Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad (Print version)

Tender buffalo chicken, crunchy vegetables, and creamy ranch dressing combine in this satisfying cold pasta salad.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 12 oz rotini or penne pasta

→ Chicken

02 - 2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded or cubed
03 - 1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce

→ Vegetables

04 - 1 cup celery, finely diced
05 - 1 cup red bell pepper, diced
06 - 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
07 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

→ Dressing

08 - 3/4 cup ranch dressing
09 - 1/4 cup sour cream
10 - 1 tablespoon lemon juice

→ Garnish

11 - 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
12 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or parsley

# How to Make:

01 - Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot and cook rotini or penne according to package instructions until al dente. Drain in a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water until completely cooled. Set aside.
02 - Place cooked chicken breast in a medium mixing bowl and toss with buffalo wing sauce until evenly coated throughout.
03 - Transfer the cooled pasta to a large mixing bowl. Add the buffalo-coated chicken, diced celery, diced red bell pepper, chopped red onion, and halved cherry tomatoes. Mix gently to combine.
04 - In a small mixing bowl, whisk together ranch dressing, sour cream, and lemon juice until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
05 - Pour the prepared dressing over the pasta mixture and toss gently to ensure all ingredients are evenly coated with the dressing.
06 - Cover the salad with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld and develop.
07 - Transfer the chilled salad to a serving dish and top with crumbled blue cheese and fresh chopped chives or parsley if desired. Serve immediately.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It tastes better cold, so you can make it hours ahead and actually enjoy your own party.
  • The spicy-creamy balance hits that craving you didn't know you had until the first bite.
  • It uses rotisserie chicken, which means dinner can happen even on your most exhausted weeknight.
  • Leftovers somehow get even better overnight when all the flavors soak into the pasta.
02 -
  • Don't skip rinsing the pasta; warm pasta will wilt your vegetables and turn the dressing into a greasy mess.
  • If you add the blue cheese too early, it dissolves into the dressing and makes everything look gray instead of chunky and pretty.
  • This salad gets spicier as it sits, so if you're serving it to kids or spice-sensitive folks, go light on the buffalo sauce at first.
03 -
  • Use kitchen shears to cut the cooked chicken instead of a knife; it's faster and the shreds come out perfectly irregular.
  • If you're not a blue cheese person, try shredded cheddar or pepper jack stirred in at the end for a milder, melty bite.
  • Make the dressing a little thinner than you think you need; the pasta will soak it up as it chills and you want every bite to stay creamy.
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