Hot and spicy, full of tangy flavor and loads of cheese, these Nashville Hot Chicken Wraps are the perfect game day treat when cheering on your Vandy Boys. Sometimes hot and always cheesy, the Commodore would definitely approve. So anchor down, grab your groceries, and let's kick this season off in a big way.
SEC Tailgate Special : Vanderbilt University
Football season is our FAVORITE time of year. We love the weather, the crowds, the crazy football action, and of course, the food! We have created a tailgate recipe for every team in the South Eastern Conference.
Our goal: to capture the spirit of each school’s team and make a fun and delicious recipe using local flavor and flair. So we put our football differences aside, and researched every school.
If you have ever been to an SEC Tailgate, you know that food is the only thing that brings opposing fans together. (Besides the fact that we all want to beat Florida.)
If you don’t follow college football or aren’t a fan of the SEC…that’s totally ok. The SEC Tailgate recipes are still awesome for your next party. Or a Tuesday. (We won’t judge.)
Nashville Hot Chicken Wraps | Vandy Tailgate
Although I'm a die hard Vols fan ...I've gotta give the boys over at Vandy credit. They've been looking pretty good(ish) over the last season or two.
And we'll give ourselves a little credit too, for whipping up this tangy hot chicken-inspired recipe for Saturdays this fall. You don't have to be a genius to come up with a recipe this good, tho. Vandy is known as the Harvard of the South...but my kitchen is known as...the kitchen of my house. Sorry. 🙂
This recipe starts with tender, spicy strips of chicken. We seasoned it up with our favorite hot chicken seasoning. You can pick it up at Kroger. If you can't find this one, any hot chicken seasoning will do. You can also make your own using cayenne pepper, paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Sprinkle the seasoning all over the chicken and toss to coat well.
Now into the hot, melted butter to fry up nice and golden. Your mouth will be watering! Cook the chicken in batches. Don't overcrowd the pan. If you do, the chicken will just sit there and "sweat" and you won't get this gorgeous color and flavor.
As each batch of hot chicken is done, transfer it to a bowl and cover to keep warm while you finish.
Let's talk about flavor for a second. For this recipe, I really wanted a big and bold pop of flavor. Almost like a Buffalo meets Nashville style chicken wing flavor. To get all of that into a delicious chicken wrap, I went cheese crazy. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sharp cheddar, and hot sauce.
Lots of hot sauce.
More Gameday Greats from our SEC Tailgating Special:
Big Orange Smokey's + Checkberboard Relish
Mississippi Mud Dessert Dip
Kentucky Hot Brown Sliders
Mizzou Tiger Tail Pretzel Sticks
You can use a little or a lot. I used about half a cup of my fave. If you think this is too much, you can add half that amount, taste the mixture, and go from there.
To make mixing easier, be sure the cream cheese is softened to room temperature. I also like to use a stiff scraper-type utensil to help blend it together. How are we looking so far, Vandy fans?
Next, add all that juicy, spicy chicken (and all the pan juices and drippings) into the cheese mixture. Fold the chicken in to wrap all that hot cheese flavor around each and every piece.
All you've gotta do now is warm some soft flour tortillas and chop up crisp iceberg lettuce. Assemble each Nashville Hot Chicken Wrap "burrito style", tucking in the sides and folding it over on itself to seal.
TIP: If you are making these a little ahead of time and it will be a while before serving, use chopped celery or cabbage in place of the lettuce.
Before serving, slice the hot chicken wraps in half or quarters. Serve with fresh celery and cool ranch dressing to dip. These are so good. You can make them big or make them small, whatever size tortillas you have. I used 10 inch flour tortillas and the recipe made 8 full size wraps, which was 16 servings.
We can't wait for you to try this recipe. Be sure to check out more of our SEC Tailgate Special recipes and enjoy your football season in a yummy way.
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Nashville Hot Chicken Wraps
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- ½ tablespoon hot chicken seasoning
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- ½ cup hot sauce
- 2 cups iceberg lettuce shredded
- 8 flour tortillas 10-inch
- celery optional
- ranch dressing optional
Instructions
- Cut the chicken in half lengthwise. Slice each chicken half into thin strips.
- Sprinkle the hot chicken seasoning over the chicken. Toss to coat all sides.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium high heat. Add a third of the seasoned chicken. Cook until golden brown on both sides and the center is no longer pink, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a covered dish. Repeat with the other two portions of butter and chicken.
- When the chicken is cooked, combine the cream cheese, cheddar cheese and hot sauce in a large bowl. Fold in the cooked chicken.
- Warm the flour tortillas. Assemble each hot chicken wrap by adding a portion of the hot chicken and cheese mixture to the center of a tortilla. Top with shredded lettuce. Fold the sides in and fold the chicken wrap over on itself.
- To serve, cut each wrap in half. Serve with celery sticks and ranch dressing if desired.
Quick question: are these served hot or cold? I’d love to try this for lunch, but would like to know if this would be a good meal prepping option!
I like them warm to room temperature. However, I think they would also hold up well to cold temps for lunch. Let me know if you try them that way.