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.”
I know exactly how you feel about cheese while working out – i do the same thing…
p.s love the cheese/chicken/pasta combo – can’t go wrong!
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I have made this three or four times now and I can’t get enough! This has become my new what-to-make-when-having-people-over-for-dinner recipe and everyone loves it! I used white cheddar, and I leave off the gorganzola but add extra cheddar/monterrey jack to the top instead. YUM!
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I am making this again today for the second time and it just keeps getting better every time! Thanks!!
I mad this the other day, great recipe, but you should add broil the pasta for a few minutes on the end to make the bread crumbs crunchy, I did not do that and they had no effect.
Otherwise it was great!
I made this last night and it was delicious! I did have 2 small issues though: 1. My sauce was super thin, would that be because I used fat free milk? I could never get the milk to thicken. 2. I used store bought shredded cheese and it never seemed to really melt and get creamy. Is that because I didn’t grate fresh cheese? My friends LOVED it anyways, but we all ended up mixing in a dollop of sour cream. I was considering adding some (sour cream) to the sauce next time…any thoughts on when in the steps would be a good time? I cannot wait to make this again, and to try more of your dishes :-)
Yep to both accounts! Skim milk is extremely thin so it is really hard to thicken. I would not use sour cream and would just buy 2% or whole milk for the pasta. In my experience, sour cream can sometimes separate and almost look curdled when added to a sauce. And as for the cheese – the shredded bagged stuff is convenient but nothing melts like freshly grated cheese. It’s all I use anymore!
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Any chance you can make any of this ahead of time? I want to make it for guests I’m having over after work next week, but don’t want to keep them waiting hours for dinner!
I made this last night and it was amazing!!! I followed the recipe exactly as written. Thank you so much, Jessica!!!
Made this last night for my sunday night dinner group and it turned out SO yummy! I used whole wheat organic rotini, skim milk, and reduced fat cheddar cheese (couldnt find reduced fat monetery) and it definitely didn’t taste like I had cut any corners. I’m very big on taking comfort foods like these and doing what I can do to make them as healthy as possible without skimping on the taste … everyone LOVED this dish and I will be making it again!
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Have you ever created some kind of combination of this and the Beer Mac & Cheese? How would one go about trying that?
Everything I’ve ever made from your recipes has been a huge hit. Thanks for the street cred!
Just made this today–it ruled! I’m going to have to make it again soon because I took it to a Superbowl party and there were not nearly enough leftovers. OMG so awesome, it combined all my fave flavors. Thank you!!
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Jessica,
I was referred to your blog from another blogger who was raving about this baked buffalo chicken pasta recipe. First, it looks yummy, and I plan to put it on my next bi-weekly menu to try it out. Second, while reading your post I kept giggling to myself because I love your sarcasm and humor. I immediately subscribed to your blog, as much for your humor as your recipes. :)
Thanks!
Muzette
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this is one i am going to try, my honey is addicted to buffalo anything so worth trying..looks yummy
I made this for the first time tonight, and it was delicious. I think the only change I’d make is to make more sauce next time; the pasta was a bit dry and I’m sure reheating will exacerbate the problem. I’d probably do at least 2 cups of milk and increase all the other ingredients accordingly.
Like a previous commenter, my sauce never really thickened, and I was using 2% milk and freshly shredded cheese. Once I mixed it with the starchy pasta and the chicken, though, it coated nicely and wasn’t an issue. Similar cheese sauce recipes I have call for at least twice that amount of roux… but like I said it worked out OK in the end.
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My son is on the hs wrestling team and twice a week we have to take potluck for our hard working boys. Do you think this can be converted to a crockpot recipe? I’main absolutely certain the boys will love this.
hmmm I’m honestly not sure – it would just be quicker to make it in the oven? If you put it in the crockpot you’d have to cook the chicken first – you’d still have to cook the pasta on the stovetop, and I’m not sure how the cheese sauce would come together in the crockpot, so you’d have to do that on the stovetop too!
i’m new to pinterest – and loving it – especially your recipes ! wow…………
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I am not a huge fan of buffalo-flavored things, but this mac and cheese is awesome! It gets better every time I make it. I just started adding garlic pepper and it was the best ever. Thanks for the great recipe! I shared it on my own blog!
I just made this for dinner last night and it was delicious. However, my sauce never thickened. According to the recipe, the milk was supposed to thicken after adding to the roux. What could I have done wrong? I used 2% milk and regular (not light) cheeses.
My sauce didn’t thicken either :(
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This recipe is great! Great flavor and I used left over chicken so it super easy! Awesome!!
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Trying this tomorrow for dinner…..thanks Sybil:-)
The difference between mac and cheese and “baked pasta” is that mac and cheese does not have meat in it. The addition of meat technically makes it a casserole. I learned this distinction from watching a video on the food network’s website on the topic a while back.
Was that necessary to leave a comment about?
Agreed.
The author explicitly asked someone to distinguish between macaroni and cheese and “baked pasta”, so yes, gene’s comment was necessary.
Great Meal! Had difficulty thickening the milk but it turned out fine anyways and I added a clove of minced garlic into my sauce ! very heavy and can feed probably 8 people.
Sounds great! I’ll have to try this sometime when it’s my turn to cook dinner for my roommates! What kind of buffalo wing sauce did you use?
I recommend a brand named wing time! It’s so good :-)
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For wings and other ” Buffalo Style” stuff I use only Frank’s ( brand) hot sauce- Just the right blend of hot and flavor – I’ve tried a substitute – but so far nothing comes close – When flavor is more important than heat – Only go with Frank’s – BTW – Franks is brand used by folks credited with creating ” Buffalo Style” chicken wings….. BOL
Yummy! Easy and delicious!
We tried this tonight.I was very disappointed.I had a hard time getting the milk to thicken.A lot of work for mac and cheese.My family did eat it and liked it but not enough to make again.
Maybe I did something wrong…????Maybe I needed more cheese.
I couldn’t get the milk to thicken either. I think the proportions of the recipe are off.
The proportions aren’t off, you just need to bring the butter/flour roux and mild to a boil. It will thicken almost immediately. I made this and it was wonderful. Even my 18 month old couldn’t get enough.
I just want to say I love your style of writing… even if it wasn’t a recipe you were talking about I would still want to read what you say because you are funny. :)
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Your not alone cause i am not familaur with any bands haveing to do with sweaters or poneys eaither! I betcha they arent even worth listening to. However this buffalo chicken with pasta and oodles and oodels of cheese is what i’m talkin about… ITS THE BOMB!
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I think your milk did not thicken because there is no mention of adding the flour to the milk. A tablespoon of flour is noted in the ingredients, but is not mentioned in the assembly instructions.
No, it definitely is written in the instructions. Right after the butter melts.