high heat with 1 tbsp of ghee.
- Add each patty to the skillet and use a spatula to press each ball into a disc shape.
- Let each patty cook for 4-5 minutes on each side. It is important to check the middle to make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through. The internal temp for the patties should be 165F to be fully cooked.
- Remove and add to a plate and drizzle with spicy ranch and sprinkle with green onions.
Spicy Ranch Dressing
- Add your mayo and the rest of the ingredients to the mayo and mix together with a spoon until combined. This spicy ranch lasts about a week in the fridge.
- Note: For a thinner consistency, add more coconut milk.
Notes
Mac’s Pro Tips
- If you swap out the mayo for Greek Yogurt, it will no longer be Whole30 or dairy-free.
- If the chicken mixture is still too wet, add another tablespoon of almond flour.
- If you prefer, you can swap out the ground chicken for ground turkey.
Serving Tips
- Serve wrapped between two slices of lettuce, on a bun, or by itself.
- Add additional toppings if desired: tomato, red onion, pickles, banana peppers, etc.
Storage Tips
- Leftovers: Store leftover chicken patties in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat and serve.
- Spicy Ranch Dressing: Store leftover spicy ranch in a small airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Make Ahead: These are great to meal prep on Sunday or even at the beginning of the month and throw in the freezer for quick and easy meals.
- Freezer: Store chicken patties in a freezer-safe container without the ranch on top. Reheat in the oven or microwave until warm and drizzle with the spicy ranch dressing.
Equipment
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is the best recipe! I made it just like you said and everything was fabulous. Thank you!
Wow holy amazeballs these are crazy delicious! I’m on my very first round of whole 30 and these are going to be on my menu weekly! Thank you for being an inspiration to me and for all of your wonderful recipes!
Hello! Looking forward to making these this weekend! Quick question: my husband is allergic to almonds, what could I sub the almond flour for? Thank you!!
Bri
Do you, by chance, already have nutrition information for the spicy ranch? Thanks!
We are in the middle of getting nutrition facts for all my recipes. This will roll out late this year. So sorry for any inconvenience.
Does the taste change much using air fryer method vs frying in a pan with ghee?
This looks amazing! Can I sub something else for the coconut milk like almond milk? I have had bad experiences using coconut milk and then whole dish tastes coconutty. Even when the recipe promises it won’t, I can still tell. 🙂
You can do heavy cream.
Can’t wait to make these. I don’t have an air fryer, is there another cooking method you recommend?
There is both a skillet version and an air fryer version in the recipe card.
Have a great day