This Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad is a tangy, creamy pasta salad with chicken, shell pasta, celery, carrots, and tomatoes, covered in a creamy sauce made with spicy Buffalo Wing Sauce, like Frank’s Hot Sauce, and ranch dressing with bleu cheese crumbles.
This summer I have been making lots of pasta salads to take to events. My pasta salads include the Caprese Pasta Salad, Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad, and my Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta Salad. Why do I make so many pasta salads this time of year?
Why Make Pasta Salad?
First, I don’t have to heat up the oven during the hottest time of year, and it gets over 100 degrees F in this region.
Secondly, I love dishes that I can make ahead of time and not have to worry about cooking a dish right before the event.
Lastly, they are so dang popular! Have you ever taken a pasta salad to a potluck? It is one of the dishes to go! I never have to take home leftovers.
What Makes Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad Special?
With so many pasta salad recipes to choose from, why make Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad?
Taste. This Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad has the distinctive flavor of the extremely popular Buffalo Wing Sauce. It provides that spicy, tangy flavor that can only be found in Buffalo Wing Sauce like Frank’s Hot Sauce.
In addition to the Buffalo Wing Sauce, it contains all the other ingredients normally found in an order of Buffalo Wings, like chicken, celery, carrots, ranch dressing, and blue cheese. The only thing we left out was the chicken bones!
This Buffalo Chicken Flavor makes this Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad perfect for a game day party in addition to a picnic, potluck, or summer get together.
How Do You Make Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad?
Start with the ingredients you need.
Chicken. Use 2 cups of shredded cooked chicken. Rotisserie chicken works perfectly in this pasta salad and saves time to make this dish even easier.
Pasta. You may be wondering what type of pasta to use. Don’t worry. You can use whatever pasta you have on hand. I used a small shell pasta. However, you could use penne pasta, rotini pasta, shell pasta, or your other favorite short pasta. I don’t recommend using long pasta like spaghetti. It is easier to use short pasta in a pasta salad. Just be sure to check the package of pasta for the cooking instructions as different types of pasta have different cook times.
Vegetables. After the chicken and pasta, you will need chopped celery, shredded carrots, and halved cherry tomatoes. Yes, I know that tomatoes are not typically serviced with Buffalo wings but I just love them in pasta salads, and you just can’t have too many vegetables.
The Buffalo Wing Ranch Blue Cheese Pasta Sauce!
What really makes this pasta salad special is this sauce. To make it, you will need:
- Buffalo Wing Sauce, like Frank’s Red Hot Sauce.
- Ranch Dressing
- Blue Cheese Crumbles
Seriously, only 3 ingredients make up this awesome sauce. All you have to do is combine the three ingredients in a small bowl and then it is ready to pour over the pasta salad.
To make the pasta salad portion of this Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad, combine the shredded chicken, pasta, celery, carrots, and tomatoes in a bowl. I add in some blue cheese crumbles because, in my opinion, you can’t have too much bleu cheese.
Stir up the pasta salad ingredients of Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad so that they are evenly combined throughout the pasta salad.
Then pour the Buffalo Wing Ranch Bleu Cheese Pasta Sauce over the Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad. Stir until all the ingredients are thoroughly covered in the sauce.
Then refrigerate the Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad until you are ready to serve. It is just that easy.
Now that you see how easy it is to make this Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad, go make it yourself and come back and leave a comment to let me know how you liked it! I love hearing from you.
Be sure to check out these other recipes!
Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells
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Recipe
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 12-ounce package small shell pasta
- 2 cups shredded chicken
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3/4 cup ranch dressing
- 1/4 cup Buffalo Wing Sauce (Like Frank's Red Hot Sauce)
- 6 ounces bleu cheese crumbles
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse. Place into a large bowl.
- While the pasta is cooking, make the creamy Buffalo Wing Ranch Pasta Sauce by stirring together the ranch dressing, buffalo wing sauce, and blue cheese crumbles. Set aside.
- Add the shredded chicken, chopped celery, shredded carrots, and halved cherry tomatoes to the bowl with the pasta and stir until combined.
- Pour the Buffalo Wing Ranch Pasta Sauce over the pasta salad and stir until all ingredients are covered in the dressing.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Marlene says
My hubby and I absolutely loved this delicious Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad! I must admit that when I went to pull out the bowls of veggies I cut up and the ranch dressing sauce out of the refrigerator, I dropped a lot of it, so had to rinse all the veggies and make up and add more ranch dressing sauce to it – totally guessing. I think the next time I make it, I will leave the ingredients on the counter! Lesson learned! Very delicious and a keeper!
Michele says
Hi Marlene,
I’m so glad you liked it. Sorry about the mishap. Hopefully, the next time everything will go smoothly. Thanks for the nice review.
Michele
Marlene says
We loved it! Thanks for your kind reply. I think everything will go smoother for me next time. We love both your “Buffalo Chicken Pasta Shells” and your “Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad!” Both amazingly delicious!!! Thank you for sharing these recipes!