This Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad is spicy, creamy, and crunchy, making for a meal that’s filled with exciting flavors and textures. This salad is perfect for get-togethers, or as an easy weeknight meal.
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Why this Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe is a Keeper
This chicken pasta salad is perfect for a summer cookout. Use your favorite brand of buffalo sauce, diced celery and carrots, cubed or shredded rotisserie chicken, and Ranch or blue cheese dressing to make this BBQ side dish bursting with summer flavor. Here are some reasons why you’ll want to try our favorite pasta salad:
- 20 Minute Easy Salad: Have this delicious summertime pasta dish ready in just 20 minutes. It’s ready to go for a potluck, cookout, or party in no time.
- Easy Ingredients: All of the ingredients can easily be found in your kitchen or local grocery store.
- Adaptable: Add your favorite toppings to this creamy pasta salad and customize it to your tastes. Add Black pepper or whatever seasonings you like. Make it your own.
If you can’t wait to try all things buffalo chicken, check out these recipes: Buffalo Ranch Sauce, Buffalo Shrimp, and Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sliders.
What Pasta is Best for Pasta Salads?
Fusilli, rotini, and cavatappi are best for pasta salads, as their curved or ridged shapes help hold vegetables and sauces easily. You can use any pasta you want, but these varieties pair best with this buffalo chicken salad recipe. Macaroni noodles also work great as well.
Ingredient Notes to Make Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
- Chicken: This is a great recipe for leftover rotisserie chicken breasts. Make sure to use pre-cooked chicken when making buffalo chicken salad. Grilled chicken and shredded chicken both work well.
- Buffalo Sauce: Use any variety of buffalo chicken dip you’d like. For instance, you can try our buffalo wing sauce.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Variations and Substitutions for this Easy Pasta Side Dish with Buffalo Sauce
- Blue Cheese: If you’d like a different texture in this buffalo chicken salad recipe, replace the blue cheese dressing with Ranch dressing. Alternatively, you can add more blue cheese crumbles as well.
- Rotisserie Chicken: You can cook your own chicken, but if you have any rotisserie chicken left over in your kitchen, it’s perfect for this recipe. Dice the chicken, or shred the chicken instead.
- Spice: To make spicier, add some chili powder or cayenne pepper.
BBQ Side Dish Pro Tip
Keep everything uniform and bite sized to make eating this cold chicken pasta salad easier.
How to Make this Easy Pasta Salad Recipe
If you love buffalo chicken, this cold chicken and pasta salad tossed in a spicy buffalo sauce is the perfect recipe for you! It’s an easy dinner, or you can serve it as a side.
These are the basic steps for making buffalo chicken pasta salad. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions.
1. Cook the Pasta
First boil the pasta in lightly salted water to al dente according to package directions. When it is done cooking, drain in a colander and rinse for several minutes with cold water to cool the pasta completely.
2. Season the Chicken
While the pasta is cooking, chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Pour a little buffalo wing sauce over the chicken and stir to coat. Then, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, onion powder, and garlic powder to the mixing bowl. Add in buffalo wing sauce. If you want a more mild buffalo taste, use ¼ of a cup; if you’d like it hotter, add more, up to ½ of a cup. Mix thoroughly.
3. Combine Chicken and Pasta
Add in pasta and stir to coat thoroughly. Fold in blue cheese, green onions and celery until well incorporated. Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.
Buffalo Chicken Salad Recipe FAQs
Make this buffalo chicken pasta recipe up to a day ahead of time, as it contains mayonnaise. Let it sit in the fridge in an airtight container or covered bowl in the refrigerator.
Store buffalo pasta salad in an airtight container or a covered bowl until ready to serve.
Yes. If you want, you can use turkey instead of chicken. You can even try buffalo chicken meatballs.
Yes; you can substitute in Greek yogurt instead.
Expert Tips for Making this Chicken Recipe
This pasta salad is the perfect change from potato salad. It is spicy and delicious.
- Different Sauces: This easy buffalo chicken pasta salad recipe is great with your favorite flavor of buffalo sauce. Try hot sauce, mild sauce, or any other of your favorite wing sauces.
- Kick of Heat: Try this wing dust on top for extra heat.
- Alternate ingredient: Use a gluten free pasta, a keto wing sauce, meatless chicken bites, and low fat versions to fit your dietary needs. I love pasta salad with red onion and scallion too.
- Hint: No time? Try making this recipe with boneless chicken wings from your favorite restaurant.
- Cheese: Top this cold pasta salad with mozzarella cheese.
What to Serve with Buffalo Chicken Pasta
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Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
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Ingredients
- 16 ounces Rotini, or other pasta
- 3 cups Chicken, cooked and cubed
- ½ cup Green Onions, sliced
- ½ cup Celery, diced
- ½ cup Blue Cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup Buffalo Wing Sauce
- ⅓ cup Mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup Sour Cream
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
Instructions
- First boil the pasta in lightly salted water to al dente according to package directions. When it is done cooking drain in a colander and rinse for several minutes with cold water to cool the pasta completely.
- While the pasta is cooking chop the chicken into bite size pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Pour a little buffalo wing sauce over the chicken and stir to coat.
- Add mayonnaise, sour cream, onion powder, and garlic powder to the mixing bowl. Add in buffalo wing sauce, if you like a more mild buffalo taste use ¼ of a cup, if you like it hotter add more, up to ½ of a cup. Mix thoroughly.
- Add in pasta and stir to coat thoroughly. Fold in blue cheese, green onions and celery until well incorporated.
- Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.
Christina’s Notes
- Different Sauces: This easy buffalo chicken pasta salad recipe is great with your favorite flavor of buffalo sauce. Try hot sauce, mild sauce, or any other of your favorite wing sauces.
- Kick of Heat: Try this wing dust on top for extra heat.
- Alternate ingredient: Use a gluten free pasta, a keto wing sauce, meatless chicken bites, and low fat versions to fit your dietary needs.
- Hint: No time? try making this recipe with boneless chicken bites from your favorite restaurant.
- Cheese: Top this cold pasta salad with mozzarella cheese.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
Ohhh yeah this is an AMAZING pasta salad!! It’s so tasty!
Oooh what a great idea this is. Huge hit with the fam!
If it’s buffalo chicken anything, my kids will devour it! This pasta looks scrumptious. Can’t wait to put it on the table in front of them and see their reaction! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing buffalo chicken pasta salad recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!