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.
We tried this tonight. It was really good! A couple of observations. I normally use cooking bags in my slow cooker but next time I may not as I think it might be easier to do all the stirring without the bag. I also may try to make the pasta on the stove and add it to the crock, mix and serve immediately. Ours came out pretty sticky and I prefer a little more separation in my pasta (if I am explaining this correctly). (Like it looks in the pictures.) I also prefer a little more sauce, so not making the pasta in the slow cooker should give me extra sauce. Just the right amount of spice for us and plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow. A keeper!
Great!!!
What would I need to change if my chicken is already cooked?
I use the slow cooker as an easy way to cook my chicken all day and then toss the pasta in at the end of the day to finish off. If your chicken is cooked I would probably reduce the broth and make this a stove top recipe. I haven’t tested it that way so I don’t have the specifics on the adjustments to make but if you decide to give it a try let me know! 🙂
do you dump the contents from the crock pot after cooking the chicken??
Take the chicken out and place in a separate bowl to shred. Then return to crock along with remaining ingredients and stir it all up! Hope that makes sense 🙂
You’re a saint with all these questions. ? The directions are so straight forward! Mine is just about ready, I’ll let you know!
Thanks Jill!
This recipe was amazing!! It did come out pretty thick, so when I served it I added just a drizzle of blue cheese dressing on top (not much, just a tad). To me, buffalo chicken needs blue cheese, so it killed two birds with one stone. Thanks for the recipe, it was amazing!
Thanks!! I agree, blue cheese is a necessity!! 🙂
I just bought a new crock pot and I promised my husband the debut meal would be delicious. (He’s a little skeptical of my crockpot cooking) 🙂 Well, this recipe didn’t disappoint! It was fantastic! I was out of Ranch powder packet but I used bottled dressing and it was perfect. Thanks for the tip about stirring the pasta a few times, mine was clumping together so the stirring, pulling it apart was a great tip! Look forward to getting more recipes off this site. Thanks!
I love it!! I’m so glad it turned out well and that he liked it 🙂 Makes the new slow cooker worth it, right?!
For some reason, the cream cheese barely melted at all over the 8 hours on low. I ended up having to remove it from the crock and put it on the stove to heat it through and get it to combine correctly. I also thickened it on the stove top since I had already removed it from the crock. I put it all back in the crock with the shredded chicken to stay warm and just cooked the pasta separately then tossed them together at the end. Tasted great, but didn’t work out in the crock so well. I’ll definitely make this again but on the stove top.
How odd! I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t melt!! Thankful you were able to save it on the stove! 🙂
I know I recipes I’ve tried before- if you use fat free or 1/3 fat (whatever the less fat option)- the cream cheese does not melt. Maybe you used that?
Cooked this for dinner last night and it was amazing! I didn’t have time to cook it in a crock pot so I ended up cooking it on the stove top. It worked beautifully and I was able to cook my noodles in the sauce without any problems, I just needed to add about a cup of extra water to the sauce for it to come out perfectly. This is definitely a keeper. Everyone loved it! Thank you!!!
Wonderful! So glad it was a hit!
Making this tonight! Looks amazing, only problem I’m out of celery salt. Baby is asleep and I won’t be making it to the store. Any substitution ideas? Or just skip it? I don’t have celery seed or celery either.
I would just skip it. I don’t think it will make a huge difference, it just gives that hint of celery flavor that often goes with buffalo wings. You may need to up the regular salt just a bit but I would wait until it’s done and give it a taste and add a sprinkle or two if necessary. Enjoy!!
so this recipe is badly flawed in one place. Adding pasta to a pot putting heavy chicken on top and turning up the heat equals burnt pot and inedible dinner within 3 minutes of adding pasta it was even on the smallest ring. Dinner ruined and waste of meat. What’s wrong with just cooking pasta for 10 minutes and adding it. That’s what I’ll do in future.
Sorry it didn’t work out for you 🙁 Thankfully this recipe has worked out perfectly for many including myself (several times…love this stuff). Glad you found a work around that will suit you in the future! 🙂
Sounds like you’re cooking on the stove top, not in a crock pot.
I’m not sure its possible to burn anything in a crockpot.
I am making this for dinner tonight. My family is a huge fan of buffalo style anything, so i know this will be a hit. Thanks for the great recipe 🙂
Be sure to tell me the verdict!!