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This easy Buffalo chicken pasta salad recipe combines spicy chicken, tender pasta and crunchy veggies in a deliciously creamy dressing. A real crowd pleaser perfect for any occasion!
I love just about anything flavored with Buffalo sauce, and this Buffalo chicken pasta salad is no exception. You get that awesome spicy Buffalo flavor in every bite, tempered with the cool, creamy ranch flavor in the dressing. I even threw in some crisp veggies, so this easy pasta salad with chicken is definitely a full meal.
Not only is this hearty salad one of my favorites, but it’s also a family favorite, as well. Even my pickiest eater, who is not a fan of cold pasta, went back for seconds! You’ll want to include it in your selection of potluck salad recipes this season!
Why you’ll love this easy recipe!
It’s super simple to make, especially if you use rotisserie chicken or pre-shredded chicken from the store.
You can make it ahead of time for an easy dinner on a hot summer evening. The leftovers taste even better the next day for a quick lunch!
Leave out the meat for a simple side dish that goes with grilled meat at your next summer cookout or BBQ.
What You Need
Here are the basic ingredients for this hearty pasta salad. Full amounts are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Cooked Chicken — about 3 cups. You can use canned chicken or leftover chicken. You can also bake chicken to use in this salad.
- Pasta — I love fusilli, rotini or corkscrew pasta for this as the sauce sticks to the pasta. Penne or bow ties would also be good in this dish.
- Carrots — shredded or grated
- Celery — diced
- Mayonnaise — I prefer mayo over Miracle Whip for this salad as it doesn’t affect the flavor of the dressing
- Sour cream — adds tangy flavor to the dressing
- Buffalo wing sauce — Frank’s Red Hot sauce. This is milder than the hot sauce, but you can go with the spicier version if you like a little extra heat.
- Ranch dressing mix — I like to add the dry mix instead of using a bottle of ranch
- Sea salt and black pepper — to taste
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
First, boil the pasta, and rinse it under cold water. Add a little bit of the wing sauce to the chicken to give it extra flavor. Mix the dressing ingredients in a large bowl, and add the cooked pasta, celery and carrots. Give it a good stir, and pop the salad into the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat.
Quick Tips
Save some of the pasta water and use it to thin out the dressing, if needed. I find this gives the dressing a better consistency than adding more mayo or sour cream.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in your fridge for 3-4 days. You may want to add a little extra sauce, as needed.
Variation
If you’re not a ranch dressing fan, you can a little blue cheese dressing to the mixture.
You can also replace the dry dressing mix with prepared ranch dressing or bottled dressing.
Top the salad with crumbled bleu cheese for a little extra flavor.
More Meaty Pasta Salads
Easy Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound fusilli pasta
- 3 cups cooked chicken diced
- 2 tablespoons Buffalo wing sauce
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 1 cup shredded carrots
Dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ½ cup Buffalo wing sauce
- 2 tablespoons dry Ranch dressing mix
- pinch sea salt and black pepper, to taste if needed
Instructions
- Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until al dente
- Drain pasta in colander, and rinse under cold running water
- Coat chicken with the 2 tbs hot sauce, and set aside
- In a large bowl, mix the dressing ingredients together until well blended
- Add the pasta, chicken, celery and carrots, and toss until well coated with dressing
- Cover, and place in fridge until ready to serve
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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