Buffalo Chicken Pasta Casserole is an easy chicken dinner packed with cream cheese, buffalo sauce and cheese. Just like buffalo chicken dip, once you start eating, it’s hard to stop!
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake
When you’re looking for a simple family dinner, pasta is usually a crowd pleaser. But if you’re tired of the same old spaghetti sauce based dishes, try something new!
Children in the midwest learn to throw together a chicken pasta casserole at an early age. My chicken tetrazzini recipe is a winner of a meal.
Adding buffalo chicken flavor makes this incredible!
- You can assemble the buffalo chicken casserole ahead of time.
- Add more or less spice depending on your palate
- This dish is both cheesy and flavorful, guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser!
Ingredient Notes
My family loves this buffalo chicken casserole recipe and we keep these ingredients handy. Scroll to the recipe card below for full ingredient list and instructions.
- Pasta – I love using penne pasta here, but bowtie or another shape would work well, too. Cook to al dente for best flavor and texture in this pasta bake.
- Cream Cheese – I recommend a full-fat cream cheese for the richest flavor in this recipe. If you’re craving creamy buffalo chicken pasta, don’t skip this ingredient.
- Buffalo Sauce – We use and love Frank’s Red Hot Wing Sauce. Sometimes referred to as buffalo wing sauce. Traditional hot sauce can work too in a pinch.
- Chicken – Your chicken needs to be already COOKED for this recipe, so please plan accordingly. You can make my shredded chicken in the instant pot or boil some boneless, skinless chicken breasts ahead of time. You can also use a rotisserie chicken from the store or this leftover roasted chicken.
- Dressing – You can top your pasta casserole with Ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing. Not required, but it adds an extra boost.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Pasta
Cook Pasta.
Make Sauce. While pasta is cooking, heat cream cheese, buffalo sauce and chicken broth in a large skillet. Simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly until cream cheese is melted. Add in garlic powder and salt, whisking until smooth.
Aimee’s Tip
Everyone tolerates a varied spice level when it comes to buffalo chicken dip pasta. Feel free to add a little more when serving by drizzling the top with hot sauce.
Add Chicken. Add 1 pound of COOKED, shredded chicken to the buffalo sauce and stir until well coated.
Combine and add Cheese. Add pasta, shredded mozzarella cheese, and shredded sharp cheddar cheese. If needed, heat for a few minutes until the cheese melts and becomes bubbly.
Tips and Tricks
- Use your favorite pasta shape for this casserole, but choose one that has some ridges to help the sauce cling to the pasta. Penne and bowtie are my favorites for this dish. Medium shells or rigatoni would work well too.
- Add extra cheese and green onions or parsley when serving, if desired. Mix mozzarella and cheddar into the casserole, then add more on top for extra creamy pasta.
- Make ahead of time: Assemble this buffalo chicken dip pasta in a casserole dish and refrigerate until ready to bake. Heat until warmed through.
- Serving suggestions: My family loves having a salad or side dish along with the chicken buffalo pasta bake. A simple mandarin salad is also a delicious green side! This applesauce recipe is a great palate cooler if the pasta is too spicy for you. And a slice of this Beer Bread goes with any dinner.
- Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for 4 days. When reheating, add some heavy cream to the pasta mixture in a skillet.
- Freeze assembled pasta dish by covering with foil or in an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator then bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Serve up tonight’s buffalo chicken pasta bake with my homemade ranch dressing or make an easy Olive Garden salad.
More Buffalo Chicken Recipes
When you love buffalo chicken dip, the next step is to turn it into a pasta dinner! Move over baked ziti, there’s a new casserole in town.
- Buffalo Chicken Ring is impressive to your family and friends at the next pot luck!
- Make these easy Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Dip for your next game day! Dip some crunchy homemade Bagel Chips in for the perfect bite!
- Lover of that spicy flavor? Buffalo Chicken Tacos and Buffalo Chicken Sliders are the perfect way to satisfy that spicy tooth!
- Not buffalo flavored, but my jalapeno chicken casserole is pure comfort food and so easy too.
