Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta.
Can you keep a secret?
Last night I went to a karate slash pilates slash bootcamp-ish slash heart attack class. I know. Your face? Your expression you are wearing right now? I was thinking the exact same thing. But my face was red and dripping with beads of sweat.
Anyway. That’s not the secret.
All I could think of during this class was cheese. Cheese on toast, cheese with jam, cheese on nachos, cheese in my face. If you find this peculiar then you really don’t know me. If you are not the least bit surprised, well then… you sure are neat. And I like you.
After flinging myself through the front door following my uncoordinated attempt at unarmed combat and eating four handfuls of peanut butter stuffed pretzels (I hear they are excellent for muscle recovery. write that down.), it dawned on me that peanut butter pretzels do not a dinner make. I had already spent a luscious 30 minutes with a quesadilla earlier in the evening, but when you jump, kick and squeeze your body into oblivion, you deserve a second dinner. It’s like a law or something.
Then I remembered the buffalo chicken mac sitting in the fridge and decided it qualified as a post-workout recovery meal.
Uh… wait a minute.
This is sort of like mac and cheese. Or it is mac and cheese. Can someone tell me what the difference between baked pasta and mac and cheese is? Educate me. It’s probably the cheese to pasta ratio. Copious amounts of cheese make up this buffalo chicken pasta. Maybe baked pasta doesn’t have lots of cheese. I don’t know.
But guess what? Now it does. That’s the beauty of this whole little deal we’ve got going on. I make things and name them whatever the heck I want. Sometimes you call me on it. Other times you look at me with googly eyes. Most times it is still delicious. Except for anything with broccoli. If I ever tell you something with broccoli is delicious, I’m lying.
I don’t care what you call it. Just get on it.
Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta
serves 4-6
1 pound pasta (I used whole wheat orecchiette)
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 1/2 cups milk
4 ounces freshly grated monterey jack cheese (I used half a brick) + more for topping
1/3 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese + more for topping
1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
for garnish: 3/4 cup chopped green onions, 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, 1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese, additional buffalo wing sauce
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Prepare water for pasta and cook according to directions.
While pasta is cooking, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter, and once it’s melted and bubbly add the flour. Whisk together to create a roux and cook for 1-2 minutes until mixture gets a bit golden in color. Add milk, stir and turn down heat to low. Continue stirring until milk thickens. Add in grated cheeses and continue to stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in buffalo wing sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
Spray a baking dish (9 x 13 is fine, I used a round 4-inch deep dish) with non-stick spray. Add pasta and chicken, then pour cheese sauce over and mix throughly until everything is coated. Sprinkle with additional grated cheese and bread crumbs. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately top with gorgonzola, green onions and cilantro. Drizzle with buffalo wing sauce.
And save me some? I’m still hungry.
281 Comments on “Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta.”
Oh my. That looks pretty damn incredible girl!
I just made this tonight! It was wonderful and my BF loved it. Thanks!
Pingback: Buffalo Chicken Pasta « Coffee Cake and Cardio
See, this is an idea I can get behind.
Sweating and kicking and karate-ing? Not so much.
I’m so glad you came to your senses before I was forced to question our friendship. Pasta, cheese and buffalo sauce…all is right with the world
Pingback: Buffalo Chicken Macaroni & Cheese… « With a Side of Hope
Pingback: Jessica’s Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta | The Healthy Apron
My sister-in-law told me I had to check this recipe out. This looks great!
I am a new follower of your blog and think your recipes are amazing. Is there an easy way for me to print them out?
Thanks so much!
Pingback: Recipes to Try | Pretty Can Hurt
I made this recipe this past Sunday! It turned out great! All I did to change it was make it a little bit spicier! Thanks again for the great recipe!
This looks wonderful but my question is this, sense i am new to the site i am sure i have overlooked it but I am looking for where the carbs would be for hte receipes, if there is one, my husband and i are diebetic he is newly dignosied and his is being controled with diet so he is on limited carbs ( 64 a meal) which belive it or not sometime can be hard to meet, anyway I know he would love the above meal But I have to make sure it is within his range…. thanks for all your help
Saula
Made this last night and it was great! Swapped the milk for unsweetened soy milk (had on hand) and ended up doubling the amount of cheddar to compensate for the lack of dairy-milk creaminess – but that’s not a bad thing! The end result was creamy, tasty, and a sabotage to my swimsuit-goals. Just as it should be!
Yum!
My boyfriend LOVES buffalo chicken ANYTHING…me, not so much. But, this looked soooo yummy I think we’ll both like it! I’m making it tonight! All of your recipes look great btw…I’m sure I’ll be trying more soon! Keep ’em comin’!
I made this tonight for dinner and now the hubby loves you. His comments “she really nailed it with the gorgonzola and crunchy things”. He also asked if I ever tell you when we make your recipes because he wanted you to know this was a hit. I think he may have a crush on you.
Pingback: Coconut Banana Bread + Weekly Menu | Prevention RD
So someone posted this on facebook….well a picture of it and I had to have it. It was super yummy! My pregnant taste buds thank you! My husband said it was too spicy (used Frank’s Wing Sauce)…what does he know! =P
Our local grocery store has a small kitchen in it where they cook recipes to promote different products, along with the recipe. A few weeks ago, they had buffalo chicken mac n cheese, and it was not very good at all. I was expecting something totally different. I saw this on your blog, which I have been following for awhile now, so I tried this recipe and it was exactly what I wanted. It was so good. My husband really liked it. I think this one is a keeper. It made a lot for the 2 of us (and a 4 year old that eats like a bird) so I’m sure the leftovers will be great! Thanks
Pingback: Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta | Prevention RD
Made this the other night and LOVED it! BF isn’t big on spicy and the wing sauce I used was pretty hot, but I happily ate this as leftovers for a few days until it was gone. I will definitely make this again- I printed the recipe and added it to my cookbook.
