by Maya Last Updated on 36 Comments
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Oh Yes. I went there.
I may have a *slight* addiction to buffalo sauce. The tangy spiciness is good on just about everything; eggs, tacos, casseroles, salads, meat, you name it and I’ve probably drenched it in buffalo sauce at some point in my life.
I guess it’s the same as people dousing everything in ranch dressing (which I’m totally guilty of as well). Of course you can do that with these pizza poppers too. If you love ranch and buffalo sauce equally then this recipe might just be your dream come true.
And if you’re paleo, you don’t have to give up either one! Just make your own dairy-free ranch dressing and follow this buffalo sauce recipe.
So the idea with this started with me wanting to make a paleo buffalo chicken dip for the Super Bowl in a few weeks. Then I also thought about making pizza poppers and BOOM it came to me…BUFFALO CHICKEN PIZZA POPPER. Insane deliciousness is what the title should really be named.
And it gets better. The dough? Yeah, it’s only one ingredient…ONE! Like, how does that even happen in the Paleo world?
I’ve been working on a tortilla recipe, wait can you call it a recipe if it’s only one ingredient?? Anyways, after realizing that when you puree a boiled plantain it becomes a dough and you can roll it out into just about any shape for tacos, tortillas, and even pizza dough I was thrilled. Mind you it’s not the easiest mixture to work with intially. It sticks to just about everything but once you get it rolled out it doesn’t tear, it’s not gummy like tapioca, and it holds up very very well. See…
Perfection. So what I did to make the lovely little poppers was boil a few plantains and mash them into dough, roll it out, and fill with cashew cheese, buffalo chicken, and ranch seasoning. Easy! Here’s a look at what I did so you can visualize…
Try to roll the dough out pretty thin, the ones pictured here are a little thick so I adjusted it just a bit and they were easier to bend and the backs didn’t crack. It may take a few times to play with them and see what works for you. Even if they do crack the filling doesn’t really run out while frying so you’ll be fine. Out of about 25 poppers I had about 6 crack a bit but they were A-OK.
After they’re all formed I fried them in a bit of coconut oil until they’re golden perfection. I also tried baking them in the oven if you’re wondering if you can do that and you totally can but they become a bit soft and not like classic pizza rolls that are crunchy and a bit chewy. Plus frying the is so much quicker!
Be sure to serve them with some ranch for all dipping purposes and I can guarantee these will be the hit of any Super Bowl party, kids lunch box, or your heck even your lunch box.
P.S you can totally make a full size calzone out of this recipe too…It’s a little harder to maneuver in the skillet when frying but where there’s a will there’s a way 😉
RECIPE CARD
Paleo Buffalo Chicken Pizza Poppers
If you love ranch and buffalo sauce equally then this recipe might just be your dream come true.
Course Main Course, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword comfort food, party, snack
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Author Maya Krampf from WickedSpatula.com
Servings 4 servings
★ Review Print
Ingredients
Please ensure Safari reader mode is OFF to view ingredients.
- 3 GREEN unripe plantains they have to be green and hard
- 3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1 cup buffalo sauce I use Frank's Red Hot
- Coconut oil for frying
Cashew Cheese
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Ranch Dressing - make a double batch, one for inside the poppers and one for the ranch dipping sauce
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon dried chives
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
- 2/3 cup Avocado mayonnaise
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- Water to thin out
Click to convert between US & metric measurements:
Instructions
More TIPS about this paleo recipe in the post above!
Bring two large pots of water to a boil. Place the chicken breast in one. Cut the ends off of the plantains. Cut the plantain into 2" pieces and boil until tender. Peel and place in a food processor or blender. Blend until it just forms a dough, a few seconds at most.
While the chicken and plantains are boiling bring a small post of water to a boil and boil the cashews for 6 minutes or until soft. Drain and transfer to a food processor. Pour in the olive oil, and lemon. Blend until smooth and creamy. If it's too thick add a bit of hot water a little at a time. Set aside.
Shred the chicken and place in the food processor with the buffalo sauce. Pulse until minced but not creamy or mushy. Set aside.
Combine all of the seasoning for the ranch (just the seasoning, not the mayo, lemon, or water - that will be used for the ranch dressing), set aside.
