One Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake incorporates all the flavors we love about wings and put them into one quick dish that you can have any time without deep frying anything or messy fingers.
One Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake only takes one pot and uses our One Pot Pasta Formula to create a dish that will be a favorite. It even uses celery and carrots in the dish to add extra flavor. I like serving extra veggie sticks on the side to dip in ranch, blue cheese, or buffalo sauce.
What is the difference between wing sauce and hot sauce?
Wing sauce and hot sauce are two different sauces. If you use a regular hot sauce in this dish, it won’t have the same flavor. Hot sauce is generally made of hot peppers and vinegar, making it a very concentrated and spicy flavor. Wing sauce has hot sauce in the mixture (giving it the spicy flavor), but it’s also mixed with something like butter to help dilute it. This also allows for more sauce to be made so you’re able to toss wings in the sauce.
You can read more about the difference between wing sauce and hot sauce, if you’re interested and grab our recipe for Buffalo Wing Sauce.
What if you don’t want this dish to be spicy?
You can cut back on the buffalo wing sauce for a little less heat. I recommend cutting back to 1/4 cup of sauce if you’re worried it’ll be too hot. You can also leave the buffalo wing sauce out of the dish altogether and just drizzle it on top if you’re serving it to people who are very sensitive to heat. If you choose to skip the sauce, replace that 1/2 cup with more chicken stock to ensure there is enough liquid in the dish.
What else can you do with Buffalo wing sauce?
Extra buffalo wing sauce is never an issue, especially here at The Cookful! Our number one most popular recipe is for insanely delicious oven-baked crispy chicken wings that I get compliments on every time I make them. We even did a whole series around Buffalo Chicken. If you’re looking for more things to make, here are a few of my favorites:
- Buffalo Chicken Dip – It’s a classic that always disappears off the party table in no time.
- Buffalo Chicken Parmesan – a spin on the classic that is delicious.
- Buffalo Chicken Poutine – It’s the recipe mash up you never knew you always wanted!
What kind of pot should you use?
You’ll want to use a 5-quart or larger dish that is also oven safe. At the end of the recipe, you’ll put the dish into the oven to broil the cheese and panko breadcrumbs. This means you’ll also want to use a dish that is wide enough to make sure a majority of the dish has this delicious topping.
I personally use a braiser, which is a wide-bottomed pan with sides that don’t go as high as a Dutch oven but is still designed to go from stove top to oven. However, you can also use a Dutch oven or broiler-safe 12-inch frying pan with sides high enough to cook the pasta in without it boiling over.
How do you get a crunchy top?
We top ours with shredded cheddar cheese and panko breadcrumbs, which get browned under the broiler to add a lovely crunch to the dish. You can also add more chopped celery and carrots if you want. To finish it, drizzle some ranch or blue cheese dressing over top. You can spoon some of the dressing into a zip-top bag, close it, and snip off a tiny corner then drizzle it over the dish. If you’re looking for an extra kick, drizzle a little extra buffalo wing sauce on top too.
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One Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake
One Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake incorporates all the great flavors of buffalo wings and turns it into one quick dish you can enjoy any time without deep frying or messy fingers.
- Prep Time: 8 Minutes
- Cook Time: 22 Minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 Servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 lb. chicken breast, cubed
- 1 and 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
- 3/4 tsp. pepper, divided
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 ribs celery, chopped
- 3 carrots, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce
- 12 oz. dried penne
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar, divided
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- Cooking spray
- Ranch or blue cheese dressing, to top
Instructions
- Use a wide-bottomed oven and broiler-safe pot. Season cubed chicken breast liberally with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breast to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally until cooked through. Transfer it to a plate.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the pot. Add the onion, celery, and carrots. Cook until softened, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic. Cook and stir for 30 seconds.
- Add remaining 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, chicken stock, heavy cream, diced tomatoes, and buffalo wing sauce. Heat to a simmer stirring frequently and then immediately add the pasta.
- Reduce the temperature to keep it at a low simmer, stirring often until the pasta is cooked, 13-15 minutes. If the pasta has soaked up a lot of the liquid and seems dry, add an extra ½ cup of stock.
- Move the oven rack so the top of the pan will be 6-8 inches under the broiler then turn on the broiler.
- Once the pasta is cooked, stir in your cooked cubed chicken breast. Heat through. Add shredded mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar and stir until it melts. Smooth out the pasta in the pot.
- Top with remaining shredded cheddar and panko breadcrumbs. Spray with cooking spray. Put under the broiler so the breadcrumbs are 6-8 inches from heat source, until breadcrumbs are toasted and cheese is melted. Keep an eye on your dish as the cheese melts and bread crumbs toast quickly.
- Distribute among dinner plates and drizzle with ranch or blue cheese dressing. Serve extra buffalo sauce on the side.
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