An easy dinner for buffalo chicken lovers, this Buffalo Chicken Pasta is made simple in one pot. Pasta, chicken, and a spicy cheese sauce all come together in this 30 minute dinner.
One pot means less dishes! For more one pot favorites, try this Skillet Lasagna or this One Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff.
What do you get when you combine flavorful buffalo sauce and pasta in an easy one pot meal?
This Buffalo Chicken Pasta!
Dinner really doesn’t get much easier. I love a good one pot meal. It means less mess, less dishes, and an easy, fast dinner! This can be on the table in 30 minutes, and even my kids devoured this!
Ingredients
- Butter: I like to use unsalted butter. If desired, you could also use olive oil, but I prefer the flavor of the butter in this recipe.
- Onion: You only need about 1/2 cup of onion, but feel free to add more or less, to your preference. I do like to dice the onion pretty small for this recipe.
- Garlic: I like to use freshly minced garlic.
- Pasta: My favorite pasta for this recipe is penne pasta. You could use any short cut pasta, but you may need to alter the amount of liquid that you’ll need.
- Chicken Broth: You cook the pasta in the broth, so it adds lots of flavor. I like to use a low sodium broth so that the final dish is not too salty.
- Buffalo Sauce: I use regular buffalo sauce for this recipe. You could also use wing sauce – I feel like this is a little more mild.
- Cream Cheese: This makes the pasta nice and creamy.
- Chicken: My favorite time saver is to keep cooked, shredded chicken on hand. (I freeze it so I always have some on hand!) You can also use rotisserie chicken.
- Cheese: I use a mixture of mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, and blue cheese. If you aren’t a blue cheese fan, you can omit it.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Pasta
STEP 1: Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion and cook until it is softened, adding the garlic at the very end.
STEP 2: Add the pasta and the chicken broth to the pot. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover the pot. Let this cook for 8 minutes, then remove the lid and let it cook for another 5 minutes.
STEP 3: At this point, the pasta should be just short of al dente, and most of the liquid will be absorbed but you will still have some liquid.
STEP 4: Add in the buffalo sauce as well as the cream cheese. Stir this all together while the heat is still on low to melt the cheese.
STEP 5: Once the cream cheese has melted, add in the chicken. Stir everything together to combine.
STEP 6: Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the mozzarella, cheddar, and blue cheese. Stir well to make sure all of the cheese is melted.
Tips and Tricks
You want to make sure that your pasta is cooked just short of al dente before you start adding sauce and cream cheese. The pasta will continue to soak up the sauce and will become mushy if you cook it too long.
If you want the pasta spicier, you can add up to 3/4 cup of buffalo sauce.
A mild cheddar cheese will melt better, but doesn’t give as much flavor. I usually try to stick with medium cheddar.
Storage
This is best eaten right after it is made, as it will continue to soak up the sauce. If you do have leftovers, store them in a container in the refrigerator. When you reheat the leftovers, you may need to add in a little more chicken broth to loosen it up.
Eat any leftovers within 3 days.
More Buffalo Chicken Recipes
Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls
Buffalo Chicken Pizza
LOOKING FOR MORE FREE RECIPES?
Subscribe to my free recipe newsletter to get new family friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more family-friendly inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.
Buffalo Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 16 oz penne pasta dry
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup buffalo sauce
- 8 oz cream cheese softened and cut into cubes
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook until softened, then add the garlic and cook just until fragrant.
- Add the dry pasta and the chicken broth to the pot. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, then place a lid on the pot and cook for 8 minutes. Remove the lid from the pot and continue to cook until the pasta is just short of al dente, about another 5 minutes. You still want some liquid in the pot, and the pasta should not be all the way soft.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the buffalo sauce and the cream cheese to the pot. Stir until the cream cheese is melted and combined. Stir in the chicken. Continue to cook over low, just until the chicken is heated through. Turn off the heat.
- Add in the mozzarella, cheddar, and blue cheese to the hot pasta and stir until the cheese is melted.
- Serve topped with more blue cheese, if desired.
Leave a Comment...