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Discover the irresistible flavors of Buffalo Chicken Pasta with this easy-to-follow recipe. Spice up your dinner routine with this delicious dish that combines the zesty taste of buffalo sauce with tender chicken and pasta.
This mouthwatering Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake combines the classic taste of buffalo chicken with the comforting goodness of pasta, creating a winning combination that will leave your taste buds craving more.
For more buffalo recipes, try my Buffalo Chicken Dip, Buffalo Chicken Salad, and Baked Buffalo Chicken.
Table of Contents
Why We Love This Recipe
Buffalo Chicken Pasta is perfect for a cozy family dinner, potluck gatherings, or game day parties. It’s a crowd-pleasing dish that is guaranteed to impress your guests with its bold flavors and comforting appeal.
Whether you’re a fan of buffalo chicken or simply looking for a new twist on classic pasta dishes, this easy Buffalo Chicken Pasta recipe is sure to become a favorite in your household.
- Buffalo Chicken Flavor – Everyone’s favorite buffalo chicken flavor in pasta form!
- Fast and Easy to Make – The dish is ready in only 35 minutes! It’s easy to make using leftover shredded chicken or a rotisserie chicken from the store.
- Customizable Spice – You can easily adjust the amount of buffalo sauce to suit your family’s heat preferences.
Ingredients
Only simple, easy-to-find ingredients in this recipe!
- Pasta – I like to use a short noodle like cavatappi, penne, rigatoni, or bowtie.
- Unsalted Butter – Some of the other ingredients have salt added, so use unsalted butter for better control over the amount of sodium.
- Finely Diced Celery – You can use the leaves too!
- Sliced Green Onions – Use both the white part and the green tops.
- Package Ranch Seasoning – Or 2 tablespoons of a homemade mix.
- Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup – Or a homemade version.
- Plain Cream Cheese – Full fat, brick style is best, but a whipped version of Neuchatel can also be used.
- Chicken Broth – Opt for a low sodium broth for better control over the amount of salt.
- Mild Buffalo Sauce – You can buy this at the store or make your own. If you love spice, use a medium or hot buffalo sauce instead of mild.
- Shredded Cheese – Such as Cheddar or Monterey Jack, but you can swap in any cheese you like!
- Shredded Cooked Chicken – A perfect use for leftover chicken or you can even buy a Rotisserie chicken at the store and shred it up.
How To Make Buffalo Chicken Pasta
See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
In the time it takes to cook the pasta to al dente you can make the easy Buffalo chicken sauce then it all goes into the oven until hot and bubbly.
Saute Vegetables – Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the celery and green onions.
Prepare the Sauce – Stir in the Ranch seasoning.
Prepare the Sauce – Whisk in chicken soup, cream cheese, and broth to form a cheese sauce.
Combine Ingredients- Turn off the heat and stir in buffalo sauce, pasta, shredded chicken, and half of the shredded cheese. Give it all a toss so it’s evenly coated and combined.
Transfer to a Baking Dish – Top with shredded cheese.
Bake until hot and bubbly.
Recipe FAQs
You can control the heat by using a mild buffalo wing sauce, or by using less of the buffalo sauce altogether.
You can prepare and assemble the casserole, then cool, cover, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Let it sit out as your oven preheats; you may need to add 5-10 minutes to the baking time.
Store cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat gently either in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Absolutely! You can cut the recipe in half and bake in a square 8×8-inch dish or double it and use 2 casserole dishes.
Optional Additions and Variations
- Adding vegetables – Steamed broccoli or cauliflower would be the best options for added veggies.
- Trying different cheeses – I love the Cheddar-Jack combo, but cheddar and mozzarella or Colby Jack would also be great. Try some blue cheese sprinkled on top for an extra tang.
- Experimenting with spices – I kept the spices and seasonings to a minimum since the Ranch seasoning adds a lot of flavor. If you’d prefer to omit the Ranch seasoning, add a pinch of cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, or dried herbs like thyme, oregano, or parsley.
Serving Suggestions
- Garnishes – Sprinkle extra green onions over the top and drizzle with buffalo sauce and ranch dressing.
- Sides and Salads – Some great sides that pair well with this spicy chicken pasta are Roasted Broccolini, Air Fryer Broccoli, Garlic Green Beans, or an Arugula Salad.
Helpful Tips
- Don’t Overcook the Pasta – It’s important to cook your pasta al dente, because it will continue to cook it in the oven. You don’t want to wind up with soggy noodles.
- Adding Ranch Seasoning – Dissolving the ranch seasoning in the butter before adding other ingredients really helps dissolve all the seasonings so it’s evenly distributed in the sauce.
- Whisk Sauce Well – When you add the cream of chicken soup, broth, and cream cheese… it will take a while to melt and become smooth. Don’t skip this step! Make sure the sauce is nice and creamy before moving on.
- Shredded Chicken – This is a great recipe to use leftover chicken, a store bought rotisserie chicken, or you can make shredded chicken in your slow cooker or Instant Pot.
More Buffalo Chicken Recipes
- Buffalo Chicken Sandwich
- Buffalo Chicken Sliders
- Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls
- Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
- Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 12 ounces pasta such as cavatappi, penne, rigatoni or bowtie
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup finely diced celery
- 3 green onions sliced
- 1 ounces packaged ranch seasoning
- 10.5 ounces canned cream of chicken soup
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup mild buffalo sauce
- 1 cup shredded cheese I like Cheddar and Monterey
- 2-3 cups cooked chicken shredded
- Optional: Additional buffalo sauce and ranch for the top.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9×13 or large casserole dish with a light coating of non-stick spray; set aside.
- Cook pasta according to package directions to al dente. Drain and set aside.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Add the celery and the majority of the green onion. Set aside a few Tablespoons of the green tops for garnish. Cook the celery and green onion until fragrant and tender, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the package of ranch seasoning and stir to combine.
- Add the chicken soup, cream cheese and chicken broth and whisk until completely melted and smooth. Be patient – the cream cheese will take several minutes to melt.
- Turn off heat and add buffalo sauce, stirring until fully incorporated.
- Add the cooked pasta, cooked chicken and ½ of the shredded cheese to the skillet and toss until completely coated.
- Transfer to the prepared casserole dish and top with remaining ½ cup of cheese.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted on top and the casserole is hot and bubbly.
- Remove from the oven and top with remaining green onions and extra sauce or ranch if desired.
Notes
- I normally recommend salting pasta water, however, this dish can be very salty if so, I would not recommend salting the water for this meal.
- Cook your pasta to al dente doneness. Because we are going to continue to cook it in the oven, you don’t want to wind up with soggy noodles.
- When you add the cream of chicken soup, broth and the cream cheese… it will take a while to melt and become smooth. Don’t skip this step! Make sure the sauce is nice and creamy before moving on.
