Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake

I love dinners that combine my favorite flavors with cozy, comfort-food vibes, and I can’t think of anything that fits the bill better than this Buffalo chicken pasta bake recipe. With tender chicken, sauteed veggies and a shortcut sauce made from blue cheese dressing, mayo and hot sauce, it’s a dinnertime spin on Buffalo chicken dip (not that you can’t eat dip for dinner). This 13×9 pan of pasta casserole makes enough for dinner, plus a lunch or two I can grab on the run.

As much as I enjoy fried chicken wings, I gravitate more towards Buffalo chicken recipes that let me the skip deep-frying, but which still have that tangy, salty heat I find irresistible. All those key flavors are in this recipe, making my Buffalo dinner dreams a reality.

Ingredients for Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake

• Penne pasta: Penne’s long tube shape is ideal for holding onto the creamy sauce, and its size is proportional to the chicken pieces. Whole-grain or gluten-free pasta would work as well; just follow the package directions for the cooking time. If you have more pasta, use it in one of these penne pasta recipes.
• Boneless skinless chicken breasts: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are mild, so you can still taste plenty of the tangy hot sauce and creamy blue cheese. If you prefer dark meat, you can use diced boneless skinless chicken thighs.
• Olive oil: You only need a small amount of oil for sauteeing the chicken and vegetables, so any neutral oil will do.
• Carrots and celery: Since Buffalo wings are served with carrot and celery sticks, we included those veggies in this bake, too. If your celery has leaves, chop them up and toss them in the skillet—they have so much flavor!
• Red onion: Red onions are a spicy, sharp type of onion, and they cut through the richness of the dressing. Use yellow or white onions instead if that’s what you have on hand.
• Garlic: Lots of fresh chopped garlic complements the hot sauce and cheesy dressing. There are several easy ways to peel garlic if you find the task frustrating.
• Blue cheese salad dressing: Creamy, salty, slightly tangy blue cheese dressing is a great shortcut ingredient in this recipe. If you want even more blue cheese flavor, sprinkle crumbled blue cheese over the baking dish before serving it.
• Mayonnaise: Mayonnaise is slightly thicker than the salad dressing, giving more body and creaminess to the sauce. It can separate if it’s baked too long, so don’t forget to set a kitchen timer once you put the casserole in the oven and check on it halfway through cooking.
• Louisiana-style hot sauce: Louisiana-style hot sauce has the vinegary, spicy taste you expect in Buffalo sauce recipes. Our guide to hot sauces breaks down other options if you want to try something different.
• Swiss cheese: Shredded Swiss cheese is sprinkled over the dish before baking to create a golden crust. Mozzarella and Monterey Jack are other good melting cheeses that would work in this recipe instead.
• Dry bread crumbs: Bread crumbs add crunch to the top of the bake. Panko, crushed cornflakes, crushed potato chips, or one of our genius bread crumb substitutes can be used instead.
• Butter: This is already a rich meal, but a final drizzle of butter over the bread crumbs turns them golden and crunchy in the oven rather than dusty and hard.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the pasta

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Step 2: Season and cook the chicken

Meanwhile, sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, saute the chicken in 1 tablespoon of oil until it’s no longer pink, then remove it from the skillet.

Editor’s Tip: Spread the chicken pieces out in the skillet so they cook evenly.

Step 3: Saute the vegetables

In the same skillet, saute the carrots, celery and onion in the remaining oil until they’re tender. Add the garlic and cook everything for one minute longer, then remove the pan from the heat.

Step 4: Add the sauce ingredients, pasta and chicken

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Stir the blue cheese salad dressing, mayonnaise and hot sauce into the skillet. Add the pasta and chicken to the skillet, and toss to coat them in the sauce.

Step 5: Assemble the pasta bake

Transfer the pasta and chicken to a greased 13×9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle them with the cheese and bread crumbs, then drizzle butter over the top.

Editor’s Tip: To ensure even coverage, gradually sprinkle the cheese and bread crumbs over top, going all the way to the corners.

Step 6: Bake the pasta

Bake the dish, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until it’s heated through and the cheese is melted.

Editor’s Tip: Let the casserole dish rest for a few minutes after baking. The sauce will thicken slightly, and it’ll be easier to serve.

Recipe Variations

• Use ranch dressing: If you don’t love blue cheese, you can use ranch dressing instead for an equally creamy bake. To really boost the ranch taste, toss the bread crumbs with ranch seasoning before scattering them over the dish.
• Add some vegetables: To give the dish more color, saute diced bell peppers or zucchini with the carrots and celery. To get more leafy greens into your diet, wilt baby spinach or baby kale into the skillet when you mix the pasta and chicken with the sauce.
• Start with rotisserie chicken: Skip a step in this recipe and use shredded rotisserie chicken (or any leftover cooked chicken) instead of starting with raw chicken. Add it to the skillet with the pasta and toss to coat it in the sauce. If you have extra, use it up in an easy rotisserie chicken recipe for dinner the next day.
• Use Buffalo sauce: Instead of hot pepper sauce, use prepared Buffalo sauce to give the pasta bake an even richer flavor.
• Tone down the heat: To make this dish less spicy, look for a mild hot sauce or Buffalo sauce rather than reducing the amount. You need enough sauce to thin the texture and balance the flavor of the creamy ingredients.

How to Store Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake

You can store the baked and cooled Buffalo chicken pasta bake right in the dish, well wrapped, or transfer leftovers to an airtight container. Refrigerated leftovers last for three to four days. Gently reheat the pasta and chicken in the microwave or the oven just until they’re warm so the sauce doesn’t separate.

Can you make Buffalo chicken pasta bake ahead of time?

Buffalo chicken pasta bake can be assembled, covered and refrigerated for three to four days before it’s baked. To prevent a soggy casserole, wait to top it with shredded Swiss, bread crumbs and butter until just before popping it into the oven.

Can you freeze Buffalo chicken pasta bake?

This dish is a great freezer-friendly casserole. To freeze a casserole the right way, bake and cool it, then wrap it tightly in the dish or in individual portions. Buffalo chicken pasta bake will last for two to three months in the freezer. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before reheating it.

Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake Tips

What sides can you serve with Buffalo chicken pasta bake?

To balance the savory, cheesy flavors of the pasta bake, pair it with a crisp green salad, simple garlic broccoli or sauteed spinach. It’s a hearty meal on its own, so even a colorful crudite platter with raw vegetables would be enough to round it out. A cold beer is a delightful drink option, but for a weeknight, I might choose one of the best nonalcoholic beers instead.

What can you use to garnish Buffalo chicken pasta?

You can garnish Buffalo chicken pasta with something fresh and green for a pop of color and flavor, such as sliced scallions, chopped parsley or celery leaves. For a creamy finish, drizzle a little more blue cheese dressing over the crispy bread crumb topping.

Can you use a different pasta shape in this Buffalo chicken pasta bake?

You can replace the penne with other short pasta shapes to keep the ratio of sauce to chicken to noodles the same. I love twisty shapes, such as fusilli and cavatappi, and rigatoni is great because the wide tubes are perfect for holding sauce and tender veggies.