Between two pieces of plastic (I used a gallon ziplock bag cut in half) pull off a little large piece than a golf ball sized piece of dough until it's about 1/6 - 1/4 inch thick. This size should be enough to fill two poppers. You can roll out a larger piece of dough but it's more manageable to do two at a time.
Put a teaspoon of cashew cheese down and top with about 2-3 teaspoons of chicken. Sprinkle with ranch seasoning and carefully fold over the dough. Cut down the middle to separate the two poppers. Place the plastic back over the popper and use the rolling pin to seal the sides. Cut off the excess and set the poppers aside. Add the excess back to the dough pile and repeat until you've used all the dough and fillings.
Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat with about 3 tablespoons of coconut oil. Fry the poppers 1-2 minutes per side until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels and repeat until all have been cooked. **You may have to add extra coconut oil between batches.
Mix together the second batch of ranch seasoning and mix in the mayo, lemon, and desired amount of water to thin out to your consistency preference.
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Reader Interactions
Carmen
ReplyIt’s a different version of doing Puerto Rican “alcapurias”. I’m going to try them, they are just as delicious!
Lauren
ReplyThank you for sharing, Carmen!
Juliana Duncan
ReplySo these looked to good not to try. A lot of work indeed but oh my, delicious so delicious. Do try it, but I’m not sure I didn’t cook my plantains long enough that I had a heck of time on the food processor, won’t make the same mistake next time! Also I baked a few the next day and they turned out just as good, crunchier oh so good! Thanks for this awesome recipe.
Jess
ReplySO STINKING GOOD. Y’all. If you are reading the comments because you are skeptical, just make them. We have been saving this recipe for a bit and finally buckled down and made them tonight. So worth it! It was definitely a lot of work and took quite a bit of time, but the result was so satisfying. Our poppers were all kinds of funny shapes by the end, but it didn’t matter. We also purchased whole30/paleo approved ranch instead of making it because it was cheaper than buying the mayo lol. So so so good! I will say that we were super skeptical about halfway through. The plantains smelled weird, the cashews as cheese seemed odd… just keep cooking. SO GOOOOOD.
Lauren
ReplyJess, your comment totally made my day! Thanks so much for sharing how good they turned out!
Nessa
ReplyThese look fantastic!!
Is it possible to bake the poppers instead of frying them?
Thanks!!Sindy
ReplyInstead of cashew cheese, can I put in nutritional yeast? I just have no idea how that would fry.. lol.
Lauren
ReplyHi Sindy, no not at all. The cashew cheese creates a cream cheese like texture and flavor whereas nutritional yeast wouldn’t be creamy or thick as it’s just a powder. I don’t think the flavor profile would fit in with the buffalo chicken either. If you’re not strict paleo and eat dairy feel free to swap the nutritional yeast for cream cheese.
Susan Ferrell
ReplyHow well would these hold up in the freezer? Fry then freeze or freeze then fry? On that note, have you tried baking these? I’m trying to make healthy frozen snacks for my kids to eat when I work late.
Lauren
ReplyHi Susan, I haven’t tried freezing these! I have tried baking them and they turn out great just a bit softer and not as crispy. Let me know if you try freezing them!
Shira
ReplyJust made this tonight and my boyfriend said it was his new favorite meal! It is delicious and well worth the labor 😉
I used fresh chopped green onions mixed in with the chicken and hot sauce. This is a brilliant recipe, thank you for sharing!J
ReplyI made these for lunch today and they were AMAZING! Thank you!!!
Lauren
ReplySo glad you enjoyed them!
Glennys
ReplyHonestly I don’t see the need for the cashew cheese. They sound very good even without it!
Alana
ReplyHi! I see that this recipe makes 25 poppers, but I was wondering what he serving size is?
Lauren
ReplyHi Alana, that really depends on how hungry you are and your dietary needs/preferences. I refrain from giving serving sizes most of the time since it’s so individualistic. With 3/4 a pound of chicken though and 3 plantains you’re probably looking at serving 2-3 adults with the entire recipe. Hope that helps.
Brian
ReplyAren’t plantains pretty high in carbs/sugar?
Lauren
ReplyHi Brian, plantains are a starchy vegetable similar to potatoes. The green variety is low in sugar. As it ripens the sugar content increases. For one cup of green plantain you’re looking at about 25 carbs and 2 g of sugar. Hope this helps!
