Slow Cooker Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Pasta
This one won’t be for the calorie-conscious, but it WILL be one of the most decadent and delicious meals you ever make in your slow cooker! Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Pasta gets rave reviews time after time. A bowl (or two) of this cheesy, creamy pasta will satisfy all your carb cravings.
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What’s To Love About This Recipe
But really, what’s NOT to love about creamy, cheesy carbs and tangy buffalo sauce all-in-one? Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Pasta is one of my most-loved recipes. Let me tell you why!
- Every step of this recipe can be completed in the slow cooker – even cooking the pasta. If you haven’t tried cooking your noodles in slow cooker meals yet, you’re missing a one-pot cleanup opportunity!
- The flavor – have I mentioned the flavor yet? I am a huge fan of buffalo sauce and I try to incorporate it into lots of different types of dishes. This one tops the list!
- Buffalo sauce adds a little spice, but not so much that the whole family can’t enjoy it. The added cheese creates the perfect balance.
- I don’t indulge in pasta dishes too often, but this is one for which I definitely make an exception. It’s just that good! You’ll love making a recipe that’s a real winner around the dinner table.
Okay, before we get to the recipe, I do have to warn you. This recipe is designed for 6 servings, but between 3 people in my family, we devoured every single bit of it in one meal!
Ingredients Needed
- Boneless skinless chicken – I prefer to use chicken breasts, but boneless skinless thighs are also an option. The chicken will ultimately be shredded and mixed with additional buffalo sauce.
- Chicken broth – Broth adds flavor to the sauce and cooks the noodles. I recommend keeping a little extra broth on hand in case you need it for the pasta at the end. Use bone broth for extra nutrients if you like.
- Buffalo wing sauce – Split the buffalo sauce into two portions for different segments of the recipe. You can use your favorite buffalo wing sauce – whether sweet, mild, medium, or hot.
- Seasonings – Use a tablespoon of ranch dressing mix from a single packet, and add in some garlic powder, celery salt, salt, and pepper.
- Cream cheese – This is used to achieve the super creamy sauce! If you’d like to make this slightly lower-fat, you could also use Neufchatel cheese.
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese – Sharp cheddar is the best flavor to complement the tangy wing sauce. If you have extra time, shred some yourself for the freshest quality.
- Cornstarch slurry – Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water to create a slurry that thickens the creamy sauce.
- Linguine noodles – I like the shape of linguine noodles and how they hold their texture well in the slow cooker. If you choose another type of pasta noodle, note differences in cooking time.
- Chopped cilantro – For an optional garnish, chop up some fresh cilantro to sprinkle across the top of each bowl!
How To Make Buffalo Chicken Pasta In The Slow Cooker
If you haven’t made pasta in your slow cooker before, you’re about to find out what a great shortcut this is! With pasta recipes, you will typically cook the meat and sauce ingredients first, then add the noodles to cook in the final steps. This is how it works with Buffalo Chicken Pasta!
- Place chicken, broth, 1/4 cup buffalo sauce, and seasonings in the slow cooker.
- Top with cream cheese and shredded cheese.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
- When the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the slow cooker and shred it with two forks in a separate bowl.
- Add the remaining 1/4 cup of buffalo sauce to the chicken and toss to coat. Set the chicken aside.
- Whisk together cornstarch and water and add the mixture to the slow cooker.
- In the slow cooker, use a whisk to stir the melted cheese and softened cream cheese (added in step 2) until all ingredients are combined and smooth with no lumps.
- Break the noodles in half and place them in the slow cooker.
- Top the noodles with the shredded chicken and cover. (Keep an eye on the noodles the first time you make this since they can quickly overcook.)
- Turn the slow cooker on high for an additional 30-60 minutes until the noodles are fully cooked. Stir the noodles 3-4 times during cooking with tongs or a large fork.
- If the noodles are not done after 30-60 minutes, you can add extra broth or water, 1/4 cup at a time or as needed.
- Garnish servings of pasta with fresh cilantro, if desired, and serve immediately.
Recipe Substitutions and Variations
When you’re planning to make easy buffalo chicken pasta, you might want to try a few other ingredient swaps for convenience or taste.
- Chicken – Besides boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, you could also use precooked ground chicken, precooked and shredded chicken, or a rotisserie chicken. If you use precooked chicken, reduce the slow cooker time to only 1 hour on high or 2 hours on low, then add the pasta for the allotted time.
- Spice – If you need a more kid-friendly option, look for a mild buffalo wing sauce or use less than the designated amount.
- Pasta noodles – Try out any shape or size of pasta noodles that you like, but keep in mind that different shapes may have different cooking times. Stay close by your slow cooker to check on the pasta during the final cooking time. If you choose gluten-free noodles, reduce the broth by ½ cup.
- Veggies – If you want to add a little extra nutrition to your protein and carbs, go for it! Finely diced peppers and onions would be a great addition, or frozen corn or a frozen veggie blend would also be delicious.
What To Serve With Buffalo Chicken Pasta
Buffalo chicken pasta makes a hearty plate but would be delicious with some fresh veggies on the side. Mix up a green garden salad topped with Zesty Lime Jalapeno Ranch Dressing, or offer a side of sliced raw veggies and dip.
Top your pasta with fresh cilantro or sliced green onion. Add a sprinkle of blue cheese crumbles across your plate if you like!
