BUFFALO CHICKEN PASTA

admin

April 12, 2024

Over the years, I have learned that many dips also make a fantastic pasta sauce. This Buffalo Chicken Pasta is an excellent example. I turned the spicy, creamy goodness of buffalo dip into a deliciously cheesy pasta. Gather around my spicy food buddies because you will want to make this easy and creamy Buffalo Chicken Pasta as soon as possible!

Ingredients for Buffalo Chicken Pasta

The same ingredients are used as in buffalo chicken dip. We then add a few extras to give it more flavor and texture. What you will need to make buffalo pasta is:

Chicken Breast This recipe uses one boneless and skinless chicken breast, which we divide into four portions to make it budget-friendly. For an even cheaper option, you can dice skinless and boneless chicken thighs. You can also add leftover shredded or chopped cooked rotisserie to the pasta. Add the remaining spices if you are using pre-cooked chicken rotisserie.

Seasoning: For extra flavor, we seasoned the chicken with cayenne pepper and cayenne powder.

The Butter: The butter balances out the acidity and heat of the hot sauce, giving this dish a classic buffalo sauce taste.

Chicken Broth The pasta is cooked with chicken broth in a true one-pot style.

Pasta: For this dish, we use classic penne, but you can also use bowtie or rotini.

Cheese: Cream cheese and Monterey Jack cheese are combined to make an extra creamy, smooth sauce without a flour-butter roux.

Hot Sauce Franks Red Hot Sauce is the classic hot sauce for “Buffalo,” but any cayenne-based vinegar sauce is also delicious.

Sauce Worcestershire: Worcestershire sauce adds the perfect amount of sweetness and umami to buffalo sauce, keeping it from being flat.

Diced Petite Tomatoes: We added a can to give this pasta a more flavorful texture.

Green onion: At the end, we topped our pasta with thinly sliced green onions for a touch of freshness and savory flavor.

What else can I add?

You can make this buffalo chicken pasta extra special by adding more ingredients. You can top the pasta with blue cheese crumbles or add some bacon crumbles. Try crumbling some tortilla chips or butter crackers and sprinkle them on top just before serving. While it’s totally unconventional, some small broccoli florets in this would be amazing, like broccoli mac and cheddar!

Ingredients

One boneless and skinless chicken breast (about 2.3 lb. ($3.33)

1 tsp Garlic Powder ($0.05).

1 tsp Onion Powder ($0.05).

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.05)

1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)

1 Tbsp of cooking oil ($0.04)

2 Tbsp Butter ($0.26)

8 oz. penne pasta ($0.67)

1 15oz. Can of petite diced tomatoes ($1.00).

1.5 cups chicken broth ($0.28)

Four oz. Cream Cheese ($1.10)

1/4 cup hot sauce ($0.52)

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.02)

Half a cup of Monterey Jack cheese ($0.58)

Green onions, sliced ($0.16)

Instructions

Slice the chicken into pieces between 1/2 and 3/4 inches. Sprinkle the salt, garlic powder, onion, cayenne, and cayenne powder over the chicken pieces. Then, toss the chicken in the spice mixture until it is thoroughly coated.

The cooking oil should be heated in a large, deep skillet on medium heat until it is very hot. Once it is hot, add the chicken and let it brown on both sides. At this stage, the chicken doesn’t need to be fully cooked.

Add the uncooked pasta, the canned diced tomato (with liquid), and the chicken stock to the skillet where the chicken is. Stir the mixture to remove all the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet.

Put a lid over the pot and let the broth come to a simmer. It is fine if the broth does not cover all of the pasta. After the broth has simmered, stir the pasta briefly, replace the lid, and then reduce the heat to medium-low.

Stir the pasta once or twice in the broth, then allow it to simmer for 10-12 mins or until the pasta has become tender and the liquid is absorbed. Replace the lid every time you stir.

When the pasta is cooked and there is only a little liquid left in the pan, add the butter, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and cream cheese. Stir and cook over medium heat until the cream cheese is fully melted in the pasta.

Add the Monterey Jack cheese shreds and stir until it melts into the sauce. Serve hot, topped with green onions.