Becky
ReplyI have never attempted anything so frustrating in my life. The plantain stuck to everything but itself. I had to blend it in small batches, and it took my husband 10 minutes to get it all out of the blender. We ended up heating the chicken in buffalo sauce and shredded cheese and having it over a salad.
Lauren
ReplyHi Becky. I’m so sorry that you had trouble with this recipe! While the plantain is difficult to work with it should work perfectly if you use the plastic method to roll it out. Did you add any water to the plantains when blending? If so that may be why it stuck to the blender since excess water can make it sticky. I hope you’ll give it another try as this plantain dough is very versatile.
Amber Johnson
ReplyI don’t think I boiled the plantains long enough because they were very sticky. How long did you have to boil them for?
Lauren
ReplyHi Amber! It depends on how thick you cut them before boiling. I usually boil mine for around 20 minutes or so but as long as they are easily pierced with a fork they’re good to go. The dough will be quite sticky and that’s why I suggest pressing or rolling them out between two sheets of plastic. Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions! I’m actually making tacos tonight and may post a step-by step over on snapchat if you want to follow along! My username is wickedspatula 🙂
Ashley - Forking Up
ReplyYou are my HERO! Definitely trying this! I looove buffalo chicken 🙂
Lauren
ReplyHA! Thank you! This is one of my all-time favorites!
Angel Vales
ReplyI adapted this recipe to make a great pizza. Used the choux crust from “My Paleo Patisserie.” Flavored cashew cream with the ranch dressing ingredients this recipe suggests (reducing the garlic & onion powders and the salt & pepper). Dressed a roasted chicken breast with commercial buffalo sauce (Frank’s). Spread the ranch spread over the crust, topped it with chicken, added more ranch stuff. Delish!
I look forward to re-trying this your way when I have some plantains on hand. 🙂
Kristen @ A Mind Full Mom
ReplySo excited to try this dough–the possibilities are endless with it. Although, I am loving how you used it. Can’t go wrong with Buffalo Chicken 🙂
corinne
ReplyWe made these last night! It took longer than expected to boil the plantains, and our dough didn’t turn out as nice-looking as yours, but these were DELICIOUS. Ended up with a lot of leftover ranch and chicken. Total time to make was about 2 hours, but sooooooo worth it. Thank you!!!!
Alma
ReplyI LOVE you!
😉
This is amazing! Yummy and easy to make! Next time I’ll cook plantains a little bit longer maybe that would help the dough to roll out even thinner…
But who ever is reading this: guys you MUST try this!!!!!Lauren
ReplyHA! Thank you SO much! I’m thrilled that you loved them! I have to say I’ve been daydreaming about them all week LOL!
Jennifer A Stewart
ReplyI am doing a Whole30 right now and these look so good! I am not supposed to have cashews on the diet but I am so trying this!!! My hubby likes plantains and these look like aa perfect snack for us!
dennis
ReplyCan you explain number 5 a bit more in detail? It sounds a little confusing with placing the plastic back over the dough.
Also just to confirm is 3 tablespoons of coconut oil to fry these in? Thanks in advance these look great I can’t wait to try. I appreciate your sharing
Lauren
ReplyHi Dennis! Sure, so when you roll out the dough you’ll want to have a piece of plastic on the bottom as well as on the top because your rolling pin will stick to the dough. So when rolling just lay the piece back over it after you’ve cut out the poppers. Does that make sense? 3 tablespoons to fry, you’re just wanting to pan fry these so not deep fry. If the pan gets dry add a few more tablespoons before the next batch. Let me know if you try them! 🙂
Faith (An Edible Mosaic)
ReplyI seriously just picked my jaw up off the floor! I don’t even know where to start, but lady, you are a paleo goddess!! OMG, I need to try that with plantains ASAP, and buffalo chicken pizza poppers?!! Be still my heart.
Sara
ReplyWow, I would have never thought to do that with plantains! I love buffalo chicken anything so this is definitely going on the to-try list.
Kathy Hester
ReplyI have never heard of making dough from cooked plantains and I can’t wait to try it!!
Marye
ReplyThese look so good, such a great idea!