Storing and Reheating
When we make this at home, we rarely have leftovers, but you might be lucky enough to have some for lunch the next day! Store your leftover pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
I recommend adding a splash of broth or water before reheating in the microwave or on the stove to help the sauce to be smooth.
I don’t recommend freezing this dish since the combination of pasta and dairy won’t defrost well.
Slow Cooker Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Pasta
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce 1/4 cup now, 1/4 cup later
- 1 tablespoon ranch dressing mix from a packet
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon water
- 16 ounces linguine noodles
- Chopped cilantro for garnish optional
Instructions
- Place chicken, broth, 1/4 cup buffalo sauce, and seasonings in slow cooker.
- Top with cream cheese and shredded cheese.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
- When chicken is fully cooked, remove it from slow cooker and shred with two forks in separate bowl.
- Add remaining 1/4 cup of buffalo sauce to chicken and toss to coat. Set chicken aside.
- Whisk together cornstarch and water and add mixture to slow cooker.
- In slow cooker, use a whisk to stir melted cheese and softened cream cheese (added in step 2) until all ingredients are combined and smooth with no lumps.
- Break noodles in half and place in slow cooker.
- Top noodles with shredded chicken and cover.
- Turn slow cooker on high for an additional 30-60 minutes until noodles are fully cooked. Stir noodles 3-4 times during cooking with tongs or a large fork.
- If noodles are not done after 30-60 minutes, add extra broth or water, 1/4 cup at a time or as needed.
- Optional: Garnish pasta with fresh cilantro and serve immediately.
Notes
- Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, add a splash of broth or water to help the sauce to be smooth.
- When making pasta in the slow cooker, your best results will come if you use tongs or a large fork to stir occasionally.
- Reduce the spice level by using less buffalo sauce or a milder wing sauce.
This looks delish (as my son would say). My hubby will love this, but I am wondering how spicy it is since my boys have strong taste buds.
It’s a tad spicy but you can certainly control the spice level. Only add a little sauce to begin with and then add to taste at the end to get it just exactly how spicy you want it.
Cooking on low, how long will it take for the chicken to cook and be ready for removal? Can’t wait for it (and for the leftovers)!
Boneless chicken should be cooked to an internal temp of 170 degrees. Kind of depends on the size of the slow cooker you are using and how hot it gets but generally it will be fully cooked on low in the range of 5-7 hours. You can leave this on longer since it’s in the broth it won’t dry out on you. I hope you enjoy it!! 🙂
Definitely liked it but it was too hot, next time will use less Hot Sauce. My son reccommended cubing instead of shredding the chicken.
Glad you liked it! I think the cubed chicken would be delicious 🙂
Is this recipe hot (spicy hot)? The buffalo sauce makes me think it might be. Do not like spicy hot so woild i like it?
It is a little spicy. I don’t like things super spicy and it was not to much for me because the cream cheese offsets it a little. You can use less of the buffalo sauce to start with and just add a little more at the end to taste.
Do you think you could do the noodles stove top to cut down on the 30-60 minute wait? Would the sauce thicken enough with the shorter time?
I have not done this on the stovetop so I can’t speak to the results at all. But IF you wanted to give it a try I think you would need to reduce the amount of broth since the noodles would be cooked and not soaking it up. Maybe start with 1 to 1 1/2 cups of broth instead? Your sauce will be thin compared to the slow cooked version but it might work! If you give it a try be sure to let me know!
This looks yummy. I want to make this dish which will be enough for dinner and for lunch the next day. I want to know if the pasta will become dry for lunch.
This makes great leftovers! Just add a splash of milk, water or broth before heating and then stir well! I hope you enjoy 🙂
What’s buffalo sauce? (I’m not in America …) Thanks 🙂
Basically just hot sauce that you toss with chicken wings to make buffalo chicken wings. Can you find hot pepper sauce?
I don’t know where you are, but I’m from America living in the UK, and at my local sainsbury’s and tesco they have Frank’s Red Hot Sauce which is an American buffalo sauce. If you can’t find that, I think nando’s peri-peri sauce would be a good substitute. Hope it helps!
The original ‘buffalo wing sauce’ is a mix of equal parts Frank’s (or French’s) red hot sauce and butter. In case anyone else has only the components on hand.
I LOVE the buffalo approach with this recipe………however………I’m NOT a fan of cream cheese………..can I sub something else??
Gosh…I haven’t tried this particular recipe any other way so I’d hate to give a suggestion that wouldn’t work. Possibly leaving out the cream cheese and then at the end you could add some heavy cream instead with the noodles. It may need a little more cornstarch to thicken. If you decide to experiment let me know!
I’ve had it in the crock for 7 hours on low. But, shredded the chicken about an hour ago, before I read further. I decided I am skipping the cornstarch step because I don’t think it needs to thicken. Noodles are in and I have about 45 min. to go. Wonder how it will turn out….
How did it turn out?!
I followed the recipe to a “T” and the sauce is delicious, with a little zip in flavor which is awesome. The noodles turned out gummy, so I consider this recipe a fail!
Cheesy buffalo chicken pasta
At what point do you cut up your chicken?
Hi! In step 4 you will remove the chicken and shred it with 2 forks. Then you will add it back into the crock in step 10. If you’d prefer it cut into chunks instead you could do that before cooking it. Hope that helps!