Easy Buffalo Chicken Pasta with Cream Sauce
A creamy buffalo sauce, tender chicken and perfectly cooked noodles come together to make this easy buffalo chicken pasta recipe. The cheesy sauce is made with non-fat yogurt, fat-free half and half and parmesan cheese for a sauce that’s light in fat but heavy in flavor. Adjust the spice level by adding more or less buffalo sauce. I usually split my recipe into two and add more hot sauce for the adult bowls.
This spicy buffalo chicken pasta is delicious as is but to dress it up, add blue cheese crumbles, a drizzle of ranch sauce and green onions for a little crunch. The first time I made this, there were no leftovers, which makes sense because we’re buffalo sauce fanatics. If you’re like us, you have to try buffalo chicken dip and buffalo ranch chicken lasagna.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- 38g of protein and 6g of fat per serving.
- Full of hot and spicy buffalo flavor.
Ingredients and Substitutes:
These are the main ingredients and substitutions. See recipe card below for full ingredients list and instructions for this buffalo chicken pasta recipe.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: rotisserie chicken, chicken thighs or leftover chicken.
- Penne Pasta: I used Barilla Protein Plus Penne. Any type of pasta works, I prefer the shorter noodles like penne or rotini.
- Chicken Broth: or chicken stock.
- Half and Half: I always cook with fat-free half and half. You can use full-fat for a richer sauce.
- Parmesan Cheese: I prefer to grate my own for the best flavor. Mozzarella cheese or cheddar cheese are delicious in this as well.
- Hot Sauce: Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce is my favorite.
- Arrowroot Powder: used as a thickening agent for the sauce. You can use cornstarch at a 1:1 ratio.
- Greek Yogurt: I use Fage non-fat plain, always! For a creamier dressing, use full-fat, but I find it can be too thick so prefer non-fat.
Variations
- Double the hot sauce for extra spicy!
- Try crockpot buffalo chicken dip for an appetizer version of this.
- Add dairy-free ranch seasoning to the cream sauce for a ranch infused flavor.
Dietary Modifications
- For gluten-free, use a gluten-free pasta or chickpea pasta.
How to make this buffalo chicken pasta:
Step 1: cook the chicken
Place the raw chicken in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. The cooking time will vary based on the thickness of your chicken breasts. Once cooked, remove from the water and shred with forks or a hand mixer. Set the shredded chicken aside for later.
Step 2: cook the pasta
Cook the pasta according to package instructions in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain and set aside.
Step 3: make your sauce
In a large skillet, add olive oil and the minced garlic. Cook on medium heat until the garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth to the skillet and let it simmer for about 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium-low heat, then add the fat-free half and half, Parmesan cheese, onion powder, salt, black pepper and buffalo hot sauce. Stir to combine and until the cheese is melted and the sauce is as smooth as possible, approximately 3-5 minutes.
Step 4: thicken your sauce and add yogurt
In a small bowl whisk together the arrowroot powder and water and add to the sauce to thicken. Whisk until the sauce has thickened. Once the sauce has thickened add the Greek yogurt and stir to combine until melted.
Step 5: mix together
Add the cooked pasta and shredded chicken to a large mixing bowl (unless you’re using a huge skillet). Pour the buffalo cream sauce on top and toss well to coat in the sauce. Serve the pasta hot, sprinkled with crumbled blue cheese and sliced green onions on top.
Expert Tip!
If your pasta dries out in the fridge overnight, add a few slashes of half and half and mix everything together again.
Recipe FAQs
I love topping with blue cheese crumbles or blue cheese dressing and chopped green onions for crunch. Blue cheese not your thing? Do a drizzle of your favorite ranch dressing or ranch seasoning. This dish has a lot of spicy flavor so adding your favorite creamy dressing helps cut the heat a bit.
Buffalo chicken pasta is best when served immediately. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Note, the pasta tends to dry out the next day after being refrigerated. If this happens, add a few splashes of half and half to the pasta before heating. Heat over the stove or in the microwave.
Check out some of our other pasta recipes!
If you make this recipe, please leave a rating and/or comment! Tag me on Instagram @ohsnapmacros, I love hearing from you!
Buffalo Chicken Pasta
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Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast
- 14.5 oz. Barilla Protein Plus Penne
- 1 tsp. oil
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup fat-free half and half
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese 56g
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- fresh cracked pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup buffalo hot sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot)
- 1/2 Tbsp. arrowroot powder
- 1 Tbsp. water
- 1/2 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt 112g
Toppings
- crumbled blue cheese
- green onions thinly sliced
Instructions
- Place the raw chicken in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. The cooking time will vary based on the thickness of your chicken breasts. Once cooked, remove from the water and shred with forks or a hand mixer. Set the shredded chicken aside for later.
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain and set aside.
- In a large skillet, add olive oil and the minced garlic. Cook on medium heat until the garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 1 minute.
- Add the chicken broth to the skillet and let it simmer for about 2 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low heat, then add the fat-free half and half, Parmesan cheese, onion powder, salt, pepper and buffalo hot sauce. Stir to combine and until the cheese is melted and the sauce is as smooth as possible, approximately 3-5 minutes.
- In a small bowl whisk together the arrowroot powder and water and add to the sauce to thicken. Whisk until the sauce has thickened.
- Once the sauce has thickened add the Greek yogurt and stir to combine until melted.
- Add the cooked pasta and shredded chicken to a large mixing bowl (unless you’re using a huge skillet). Pour the buffalo cream sauce on top and toss well to coat in the sauce.
- Serve the pasta hot, sprinkled with crumbled blue cheese and sliced green onions on top.
Notes
- Nutrition facts are always an estimate and will change with substitutions.
- 8 servings at approximately 220 grams per serving.
- If reheating, add a splash of fat-free half and half, milk or choice or even water to avoid the pasta being too dry.
- Serve with crumbled blue cheese, parmesan, and/or chopped green onions.
- This dish is spicy you can double the hot sauce for EXTRA spicy.
Delicious with the perfect amount of kick from the buffalo sauce.
My daughter loves Buffalo chicken so this was a fun way to change it up, with pasta! So delicious and satisfying, loved this!
So glad you loved it! Thank you!
This recipe has the perfect amount of kick. My family loves it and it has definitely joined the dinner rotation!
Our family loves buffalo chicken so I was excited to add this to the dinner menu! I used cornstarch instead of arrowroot and if I make this again, I might try a different cheese instead of Parmesan. This was delicious and a creative way to incorporate buffalo chicken into a nutritious meal!
This recipe was great! I love buffalo chicken anything, has a little spiciness which is to be expected with Buffalo chicken! I subbed cornstarch for the arrowroot, bc i had it on hand and it worked perfectly. Love how her recipes aren’t complicated and taste great!