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This creamy Buffalo Chicken Pasta Recipe is made with juicy chunks of chicken, diced onion, cream cheese, hot sauce, and loads of shredded cheese. It’s ready in just 30 minutes and just as delicious as your favorite buffalo chicken dip.
The Cheesiest Buffalo Chicken Pasta Recipe
It’s no secret that I love all things buffalo sauce and buffalo chicken. I also love pasta and gooey melted cheese, so the other day I decided to put them all together to make one of the most magically cheesy and delicious comfort foods to ever grace my kitchen table. It’s basically the perfect excuse to enjoy buffalo chicken dip for lunch, dinner, and maybe even breakfast? Who knows, why not? Leftovers are amazing. Anyway, no matter the time of day, this buffalo chicken pasta is worth every single delicious bite!
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Ingredients
For the full list and amounts of ingredients in this baked buffalo chicken recipe, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Hot Sauce: Frank’s Red Hot Sauce is my favorite hot sauce to use in not just this recipe but for all my buffalo chicken needs. If you have a favorite hot sauce that you prefer, go for it. Use caution, however, as some hot sauces are better left for use in Mexican dishes.
- Pasta: Use your fav pasta shape. I used cellentani pasta, but penne pasta or bowtie pasta is also great.
- Chicken: Given the heavy nature of this pasta casserole, I prefer to make this recipe with chicken breasts. Regular poached chicken breasts a quick and easy, or you can pump up the flavor with my Easy Baked Buffalo Chicken Recipe. Short on time? Leftover rotisserie chicken is a great alternative.
- Ranch dressing: I made this dish with my Homemade Ranch Dressing Recipe, not a Ranch seasoning packet. Store-bought dressing will also work. For a slightly different flavor, try making it with homemade Blue Cheese Dressing.
Recipe Tips
- Reserve 1-2 cups of the pasta cooking water to thin the sauce if needed.
- If you prefer your sauce to be extra creamy or you plan on having leftovers, add slightly less than 1-pound of pasta noodles.
- If possible, shred your own cheese directly from the block. Freshly shredded cheese melts smoother.
- Leftovers: Leftovers will last for up to 4-5 days when stored in an air-tight container and in the refrigerator.
- Freezing is not recommended.
- How can I make this low-carb? Turn the easy buffalo chicken pasta low carb by swapping the pasta with cauliflower. For best results, I recommend boiling cauliflower florets in a large pot of water for approximately 3 minutes, then draining well, and setting aside until ready to mix with your prepared cheesy buffalo sauce and chicken.
Can Make This in the Slow Cooker (Crockpot)?
Yes, you can definitely make buffalo chicken pasta in your slow cooker. Here’s how you’ll want to do it-
- Add the olive oil, onions, garlic, salt and pepper, butter, cream cheese, chicken broth, hot sauce, and chicken to the bowl of a large slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-5 hours, high for 2-3 hours (everything is cooked so it doesn’t need that long).
- Thirty-minutes before serving, cook your noodles according to package instructions (sorry, guys, I’m not a fan of cooking pasta inside the actual slow cooker).
- Add the ranch dressing, shredded cheeses, and cooked pasta. If your sauce is too thick, thin using a bit of reserved pasta water or chicken broth.
- If desired, you may top your pasta with additional shredded cheese and spoonfuls of ricotta, cover, and allow to cook until melted.
Serving Ideas
Serve buffalo chicken pasta with a simple veggie side dish like Sauteed Zucchini or Roasted Asparagus, or a light Tomato Salad or Simple House Salad.
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Recipe
Creamy Buffalo Chicken Pasta Recipe made with juicy chunks of chicken, diced onion, cream cheese, hot sauce, and loads of shredded cheese. Ready in just 30 minutes and just as delicious as your favorite buffalo chicken dip.
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta, (I used cellentani pasta)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and pepper, to season
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ¾ cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce, divided
- ¼ cup Ranch dressing, (or Blue Cheese)
- 1½ lbs chicken breast, cooked and chopped
- 1½ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup ricotta cheese, optional
- ¼ cup green onions, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve 1-2 cups of the salted pasta water; drain well.
- Prepare the cream sauce. As the noodles are cooking, add the olive oil to a large pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes, or until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper, mixing well to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the butter, cream cheese, chicken broth, hot sauce, and Ranch dressing to the onions. Mix continuously until cream cheese is melted.
- Add the chicken. Add the cooked chicken to the sauce and mix to combine.
- Add the cheese and cooked noodles. Add one cup of the cheddar cheese and one cup of the mozzarella cheese to the pot. Mix thoroughly to combine. Gently fold in the cooked and drained noodles. NOTE: If your sauce is thicker than you'd like, thin using the reserved pasta water from step 1. Start with approximately half a cup and add more as needed.
- Transfer to prepared baking dish. Season with additional salt, pepper, or hot sauce, to taste then transfer the chicken and pasta mixture to your prepared baking dish. Top with spoonfuls of ricotta cheese, chopped green onions, and sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese. Drizzle with additional hot sauce or Ranch dressing, if desired.
- Bake. Transfer to your preheated oven and bake for 15-25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Serve garnished with additional green onion, hot sauce, or Ranch dressing, if desired.
Notes
- Any chicken will work in this recipe. Leftover rotisserie chicken is perfect whenever you need cooked chicken, fast. Otherwise, check out these posts to learn how to bake perfectly juicy chicken breasts or learn how to poach chicken breasts on the stovetop.
Nutrition
Calories: 574kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 112mg | Sodium: 1273mg | Potassium: 582mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 548IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 353mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment below!
I found this recipe because I wanted to use up some ricotta and omg I couldnt be any happier! I tasted the sauce and immediately yelled to hubby how good it was going to turn out. He remarked how it smelled good. I made the great mistake of accidentally used a ranch packet but was still yummy. I think I will keep the ranch the way it is. Great job on this one.
Great recipe! I think it needed some more franks red hot on the side but that’s just my preference. It tasted really good and the texture was great! It was really creamy as well! I also would have cooked the pasta a smidge less because when I baked it, it was a little over cooked. Overall really easy recipe that I made with my family. It was a big hit and we had almost no leftovers!
We’ve made this three times now. I’ve never even really liked Buffalo flavor/have never eaten hot sauce?! but I’m obsessed with this recipe and crave it all the time. 😂 We didn’t use ricotta after the first time because the kids weren’t too sure about the texture, but otherwise the only change we make is less pasta. A pound of the big noodles was soooo much noodle. This time we used rotisserie chicken to make it even easier. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
Thank you so much for the generous comment Lindsey, I love hearing how much you and your family obsess over it 😀
Made this for having some friends over for game night. It was so yummy! The ricotta is definitely a must!
trop bon !
Thank you Sylvain for the kind feedback 🙂