I think I just may have to make this for a dinner next week. With the warm weather, I’ve been at a lost for new meals to try. :)
So.. I had bookmarked this awhile ago and finally made it on Saturday. Why oh why did I wait so long? Crazy good!!
Pingback: Cooking Challenge Day #72 – Baked Buffalo Chicken Pasta « Ella Rose Entertaining
Love it! Another winner. Seriously, your recipes are on my weekly dinner menu because there that good. Just finished this dish and it was a winner. Last week I made the Caprese Pasta – winner, and my roommate is making the Carprese Pasta again this week because she wants it again.
This would definitely make up for that class of torture. ;)
I made this tonight for my hubby and I. We both loved it…I used chopped up celery to garnish and it was great!!
I just made this last night – followed the recipe exactly – aaand another winner. Girlfriend, you are my go-to source for recipes (baking and cooking)! My fiance was skeptical about this one, but I said “no, it’s from the same website where I got the Romano-crusted chicken with lemon butter sauce AND buffalo chicken dip recipes” and he was like “okay…” Well he loved it. Obviously :)
Thank you Amanda!!
Update: I freezed some of this so we wouldn’t eat the whole dish in one night. WORKED GREAT!! I froze individual size portions in plastic tupperware and glass tupperware to test out – spray the plastic with a little nonstick spray first, so you can dump the frozen pasta “puck” into a bowl, cover it with a damp papertowel, and microwave on high for 3 or 4 minutes. Tasted just like the original non-frozen leftovers did. Or, you can go straight into the microwave with the glass tupperware. I’m going to have to try this method out with some of your other pasta recipes…so much tastier than frozen meals!!!!!!
ugh, really, “freezed”? someone needs coffee. THIS GIRL.
Haha no prob! Thanks so much for the update – glad it worked!
Sounds like a great receipe will make it and hope it make your uncle Bob happy. He sure wll let you know if he’s unhappy, just like your grandpa. thanks for the receipe. Aunt Joanne
I had planned to make this tonight for tomorrow’s dinner, but before I could begin, my mom invited me to the gym. I haven’t been to a gym since I began college 2 years ago, so I figured it was worth a shot. Unfortunately this pasta was all I could think of during the step class I decided to take. I just thought I should let you know that you’re not alone in the cheese obsession. :)
I’ve been dying to try this (I’m a firm believer that buffalo sauce makes everything tastier). I had to substitute monterey jack with gouda, since that’s what we had in the fridge. It’s in the oven now and smells sooo good!! Thanks for the recipe!
I hope it’s great!
i made this last night! it was a huge hit for the ladies in my small group! thank you so much for all your recipies!
Pingback: Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Pasta | the shoestring budget
i just made this and YUM! With the breadcrumb topping I melted one tablespoon of butter, mixed in one tablespoon of buffalo sauce and added the breadcrumbs (I had whole wheat ones on hand…you know…healthy…). I then toasted the breadcrumb/buffalo/butter mixture until the breadcumbs were golden and topped the mac with that. some extra spice!
Pingback: buffalo chicken pasta « ambslovesfood
Pingback: Meal Plan for 7/15-7/21 |
Pingback: Friday Favorites | Simple Eats
Pingback: A little help in the kitchen
Sweet Jesus. This looks great!
OMG. I made this for my husband and his friends for a guy’s poker night that they were having at our house. I left it in the oven and I went to yoga with my sister. I came home and the whole dish was empty!! I contemplated licking the dish while they were playing in the other room, but in fear that they might walk in on me I decided I will make again next weekend! Judging by their new obsession with this dish… I will love it!! My husband has been talking about it for the past two days. We love your recipes–thanks for another winner!
I just finished eating this for dinner, and I was seriously impressed! I’ve been on a buffalo kick lately and this hit the spot! It was so so so good! My husband and my brother-in-law both loved it! Thanks for the great recipe!
Pingback: Weekend Recap | PinkGiggles
Pingback: mid-morning hunger: mac ‘n’ cheese « cactus & kudzu
This looks incredibly delicious!
Pingback: fall is here |
I made this last night & it was soooo good! My husband was literally licking his bowl when he was done!
Pingback: Buffalo Chicken Mac And Cheese
We made this dish last weekend. I wasn’t sure how Rachel would like it, since I am a buffalo chicken fanatic but she likes her mac and cheese untouched. Well… We loved it! Rachel even went back for seconds. Great recipe. :)
This looks great!! Is it spicey?? and also.. is there anything you could sub the buffalo sauce with? haha.Dumb questions I know. I just dont have any.. and dont wanna go to the store! lol
Just made this last night and linked you to my blog (post publishing today). Seriously AMAZING!
Pingback: Menu Plan October 2 – 8 | Wholesome Womanhood
A friend of mine posted this the other night on facebook and i found myself reading your blog for the past 2 nights because of your witty sarcastic recipes and I love food. (duh) my boyfriend wanted pasta so I made this tonight and wow I loooooooved it. I added some more cheese though due to my love for it. Thank you and I love yoir blog!