One Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta

This one pot buffalo chicken pasta is PACKED full of flavor and made in just one pot or skillet. It only uses a few simple ingredients and is ready in 35 minutes.

Are you craving a flavor packed meal that takes minimal effort in throwing together?

Well, this one pot buffalo chicken pasta is just what you need!

It all starts with ground chicken mixed with onion, garlic, and Ranch seasoning and browned until fragrant and cooked.

Then mix chicken stock, cayenne pepper sauce/buffalo sauce/Frank’s Red Hot, and some pasta!

Simmer until the pasta is fully cooked, and BAM, you have a delicious one-pot pasta dish packed with flavor!

The best part is topping it with crumbled blue cheese and green onions – so good!

Need more ground chicken recipes? Try my One Pot Ground Chicken Fajita Pasta, Instant Pot Ground Chicken Chili, or Baked Ground Chicken Tacos.

Ingredients for buffalo chicken pasta

• Lean ground chicken
• Green onion
• Garlic
• Ranch seasoning
• Chicken stock
• Frank’s Red Hot hot sauce
• Uncooked pasta
• Plain Greek yogurt
• Crumbled blue cheese

How to make one pot buffalo chicken pasta recipe

This buffalo chicken pasta is simple because it’s made in just one pot! Or, in this case, just one skillet.

The other great thing about one pot pasta recipes is that the pasta cooking in the sauce gives the sauce the most velvety texture!

1. Brown your ground chicken, white onion parts, Ranch seasoning, and garlic in a large skillet.
2. Add chicken stock (or chicken broth), Frank’s Red Hot hot sauce, and pasta. Simmer on medium heat until fully cooked.
3. Stir in the crumbled blue cheese and Greek yogurt.
4. Garnish the top with sliced green onions.
5. Devour and enjoy minimal dirty dinner dish cleanup.

Change up the chicken

Don’t have any ground chicken on hand?

The thing I love about this one pot pasta recipe is that you can easily change it up based on what you have on hand in your fridge or freezer.

Some great options in place of ground chicken are diced skinless chicken breast, canned shredded chicken, or rotisserie chicken.

Type of pasta that is best

I used elbow macaroni for this recipe, but any pasta shape you love can be used.

Some popular choices are cavatappi, spaghetti, or penne pasta.

You can also use protein or gluten-free pasta instead of regular wheat pasta. However, if you are gluten-free, check all the ingredients to ensure you’re not accidentally consuming gluten.

Making this pasta in advance

This dish only takes 35 minutes from start to finish, BUT if you want to make this in advance, here are a few things you can do to reheat your pasta or make it differently.

Cook the dish as instructed, add to a large casserole dish (9×13), drizzle the top with buffalo wing sauce, cover with foil, and store in the fridge.

When you’re read to re-heat, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F, and bake the pasta for 20-30 minutes or until warmed throughout.

Making this not one pot

Not a fan of one pot pasta recipes? Maybe you have a ton of cooked pasta on hand already?

Follow the recipe directions for steps 1 and 2, and for step 3, reduce the chicken stock to 1/2 cup and simmer until the sauce is warmed. Stir in your cooked pasta, add Greek yogurt, and stir to combine.

If the pasta is too thick, thin it with some additional chicken stock.

You can also make your sauce and boil some fresh pasta if desired. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add your pasta, cook according to package directions, drain, and stir.

Changes and adaptations

Ok, now you all know I’m not a fan of getting recipe complaints and then learning you changed 56 things about the recipe, so I’m here with a few alterations that will still give you a delicious recipe!

• Use 1-pound cubed chicken breast instead of ground chicken.
• Add in minced fresh baby spinach at the end for a vegetable boost.
• Add an extra 1/2 cup of cayenne pepper sauce (and reduce chicken stock by 1/2 cup) for an extra spicy pasta dish.
• Use gorgonzola cheese instead of blue cheese for a milder flavor.
• If you’re not a fan of Greek yogurt, you can use cream cheese in its place.
• Make it extra cheesy by mixing in some cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, or Parmesan.
• Stir in a little ranch dressing for added zip.
• Drizzle the top with blue cheese dressing for extra blue cheese flavor.
• Sprinkle in added spices like onion or garlic powder.

Tip and tricks

• Ensure the heat is off when you stir your Greek yogurt so the sauce stays smooth.
• If you want to use cream cheese instead of Greek yogurt, ensure it is at room temperature so it melts smoothly.
• I think Frank’s Red Hot is the best sauce to use for this recipe. It is creamy and works well in this pasta and on buffalo chicken wings.

Storage and leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Reheat quickly in your microwave or by warming on the stove. If the sauce gets too thick, thin it with chicken stock.

More one pot dinner recipes

• One Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta
• One Pot Cajun Pastalaya
• One Pot Stroganoff: Ground Beef Mushroom Recipe
• One Pot Mushroom Gnocchi

One Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Author: Brandy O’Neill

This one pot buffalo chicken pasta is PACKED full of flavor and made in just one pot, or skillet. It only uses a few simple ingredients and is ready in just 30 minutes. Trust me, you’ll love this simple supper.

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

1x2x3x

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground chicken
• 3 green onions thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 ounce packet powdered Ranch seasoning mix
• 2-1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup cayenne pepper sauce Frank’s RedHot
• 8 ounces elbow pasta uncooked
• 1 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
• 4 ounces crumbled blue cheese

Instructions

• Place a 12-inch high sided skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add ground chicken, white part of the green onion, garlic and Ranch seasoning mix. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the chicken no longer looks pink.
• Pour in the chicken stock and cayenne pepper sauce. Stir to combine.
• Add in the elbow pasta, stir to combine and let it simmer for about 15 minutes or until the past is fully cooked. Stir a few times while cooking to make sure all the pasta is cooking evenly.
• If the pasta isn’t cooked but the liquid has cooked down you can add a little more stock. I found 2-1/2 cups chicken stock was the perfect amount. It was enough to fully cook the pasta while letting the liquid cook down.
• When the pasta is cooked turn off the heat and stir in the Greek yogurt, crumbled blue cheese and green part of the green onion.
• Serve warm and add more pepper sauce if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 530kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 123mg | Sodium: 1442mg | Potassium: 955mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 310IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 235mg | Iron: 2mg

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword buffalo chicken, ground chicken pasta, one pot pasta

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