Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Patties with Spicy Ranch Recipe
Published Mar 27, 2018 Updated Sep 10, 2023
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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!
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, 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
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
- 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.
Our family LOVES these, I crave them 🙂 I’ve used arrowroot flour instead of the almond flour and they’ve turned out great. So yummy!
This is awesome to hear! Thank you Heather
Hi. Hope this comment finds you well. I have made these many times and they are awesome but it looks like the recipe was changed. Also, the ground chicken that I get is more than 2 lbs and I use to be able to adjust the chicken quantity in the recipe to get the proper amounts of everything else. Can I find the original somewhere?
If you go up in the recipe you will see that it says “Scale 1X and so on. If you click the 2X, it will double the recipe and ingredients for you. This recipe is pretty much the same as the old with slight tweaks. The chicken amount is the same in this recipe as the old.
Love this recipe! I make this probably once a month! It’s nice to have something other than just a regular hamburger patty!
🙂 Thanks Amanda……..so glad to be able to offer a different option. Have a blessed weekend
I made these several weeks back and have been craving them since I finished what I made! If I can get the ingredients tomorrow I’m making them in bulk for sure! So much flavor!
Thank you so much for your kind words of support Aileen.
This recipe was so delicious. I made it for my family as one of my first whole 30 recipes–it was a family favorite. After I cooked the patties, I cut them into strips and put them inside of lettuce wraps, they were Delicious. The next day we also used the leftovers for protein on our lunch salads. I would definitely recommend this for anyone and for families. My 2 year old and 8 year old love it.
Thanks Natasha…….love when my recipes are a choice of the little ones. Have a blessed weekend
My husband is a lover of all things buffalo ranch so these are a huge hit in our house! Love this recipe! ❤️
Love that it was a success Kaitlyn
so good!!! My family loved this dish 😊
Thanks so much for letting me know Bridget. Love when I read that my posts and recipes are making time in the kitchen quick and tasty. Have a blessed weekend:-)
Oh man! My husband and I LOVE this recipe whether we’re on whole 30 or not! So tasty!!
I’m making these for dinner tonight. They’re delicious and make putting together meals during the week so easy.
Thank you. Hope you love them
This recipe was AMAZING!!! Super easy to make. My husband is picky and very suspicious of new recipes. He told me 3 times how much he liked the patties. He also went back for seconds!!
Thanks Mac for another great recipe!
Thank you so much.