Buffalo Chicken Pasta is an easy one-dish delish casserole with extra quick prep time.
A quick baked pasta casserole with shredded chicken and tender pasta in a shortcut creamy buffalo pasta sauce.
This is the ultimate combo for those of us who love a little heat and lots of melty cheese! What’s not to love!?
Quick & Easy Buffalo Pasta
- Buffalo chicken pasta bake is a crowd-pleasing pasta recipe favorite.
- Since this is made with leftover, rotisserie, or cooked chicken, it’s quick and easy to prepare.
- It can be prepped ahead of time and baked before serving.
- On game-day keep it warm in a crockpot and let guests help themselves!
- DIY your own buffalo sauce and ranch seasoning or use your favorite buffalo wing sauce to make it easy.
Ingredients and Variations
PASTA Any mediu pasta shape will do! The rich, creamy sauce will cling better to heavier kinds of pasta like penne, farfalle, rotini, or cavatappi.
PRO TIP: Cook pasta to al dente (‘to the bite’) because the pasta will cook a little more in the oven.
SAUCE There’s no whisking or roux, this sauce is a shortcut favorite. Use a hand mixer to get the smoothest results and no pre-cooking required.
Sour cream and cream cheese, milk, buffalo sauce, condensed chicken soup, and ranch powder.
CHICKEN Premade rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken makes this recipe quick. If you don’t have cooked chicken, pan-fry or bake skinless chicken breasts to use in this recipe.
CHEESE The cheesy combo of Monterey Jack cheese and cheddar brings this dish together. Try any combination of Pepper Jack, Mozzarella cheese, or Mexican Cotija. Don’t forget the sliced green onion topping.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Pasta
Keep this cheesy, creamy, pasta dish on hand.
- Cook pasta.
- While pasta is cooking mix the sauce ingredients together, add the chicken.
- Combine with pasta, top with cheese, and bake per the recipe below.
Literally so easy.
How to Make Ahead
Assemble pasta bake and keep it covered in the refrigerator until it’s ready to bake. It’s a tasty takeaway main dish for potlucks and parties. Or, portion the casserole for grab-and-go workday lunches.
Leftover Pasta?
Keep leftover buffalo ranch pasta bake covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat portions on the stove by adding a little milk to loosen up the sauce. Freeze cooled pasta in zippered bags with the date labeled on the outside for up to 6 weeks.
Pasta for Days!
- Quick & Creamy Spinach Pasta – a meatless meal
- Homemade Mac and Cheese Casserole – so rich & creamy
- Cheesy Sausage Pasta – a one-pot wonder
- Broccoli Cheese Casserole with Ham – made from scratch
- Homemade Chicken Alfredo – a 30 minute meal
Did your family love this Ranch Buffalo Pasta Bake? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Buffalo Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 ounces penne or any medium pasta
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 10.5 oz condensed cream of chicken soup
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ⅓ cup milk
- ½ cup buffalo sauce divided
- 2 tablespoons ranch seasoning mix
- 2-3 cups cooked chicken shredded
- 2 green onions sliced
- 1 cup Monterey jack shredded
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x13 pan.
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions and set aside.
- While pasta is cooking, combine sour cream, soup, cream cheese, milk, ¼ cup of buffalo sauce, and ranch seasoning with a hand mixer (or spoon) until fully combined.
- In a large bowl, mix the chicken, pasta, sauce mixture, and half of each of the cheese. Spread into the prepared pan.
- Top with remaining cheese and bake for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.
- Top with remaining buffalo sauce and garnish with additional green onions if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Dinner, Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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The original recipe for this pasta included a product no longer available. The recipe has been updated.
We made this recipe tonight for our family. Our kids (age 1 and 5) dont eat spicy food yet so we swapped out the buffalo ranch for a bacon ranch dressing and swapped the bell pepper for an onion. I also threw in some bacon crumbles. So good! We will definitely make it again and try the original recipe when the kids are at their grandparents for a weekend.
Sounds great Tracy! Thank you for sharing your changes!
OMGOODNESS!!! I made this last night. It was wonderful! My husband doesn’t like Alfredo sauce though so instead I used a four cheese sauce and it was just superb. Thank You for the lovely recipe. God Bless you sweetie!
Nancy Smith
So glad to hear that you loved the recipe Nancy!
I made the Ranch Buffalo pasta chicken recipe , it was a huge success , I will definitely be making it again .
So glad to hear everyone loved it!
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe. I made this a few weeks back and can’t believe I’d never thought of it myself. Absolutely delicious!
You’re welcome Jon. I’m so glad you loved this recipe!
This was great. Making again this week.
It was delicious. I will be making it again!
What brand of Alfredo sauce do you use? No 2 are alike. Thanks
You can use whichever brand is your favorite. I prefer Classico.
This was amazing!!! Absolutely loved it!! I will make this recipe until they stop producing the Buffalo dressing!
I’m so glad you loved it Steffani!!
Wow, This is a great recipe. I just made it and enjoy with my buddies. I am following you and other websites to find more cooking and sweets recipes to make it for friends and family.
I LOVE THIS RECIPE!!!! I have made these several times and they are delicious and super easy!!! Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe.
Tried it out tonight, and it was a hit all around. Very easy to make too.
So glad everyone enjoyed it!
This recipe was delicious!! We live in a rural area, and I could only find the Original Hidden Valley Ranch, so I used that and stirred in some Franks Buffalo Sauce to taste. Absolutely wonderful!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Looks delicious and would be one of our favorites also. We love buffalo flavor!
It comes together so easily! I hope you get a chance to try it sometime and let me know what you think!!
Looks like a great recipe when the house is full of kids!
What a delicious and comforting meal! This looks so good…I love how easy it is to make. Ranch dressing packs are the best to have on hand. xo, Catherine
I would never have thought to use dressing in a pasta bake. Seriously genius and a game changer!!
Looks like yummy comfort food!
It really is! And it is so easy to make! If you try it, I hope you love it!
You had me at ranch…. and buffalo. What a great combination. Love it!
I love that combination too! SO yummy!
Simply amazing, and the colours make the meal so appetising.
I tried this exact dressing and I never would have thought to use it in a pasta bake like this! This would be perfect for a BBQ or picnic-ey type of gathering where everyone can just help themselves and dig into all that cheesy goodness!
Definitely great for a potluck and of course everything’s a little better with cheese! :)