Meet your new favorite spicy chicken cheesy finger food! These yummy Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels are amazing! Filled with a mixture of shredded chicken, smooth cream cheese, sharp blue cheese, and cheddar with a healthy dose of buffalo wing sauce you won’t be able to eat just one!
Easy Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels
If you’ve checked out my blog you’ve probably realized that I’m totally into buffalo sauce! I love buffalo chicken wings of course, but really anything doused in the addictively good hot sauce will make my taste buds sing! In fact, I could probably throw a buffalo sauce themed party with all my recipes. I mean seriously, from Buffalo Wings and Buffalo Chicken Meatballs to Buffalo Chicken Lasagna and Buffalo Chicken Potato Skins, I’ve tried it on everything!
So one day when I looked in the fridge and found a rotisserie chicken and cheese just waiting to be used, I thought why not throw together some buffalo chicken rolls ups!?! First, I grabbed the cream cheese and mixed it together with some leftover blue cheese and cheddar with a dash of my buffalo sauce. Then I just mixed in the chicken along with a few chopped green onions, rolled the mixture up into some soft tortillas, sliced the rolls the next day, and Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels were born!
Why You’ll Love These Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels
- Simple Recipe! This 10-minute buffalo chicken roll up recipe is quick and easy. By using already roasted chicken there is no cooking involved and little to no cleanup.
- Buffalo Chicken Cheesy! These pinwheels are so dang tasty! Just imagine delicious spicy buffalo chicken folded into a creamy cheese mixture and then rolled up in soft flour tortillas.
- Easy Appetizer! When you are short on time Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels are a great recipe to make the day before. They are a perfect lunch on the run, party appetizer, or potluck finger food.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cream Cheese – My favorite is Philadelphia cream cheese, but any brand will work.
- Buffalo Sauce – You can make your own homemade buffalo sauce or use any store-bought brand you prefer.
- Blue Cheese – Buffalo sauce and blue cheese are a great combination. Yet, you can leave it out or use more cheddar if you don’t like blue cheese.
- Cheddar Cheese – I use cheddar cheese, but Colby Jack or Monterey Jack are both good choices too.
- Salt – Salt is always added in recipes to bring out all the natural flavors.
- Garlic Powder – A dash of garlic melds well with the spiciness of the buffalo sauce.
- Black Pepper – Regular or freshly ground black pepper is fine.
- Chicken – I use both the white and dark meat from a rotisserie chicken, but any type of cooked shredded chicken can be used to make these chicken tortilla rolls.
- Green Onions – Added for a bit of freshness and another layer of flavor.
- Flour Tortillas – You need medium-size flour tortillas to make the pinwheels. Corn tortillas don’t work because they crack when you try to roll them.
How To Make Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels
These chicken pinwheels take just 10 minutes to make! You literally just combine cooked chicken with a mixture of cheeses and buffalo sauce. Then roll it up and you’re done. Easy peasy!
Make The Buffalo Chicken Cheese Spread
The first thing you need to do is make the yummy buffalo cheese filling. To do this, simply mix the cream cheese, buffalo sauce, blue cheese crumbles, cheddar cheese, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper together in a large bowl until well combined. I use an electric hand mixer, but you can also mix it together by hand.
Then once the cheese is mixed together well with the buffalo sauce, fold in the shredded chicken and green onions using a rubber spatula. Make sure you mix it until it’s fully incorporated into the cream cheese mixture.
Roll The Pinwheels
Now it’s time to get rolling and make the chicken tortilla pinwheels! To begin, lay out all of your flour tortillas and then divide the chicken and cheese mixture equally among them. Next, spread the mixture out evenly on the tortillas and then roll them up one by one.
Then cover the rolls with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge to chill for at least 24 hours so that the cheese has time to firm up.
Cut And Serve
Once the pinwheels are well chilled they are ready! Just slice them into 1-inch thick pieces, put them on your serving dish of choice, and enjoy! I like to serve mine with a side of ranch dressing and extra buffalo sauce for dipping.
Can I Use Other Types Of Meat?
Yes! You can use any type of meat you want. Shredded turkey, pork, or beef are all good choices. You could even make shrimp or tuna buffalo pinwheels.
How Do I Keep The Pinwheels From Getting Soggy?
The easiest way to keep the pinwheels from getting soggy is to use the exact amounts stated in the recipe. Using too much buffalo sauce and not enough chicken or cheese creates a mixture that is too wet. So if you want to make the pinwheels spicier it’s better to either add in some chopped chilis with the cream cheese or serve the pinwheels with a side of extra buffalo wing sauce.
What Is The Best Chicken To Use?
For the least amount of work, I like to use a store-bought rotisserie chicken. But you can bake or boil your own chicken and shred it if you prefer. You can even use canned chicken if you like.
Expert Tips
- Room temperature cheese. The cream cheese needs to be soft to make the cheesy buffalo chicken mixture properly. So you’ll want to take it out of the fridge about an hour before starting the recipe. You can soften it up in the microwave but do it very slowly because you don’t want it to melt.
- Chill for at least 1 hour. The buffalo chicken tortilla rolls must be fully chilled before they can be cut and served. If you try to cut them too soon they will not hold their pinwheel shape. So it’s really important to be patient and leave the rolls in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Use a serrated knife. For nice clean and neat pinwheels use a serrated knife to cut the rolls. The next best option is to use a very sharp chef’s knife.
Leftovers
Already cut and rolled Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days when covered in plastic wrap or put in an airtight container. They do not freeze well.
Make Ahead
This Buffalo Chicken Pinwheel recipe is ideal for making ahead of time. In fact, you can make it up to 2 days in advance! Just follow the recipe, but don’t slice the rolls until right before serving. It’s that easy to prep them for your next party.
Other Great Delicious Snacks To Try
- Air Fryer Cheese Pull Apart Bread
- No Bake Energy Bites
- Spring Roll Recipe
- Potato Skins
- Best Ever Spinach Dip
Craving More? Follow Along:
Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature, such as Philadelphia
- ¼ cup Buffalo sauce
- ½ cup blue cheese crumbled
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded, or Colby jack, Monterey jack
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 3 cups cooked chicken both white and dark meat, from a rotisserie chicken
- 3 green onions finely chopped
- 6 medium tortillas
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, Buffalo sauce, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, salt, garlic powder and black pepper. Using a hand mixer, mix until well combined.
- Add the cooked chicken and green onions and using a spatula, stir it well until the chicken is throughly incorporated in the cheese mixture.
- Spread the cheese/chicken mixture over each tortilla, dividing it equally between all tortillas. Roll up the tortillas and place them on a plate. Cover them with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour up to 24 hours, for the cheese to firm up.
- When ready to serve, cut them up into 1-inch pieces and serve.
Tips & Notes:
- Room temperature cheese. The cream cheese needs to be soft to make the cheesy buffalo chicken mixture properly. So you’ll want to take it out of the fridge about an hour before starting the recipe. You can soften it up in the microwave but do it very slowly because you don’t want it to melt.
- Chill 24 hours. The buffalo chicken tortilla rolls must be fully chilled before they can be cut and served. If you try to cut them too soon they will not hold their pinwheel shape. So it’s really important to be patient and leave the rolls in the fridge for the full 24 hours.
- Use a serrated knife. For nice clean and neat pinwheels use a serrated knife to cut the rolls. The next best option is to use a very sharp chef’s knife.
- Already cut and rolled Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days when covered in plastic wrap or put in an airtight container. They do not freeze well.
