Home » Recipes » Buffalo Sauce » Buffalo Chicken Cheesy Pasta Recipe
by Whitney Bond
July 6, 2023
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4.40 stars (73 ratings)
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This easy Buffalo Chicken Pasta recipe is made in just 29 minutes on the stovetop by adding shredded chicken and penne pasta to the most amazing creamy, cheesy sauce, filled with two cheeses, buffalo sauce and spices!
For almost a decade, this has been the most popular recipe on the blog! It has been viewed over a million times and has received dozens of 5 star reviews!Needless to say, people go crazy for this buffalo chicken pasta!
For years now I have been obsessed with all things buffalo chicken! Thanks to my friend Lindsay who first introduced me to Buffalo Chicken Dip back in 2010.
I now think of all the ways I can incorporate buffalo chicken into new recipes. From Buffalo Chicken Burgers and Buffalo Chicken Tacos, to Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers and Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls. I’ve found some interesting ways to spread out my obsession over several genres of food!
Now for one of my favorite combinations, buffalo chicken, cheese and pasta!
Table of contents
- Ingredients
- Step by step instructions
- More recipes with buffalo sauce
Ingredients
- Shredded Chicken Breasts – boil or pressure cook 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, then shred the chicken. You can also use shredded rotisserie chicken. I like to use either this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken or this Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken recipe when making this dish.
- Cream Cheese
- Buffalo Sauce – I like to use Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce, but any brand of buffalo sauce will work!
- Chicken Broth
- Paprika
- Garlic Powder
- Black Pepper
- Kosher Salt
- Blue Cheese Dressing – ranch dressing can also be used instead, if that’s your preference!
- Uncooked Penne Pasta
- Green Onions – optional topping to add some color, flavor and crunch!
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes – optional topping, for a little extra spice!
Step by step instructions
Just follow these 6 simple steps to make one of my all-time favorite recipes!
- Prepare the cheesy buffalo sauce. In a large pot or skillet on the stove over medium heat, add cream cheese, buffalo sauce and chicken broth. Whisk the ingredients together until the sauce is smooth and creamy.
- Spice up the sauce! Add paprika, garlic powder, black pepper and salt. Stir to combine.
- Make it creamy! Add blue cheese or ranch dressing to the sauce. Stir the sauce together until it’s smooth and creamy.
- Add the chicken. Add cooked, shredded chicken to the sauce, reduce the heat on the stove to low, then allow the sauce to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Cook the pasta. Add penne pasta to a large pot of boiling water on the stove. Cook according to package directions, then drain the pasta and add it to the buffalo chicken sauce.
- Finish and serve. Top the pasta with diced green onions and crushed red pepper flakes, if you’d like and serve immediately.
More recipes with buffalo sauce
Try these other popular WhitneyBond.com recipes with buffalo sauce!
- Buffalo Chicken Cheesy Tortellini
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Cheesy Sausage Balls
- Buffalo Cheesy Meatloaf
- Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili
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4.40 stars (73 ratings)
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Buffalo Chicken Pasta
This easy Buffalo Chicken Pasta recipe is made in just 29 minutes on the stovetop by adding shredded chicken to a creamy, cheesy buffalo sauce, made with cream cheese and blue cheese dressing, then tossing with penne pasta!
Servings: 4 people
Prep Time: 19 minutes mins
Cook Time: 10 minutes mins
Total Time: 29 minutes mins
Author: Whitney Bond
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded chicken breasts, boil or pressure cook 1 lb of chicken and shred
- 8 oz cream cheese, cubed
- 1/3 cup buffalo sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup blue cheese dressing
- 12 oz uncooked penne pasta
Optional toppings
Instructions
Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the cream cheese, buffalo sauce and chicken broth.
Whisk until creamy.
Add the paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, salt and stir to combine
Add the blue cheese dressing and stir to combine.
Add the shredded chicken.
Allow the sauce to simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.
While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove. Add the penne pasta and cook according to package directions.
Drain the pasta then add it to the cheesy buffalo chicken sauce and stir to combine.
Top with diced green onions and crushed red pepper flakes, if you would like.
Video
Notes
- Vegetarian Option: Omit the chicken. The spicy, cheesy buffalo sauce is so good on its own, you could definitely do it without chicken! Also, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- Gluten Free Option: Use gluten-free pasta to make this recipe gluten free. Make sure the blue cheese dressing and chicken broth used are gluten-free.
