Buffalo chicken meets pasta salad in this bold, crave-worthy combo that’s perfect for potlucks or game day!
Cooked chicken, celery, mozzarella cheese, green onions, and pasta are tossed in a creamy buffalo ranch dressing for an out-of-this-world fave.
Holly’s Weeknight Winning Meal
- Flavor – Buffalo sauce and ranch dressing give this chicken and pasta salad a fiery kick.
- Difficulty – Chop, toss, and mix; this salad is ready in minutes using pre-cooked chicken and ready-made dressings.
- Prep Note – Make a day ahead so the flavors are blended even more when it’s ready to serve.
- Budget Tip – Toss in leftover veggies or cheese from the fridge to bulk up the salad for a crowd.
- Swaps – Trade out the chicken for drained and rinsed white or black beans for a hearty vegetarian salad.
- Serving suggestions – Serve as a simple cold chicken pasta salad, roll it into a wrap, or tuck it into a pita pocket.
What You Need to Succeed
Pasta: Rotini is a sturdy pasta with lots of ridges for the creamy dressing to cling to. Bowtie, penne, ziti, and medium-sized shells or elbow macaroni are also good choices.
Chicken: Leftover cooked chicken makes this recipe super easy, but you can also use a rotisserie chicken. Instead of chicken, try bacon bits, diced ham or salami, sliced summer sausage, tuna, or shrimp.
Vegetables: Red bell peppers and celery add color and crunch to buffalo chicken and pasta salad. Toss in some bite-sized pieces of broccoli or cauliflower, grated carrots, or zucchini if desired.
Cheese: Mozzarella cheese, a Mexican blend, crumbled feta, blue cheese, or cotija are all great, cheesy options for this salad.
Dressing: Buffalo sauce is bright and tangy with a little kick of heat, so use as much or as little as you like. Blended with a creamy ranch dressing, it works perfectly to coat the chicken, pasta, and veggies. Swap out the mayo for sour cream or plain Greek yogurt for fewer calories.
Buffalo Chicken Pasta-bilities: Add some crunchy sliced almonds, sliced black olives, green chiles, jalapenos, or pepperoncini.
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
- Cook pasta, drain, and rinse in cold water (full recipe below).
- Whisk dressing ingredients.
- Add pasta and remaining ingredients to a large bowl.
- Pour dressing over the salad and mix until combined.
Time-Saving Tricks
- Pasta for cold salads is best when it’s cooked to ‘al dente.’ This keeps it firmer longer, even as it absorbs the dressing.
- Rinse the pasta in cold water for the best results. This stops it from cooking and keeps pasta from sticking together.
- Prep veggies and shred cheese ahead so assembly is quick and easy.
- Make extra dressing and stir some in right before serving to refresh flavors.
More Summer Salads
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Buffalo Chicken and Pasta Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rotini pasta
- 1 ½ cups shredded cooked chicken
- ⅓ cup red pepper chopped
- ⅓ cup celery chopped, optional
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons scallions chopped
Dressing
- ½ cup buffalo sauce
- ½ cup ranch dressing
- 2 tablespoon mayonnaise
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain, rinse with cold water and transfer to a large bowl.
- Whisk together buffalo sauce, ranch dressing, mayonnaise, garlic powder, and black pepper in a small bowl.
- Add chicken, peppers, celery, mozzarella and scallions to the pasta.
- Pour dressing over pasta mixture and toss together until well combined.
Notes
- Cook pasta only al dente because it will absorb some of the sauce as it sits.
- This chicken pasta salad will taste even better the second day so make it ahead of time, cover and refrigerate!
- Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container for up to 4 days. Stir before serving.
- If pasta salad must sit out at room temperature, place it in a larger bowl or tray filled with crushed ice and stir frequently to keep it chilled.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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