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Buffalo Chicken Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound Penne Pasta
- 1 package Cream Cheese 8 ounce
- ½ cup Buffalo Sauce Frank’s Red Hot Wing Sauce
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- 1 teaspoon galric powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pound Chicken breast or thigh, cooked and shredded
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese shredded
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese shredded
- ¼ cup Ranch or Blue Cheese Dressing optional
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, make sauce.
- For the sauce, in a large skillet, add cream cheese, buffalo sauce and chicken broth. Simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly until cream cheese is melted and smooth.
- Add in garlic powder and salt and whisk until smooth.
- Add cooked chicken and stir until blended.
- Fold in cooked pasta and shredded cheeses. Remove from heat and serve warm.
- Top with a drizzle of ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing, if desired.
Notes
- Once you’ve assembled the buffalo chicken pasta in a freezer safe casserole dish, cover with foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Thaw in refrigerator overnight, then bake 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
- See blog post for more recipe tips and tricks.
Video
Nutrition
Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Pasta is an easy, 30 minute meal recipe idea. Serve with blue cheese dressing!
Just made this and it’s amazing!! I followed the recipe exactly as listed. I don’t like a lot of spicy food but this was perfect!! This will be added to my meal rotation! Thank you again for the recipe!
I’m glad you enjoyed the pasta Tanya!
Love it, it tastes amazing and was easy to make! 💕
I made this tonight as part of our 2024 monthly new dishes. Husband and I both loved it! I mixed two brands of hot sauce since I didn’t have enough of either and I think that made it flavorful but not super spicy. I used the food processor to chop the chicken breast and it made a perfect texture. We have just enough left that I froze it for another day, served with a salad again.
10/10 recipe. Even my picky husband devoured it and gave it high praise. Easy and delicious!
Made this as a special for our high school baseball concession stand. (4) 9×13 pans. GONE! Out of the park HOMERUN! Inexpensive to make. Fans were emptying their pockets to get another serving!
YAY, love to hear it!
Mine came out dry , do I just add more chicken broth ?
Ohhh, just made The buffalo chicken pasta and it is divine, everything you could ask for.
Thank you so very much.
So glad you enjoyed the dinner!
Hello, haven’t tried this yet but plan to tomorrow. Probably a dumb question, but how much is a serving size? A cup? Half a cup? I never know.
Loved this dish. Only hubby didn’t like it, but he’s a very picky cry baby. My boys and I devoured it. I made Buffalo chicken in the instant pot yesterday, then used the leftover chicken in this dish today and just cut back a bit on the Buffalo sauce and chicken broth. Came out amazing!
“picky cry baby”…are we married to the same man?? Hahha, glad you and the boys enjoyed the dish!
Turned out AMAZING…
We just used some leftover rotisserie chicken- had everything else on hand, added a half a tablespoon of butter and omitted the salt.
Scallions are a MUST.
Bookmarked!
So glad you enjoyed the pasta!
What is the serving size?
My husband and I adored this dish! Added crumbled blue cheese and green onions on top. Only bad part there was no leftovers. Great recipe!
So happy to hear it!
AMAZING dish, and I may just be from Louisiana so I love the kick, but i added just a little bit extra buffalo sauce. So good.
I added spinach and broccoli to the dish to give some nutritional value 😉 but the whole family love it. My son called it buffalo wings in a bowl!
Thanks for the recipe.
Not sure if I did something wrong but my mouth is on fire! 😂 but it’s still good. Just much much much spicier than I thought it would be
Same!! 😂😂 It’s good but definitely spicy!
Came out DEE-LISH!
I’m making the buffalo chicken pasta tonight and I did everything you said do but I added crushed ritz crackers on top to give it a little crunch. I will take the foil off the last five minutes to brown the crackers and then I’m going to drizzle more of the hot sauce on top along with ranch dressing. Then I’m going to garnish it with blue cheese crumbles and green onions. We will see 🤷🏻♂️
Hope it turned out great 🙂
My kids LOVE this easy pasta dish! Great for weeknight dinner, too.
Delicious! Love this for a weeknight dinner!
Oh my, this sounds incredibly delicious!! My family would LOVE it!
Thank you so much for giving me a dinner that my whole family loved! It has such a burst of flavor and perfect for changing up our normal pasta routine.
This was an easy, quick & yummy weeknight dinner!
How much cream cheese?
The printable recipe with measurements is at the end of the recipe card.