This Baked Buffalo Chicken Rigatoni is a hearty and comforting pasta dish that is bursting with the flavors of buffalo chicken! Spicy, tangy, and downright delicious!
It is no secret by now that I have a torrid love affair going on with the flavors of buffalo chicken.
One quick search on this site will prove it. I adore the spicy-tangy combo of flavors that buffalo chicken dishes have!
This Baked Buffalo Chicken Rigatoni is no exception. It fits right in with the rest of my buffalo chicken recipe lineup.
This pasta is a twist on a classic baked ziti. We have pasta (rigatoni in this case), sauce (swap in buffalo for marinara), dollops of creamy ricotta, and melty gooey mozzarella baked on top to seal all the goodness in. It is a buffalo chicken lover’s dream pasta!
I am actually kind of shocked that it has taken me this long to get a buffalo chicken baked pasta recipe up on the site. It seems like such a no brainer!
We cook the pasta, and while that is happening, we make a quick pan sauce that the pasta will bake up in. I do this in a large, oven-safe skillet so it keeps things very simple – aside from partially cooking the pasta in boiling water, we’re dirtying one main pan and that’s it. Nice!
The pan sauce is flavored with onion, garlic, buffalo sauce, a touch of cream cheese, ranch or blue cheese dressing, and blue cheese (optional if you aren’t a fan). The pasta goes in along with some rotisserie chicken and dollops of creamy ricotta. The whole thing gets showered in mozzarella cheese and then baked until everything is ooey, gooey, and mouthwateringly fabulous.
Ingredients Needed to Make This Baked Buffalo Chicken Rigatoni:
- Rigatoni pasta (penne or ziti will work too)
- Butter
- Onion
- Garlic
- All-purpose flour
- 1% or 2% milk
- Cream cheese (I use reduced fat – can’t tell the difference!)
- Buffalo hot sauce
- Ranch or blue cheese dressing
- Blue cheese crumbles (optional)
- Shredded cooked chicken (I use a rotisserie chicken for this)
- Part-skim ricotta cheese
- Part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
- Scallions, for garnish
How to Make This Baked Buffalo Chicken Rigatoni:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and set a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Once the water is boiling, season liberally with salt and add your pasta. Cook your pasta until it is al dente, according to the package directions.
- While the pasta water is coming up to boil, make the cream sauce: heat a large oven-safe casserole or skillet over medium heat.
- Add the butter to the pan. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes or until the onion is soft. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Slowly stream in the milk and then stir in the cream cheese. Cook, stirring almost constantly, until the mixture thickens and is creamy and smooth.
- Stir in the buffalo sauce, ranch dressing, blue cheese, and shredded chicken. Stir to combine.
- At this point, your pasta should be done. Drain and add to the cream sauce mixture, stirring to evenly combine everything.
- Dollop the ricotta evenly over the pasta and top with the shredded mozzarella.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are bubbly and the cheese is melted and golden in spots.
- Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly, and garnish with additional blue cheese and chopped scallions. I like to serve this with extra buffalo sauce and/or ranch on the side for drizzling.
Other Buffalo Chicken Recipes You Might Enjoy:
- Buffalo Chicken Pot Pie with Beer-Cheese Biscuits
- Buffalo Chicken Ranch Cheese Fries
- Honey Buffalo Chicken Crunch Wraps
- Buffalo Chicken Ranch Totchos
- Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers
- Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
The resulting pasta is a wonderful mix of creamy, spicy, tangy, cheesy, and carby – really, what more could you ask for?
It’s like buffalo chicken dip meets cheesy baked pasta. YUM.
It’s the ideal comfort food to make as the weather cools off and football weekends commence.
If you love buffalo chicken as much as I do, this is a must-make recipe! I promise you’ll be happy you did!
@yestoyolks ✨BAKED BUFFALO CHICKEN RIGATONI✨ A hearty and comforting pasta dish that is bursting with the flavors of buffalo chicken! Spicy, tangy, and downright delicious! It's like buffalo chicken dip meets cheesy baked pasta. YUM. FULL RECIPE on yestoyolks.com! #foodtiktok #recipes #cookingvideo #cookingtiktok #recipeideas #recipesforyou #buffalochicken #bakedpastarecipe #pastarecipe ♬ October Love – Tundra Beats
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Baked Buffalo Chicken Rigatoni
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This Baked Buffalo Chicken Rigatoni is a hearty and comforting pasta dish that is bursting with the flavors of buffalo chicken! Spicy, tangy, and downright delicious! It’s like buffalo chicken dip meets cheesy baked pasta. YUM.
Ingredients
- 1 lb rigatoni pasta (penne or ziti will work too)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups 1% or 2% milk
- 2 oz cream cheese (I use reduced fat – can’t tell the difference!)
- 1/2 cup buffalo hot sauce, plus more for serving
- 1/4 cup ranch dressing (or blue cheese dressing), plus more for serving
- 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles, plus more for serving
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I use a rotisserie chicken for this)
- 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 1/2 cups part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
- Scallions, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and set a large pot of water on the stove to boil. Once the water is boiling, season liberally with salt and add your pasta. Cook your pasta until it is al dente, according to the package directions.
- While the pasta water is coming up to boil, make the cream sauce: heat a large oven-safe casserole or skillet over medium heat.
- Add the butter to the pan. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes or until the onion is soft. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Slowly stream in the milk and then stir in the cream cheese. Cook, stirring almost constantly, until the mixture thickens and is creamy and smooth.
- Stir in the buffalo sauce, ranch dressing, blue cheese, and shredded chicken. Stir to combine.
- At this point, your pasta should be done. Drain and add to the cream sauce mixture, stirring to evenly combine everything.
- Dollop the ricotta evenly over the pasta and top with the shredded mozzarella.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the edges are bubbly and the cheese is melted and golden in spots.
- Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly, and garnish with additional blue cheese and chopped scallions. I like to serve this with extra buffalo sauce and/or ranch on the side for drizzling.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: buffalo chicken
Keywords: buffalo chicken, buffalo chicken pasta, baked buffalo chicken rigatoni, cheesy baked buffalo chicken pasta
Hi There. I'm Molly. I'm a food-obsessed, self-taught cook and I can't wait to share my passion for all things culinary with you. My love for egg yolks is just the tip of the iceberg!
great idea for a pasta dish, why didn’t I think of that? Thank you!
★★★★★
Made for a football party this past weekend and it was the hit of the day. Very decadent with great buffalo flavor. Also easy to make which is a bonus when you’re preparing a bunch of food. Will make many times again!
★★★★★