Nutrition Facts
Calories 665kcal (33%)Carbohydrates 68g (23%)Protein 33g (66%)Fat 29g (45%)Saturated Fat 14g (70%)Cholesterol 117mg (39%)Sodium 1827mg (76%)Potassium 475mg (14%)Fiber 3g (12%)Sugar 5g (6%)Vitamin A 1031mg (21%)Vitamin C 2mg (2%)Calcium 123mg (12%)Iron 2mg (11%)
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originally published February 23, 2012 — last updated July 6, 2023 130 Comments
Posted in: 29 Minute Meals, Buffalo Sauce, Chicken, Dinner, Method, Quick and Easy Recipes, Recipe Videos, Recipes, WB Favorites
About Whitney Bond
I’m a sports-loving, coffee-drinking, food blogger, the host of “29 Minute Meals”, a contributing writer for TODAY Food, cookbook author and on-camera food and lifestyle expert! Here you’ll find most recipes are made in 29 minutes or less, in one pot, or in a crock pot!
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Leave a Reply
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Heidi Knowlton — January 29, 2024 @ 1:35 PM Reply
Has anyone tried substituting Sriracha sauce for the Buffalo sauce? We aren’t fans of Buffalo sauce but sure do love Sriracha!
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Whitney Bond — January 29, 2024 @ 2:32 PM Reply
Hi Heidi, you could definitely try it with sriracha, but since it’s much spicier than buffalo sauce, I would cut the amount down to 2-3 tablespoons of sriracha, instead of 1/3 cup of buffalo sauce. Let me know what you think, if you try it!
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Heidi Knowlton — January 30, 2024 @ 2:37 PM
We tried it subbing buffalo sauce with 3 Tablespoons of Sriracha. It was delicious. I couldn’t think of any flavor dressing that wouldn’t conflict with Sriracha so for the 3/4 cup dressing I subbed a combination of crema (if you live in Mexico, as I do, you know what that is), mayonnaise and milk (I found the sauce too thick without additional milk or water). I also omitted the salt as it seemed salty enough without it. If you like Sriracha, you will love this.
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Kelli Johnson — October 2, 2023 @ 7:26 PM Reply
So so yummy! I used ranch because I hate Bleu cheese. And I tried ground chicken with it, it’s what I had at home, and still turned out pretty good! Would probably do shredded chicken next time.
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Lisa — October 5, 2022 @ 4:23 PM Reply
Delicious, easy recipe with common ingredients that I usually have on hand. My husband loved it! I liked it with the blue cheese dressing, but I’m sure ranch would also be good. This recipe will definitely be in the rotation!
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Joyce — September 2, 2022 @ 2:30 PM Reply
This is Soooooooo good! My family loved it!
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Wendy — February 8, 2021 @ 8:38 AM Reply
This has quickly become a favorite with my husband and I! I often buy a rotisserie chicken at Costco and remove the meat. Some of it is used to make chicken salad and the rest usually goes into this recipe. We like a little extra chicken in ours, about three cups. I also replace the blue cheese with ranch since I hate blue cheese. It is amazing! Thank you!
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Gamefacelouie — December 6, 2020 @ 5:24 PM Reply
Good recipe! I hacked it to make it one pot (equal parts pasta and broth) then the rest except sour cream for cream cheese, used 1/2 cup homemade Buffalo sauce (hot sauce, canola oil, soy sauce, worchestershire sauce, garlic powder, mustard), added celery seed and shredded carrots.
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Whitney Bond — December 7, 2020 @ 10:58 AM Reply
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing!
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DAN — June 3, 2020 @ 6:14 PM Reply
This was amazing! I replaced the blue cheese with ranch (since I’m not a blue cheese guy). Made it for an anniversary dinner for my girlfriend and it was a hit! We were craving Cosimo’s Pasta Chicken Fusilli dish and figured I’d try to find a spicy chicken pasta recipe and came across this. Amazingly similar tasting to that exact Cosimo’s restaurant dish that we wanted tonight. Very pleased. Probably my new favorite chicken pasta dinner. If you’re a buffalo person like me, you’ll love this.
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Whitney Bond — June 9, 2020 @ 11:42 AM Reply
Fantastic to hear Dan, thanks so much for sharing! Happy anniversary!
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Jackie — March 13, 2020 @ 11:29 AM Reply
How large is the serving size? That’s a lot of calories for 1 meal.
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Whitney Bond — March 17, 2020 @ 9:59 AM Reply
The serving size is approximately 2 cups and is 665 calories for the serving.
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Rachel — February 7, 2020 @ 8:03 PM Reply
How do you think replacing penne with quinoa would be?
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Whitney Bond — February 9, 2020 @ 6:58 PM Reply
Hi Rachel, have you ever tried corn & quinoa penne pasta? That might be a good, healthier substitute! I’m also currently working on a Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Casserole that sounds like something you might be interested, check back in a couple of weeks and that recipe will be live 🙂
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