This Buffalo Chicken Pasta is a delicious and easy casserole recipe that can be on your table in 30 minutes. Combining buffalo chicken dip and cheesy pasta in one pan creates a meal that everyone will devour in minutes.
Do you struggle with making quick and easy dinners? I tend to put off thinking about dinner until the very last second. Then I’m scrambling to have a hot meal ready when everyone is hungry.
Keeping pasta, chicken, and cheese on hand makes it easy to put together a quick 30 minute meal. I like to buy rotisserie chickens from Sam’s club and freeze bags of shredded chicken for future meals.
Another great option is to keep some canned chicken in the pantry.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
Enjoy all the flavors you love about buffalo chicken wings in a creamy cheesy pasta casserole. This easy buffalo chicken pasta bake comes together with just a few simple ingredients.
Chicken: You can use a rotisserie chicken, leftover chicken breasts, chopped grilled chicken, or even canned chicken. We have used every kind of chicken in this buffalo chicken recipe. It tastes amazing no matter what kind of chicken you use.
Cream Cheese: Makes the pasta creamy and delicious.
Shredded Cheese: A mixture of shredded mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese bakes up nice and gooey. Hey, I never said this was a healthy buffalo chicken pasta.
Hot Sauce: We love using Frank’s Red Hot sauce to give a hot and spicy flavor to the buffalo pasta. Feel free to reduce the amount or use a wing sauce instead to make it milder.
Ranch Dressing or Blue Cheese Dressing: Either one will taste great. It all depends on which dressing you prefer with your buffalo chicken wings. Our family prefers ranch dressing, so we make buffalo ranch chicken.
Pasta: Use your favorite pasta noodles for this easy casserole. We prefer penne noodles because they hold sauce better. Bow tie noodles would be awesome in this buffalo chicken pasta too. Cook and drain the noodles before stirring them into the buffalo chicken dip mixture.
Optional Toppings: Green onions and blue cheese crumbles are great toppings for this buffalo chicken pasta.
HOW TO MAKE
This easy buffalo chicken pasta recipe can be made in minutes. It is a great meal to have on the dinner table in under 30 minutes.
Be careful! This easy buffalo chicken casserole has a thick layer of gooey cheese on top. Everyone will be fighting for the first cheesy scoop!
STEP ONE: PASTA
- Cook the pasta noodles according to the box directions.
- Drain noodles. Drizzle with olive oil to keep them from sticking.
BRUCREW TIP: Make this a low carb buffalo chicken recipe by substituting cooked CAULIFLOWER for the noodles. Healthy chicken recipe just like that.
STEP TWO: ASSEMBLE AND BAKE
- Stir the cream cheese, ranch, and hot sauce in a large bowl until smooth and creamy.
- Add the shredded cooked chicken, drained noodles, and some of the mozzarella cheese and stir gently.
- Spoon the buffalo chicken mixture into a greased baking dish and top with the rest of the shredded cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through and the cheese on top is melted and starting to brown.
STEP THREE: GARNISH AND EAT
- Drizzle the hot buffalo chicken casserole with ranch dressing and hot sauce.
- Serve with green onions and blue cheese crumbles.
TIPS AND TRICKS
- To keep the cooked pasta noodles from drying out and sticking together, drizzle them with olive oil.
- Looking for a buffalo chicken pasta that has a milder, buttery flavor? Use buffalo sauce instead of the Frank’s hot sauce.
- Shred block cheese instead of buying bags of pre-shredded cheese. Bagged cheese has a powder added to it to keep it from sticking and clumping together. Freshly shredded cheese tastes better and melts creamier.
- Blue cheese has a stronger flavor that some people do not enjoy. Serve blue cheese dressing and blue cheese crumbles on the side as an option for anyone that loves that flavor.
MAKE IT A MEAL
This buffalo chicken casserole is a complete meal on its own. Although, having extra sides and desserts always makes a dinner better.
CAN THIS BUFFALO CHICKEN CASSEROLE BE MADE AHEAD OF TIME?
The pasta casserole can be made up to one day ahead of time. Mix everything together, then cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate it.
Remove the casserole dish from the fridge 30 minutes before baking. Bake until hot and bubbly.
HOW LONG WILL LEFTOVERS LAST?
Leftovers? What leftovers? LOL! Buffalo chicken pasta leftovers will keep for 3-4 days if stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave.
CAN I MAKE THIS A LOW CARB MEAL?
You sure can. Substitute cooked cauliflower for the pasta noodles and enjoy.
CAN BUFFALO CHICKEN PASTA BAKE BE MADE IN A CROCK POT?
It can. I would use a crock pot if you are cooking raw chicken breasts instead of using already cooked chicken.
- Add the chicken breasts and hot sauce to the hot sauce. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. Shredded the chicken in the juices.
- Stir in the cream cheese, ranch dressing, and cheese and let cook for 15 minutes.
- Add the cooked pasta and top with more cheese right before serving.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups (8 ounces) uncooked, penne pasta (or substitute cooked cauliflower)
- 1 – 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
- ¾ cup ranch dressing
- ⅓ cup hot sauce
- 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken (or 1 – 12.5 ounce can chunk chicken breast)
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- green onions, for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray.
- Cook the pasta noodles, according to the package directions. Drain and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking.
- Stir together the cream cheese, ranch, and hot sauce until creamy.
- Add the chicken, ½ cup mozzarella cheese, and cooked pasta noodles to the cream cheese mixture and stir to combine. Spoon into the prepared dish.
- Combine the remaining two cheeses and sprinkle over the top of the pasta. Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese on top is melted.
- Remove and serve immediately with green onions, hot sauce, and ranch drizzles. Serves 6.
NOTES
If you are using canned chicken, drain and break it apart with a fork before using.
