Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
Featuring the best flavors of buffalo chicken wings combined with a classic pasta salad, this Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad makes for a fantastic summer recipe!
This Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad post is sponsored by Cabot Creamery, but the recipe and opinions are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Spiced!
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Warm summer days are here…and that means lots of grilling in the backyard! (And hopefully not too many more frisbee collisions with the lawnmower.) Summer days are about to get a whole lot warmer here in the Spiced house. We’ve decided to pack things up and head from upstate New York down to the mountains of western North Carolina – Asheville to be more specific.
I grew up in the Carolinas, so the chance to return back to that area of the country is really exciting for me! As you can imagine, life is pretty hectic in our house right now. Buying a new house in Asheville. Selling our house here in New York. Packing everything up in between. It’s busy!
For me, firing up the grill at the end of a busy day is one of my favorite ways to relax. Seriously. I love grilling, and the prospect of sitting on the back deck eating dinner outside is enticing. We light the citronella torches and sit back to relax as Robbie runs around the backyard.
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
Dinner on the grill is awesome, but the side dishes for summer grillin’ are equally as important! In this case, I felt like a good pasta salad was in order. I love pasta salads on warm summer days. (Plus, we had some extra rotisserie chicken in the freezer that needed to be used up before the move!)
This Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad is the perfect combination of two favorites – buffalo chicken wings and pasta salad. The taste is spot-on! It’s packed with so many layers of flavor. It’s spicy, too – but in the perfect way. (Of course, you can adjust the spiciness by adding more or less of the buffalo wing sauce.)
My mother-in-law makes a fantastic antipasta salad – it’s truly one of my favorite summer side dishes. She includes cubes of cheese in that recipe, and the cheese really takes that pasta salad to a whole new level! I took a page from her book and included cubed cheese in this Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad.
For this recipe, I opted for cubes of a good sharp cheddar cheese – Cabot’s Vermont Sharp. The sharpness of that cheese was the perfect compliment to the other flavors in this pasta salad. I know cheddar cheese and buffalo wings aren’t often in the same sentence, but trust me here! This pasta salad will be making regular appearances in our house.
Cabot’s Vermont Sharp Cheddar is a classic cheddar that’s great for all sorts of recipes…and snacking! It has bold cheddar flavor, but it also features a nice smooth finish. In short, it’s delicious! If you count the cubes in this Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad, you will realize that a couple are missing. They might have disappeared mysteriously while this pasta salad was being made. I have no idea what happened there.
If you haven’t had a chance to try Cabot’s Vermont Sharp Cheddar cheese, then pick up a block or two next time you’re in the store. It’s a great all-purpose cheddar. Cabot is a co-op, and their cheeses are made from the milk produced at hundreds of family farms across New York and New England. They make at least 10 different types of cheddar…and many of them have won worldwide awards. They know their cheese!
We keep several different Cabot cheeses in our fridge at all times. I love cooking and baking with those cheeses, but we often just have cheese and crackers for an easy lunch on weekend days. We slice up a couple different cheeses, add some crackers and a bit of whatever fresh fruit we happen to have around – lunch done!
I hope you enjoy this Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad as much as we do – it is an easy summer side dish, and it’s great for picnics, too. Enjoy the warm weather!
Did you make this Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me (@Spicedblog) and Cabot (@CabotCheese) on Instagram – we’d love to see your version!
Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- ½ cup buffalo sauce
- ½ cup ranch dressing
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
For the Pasta Salad
- 16 oz. farfalle pasta
- 8 oz. Cabot Vermont Sharp Cheddar Cheese cut into ½” cubes
- 1½ cups fully-cooked rotisserie chicken chopped
- ½ cup chopped celery ~2 stalks
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- ¼ cup grated carrots
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes halved
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
Instructions
For the Sauce
- Using a medium bowl, add all of the sauce ingredients; stir until well combined. Set mixture aside.
For the Pasta Salad
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Once cooked, drain pasta and place in a large mixing bowl.
- Add cubed cheddar, chicken, celery, bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes and green onions; stir until well combined.
- Add sauce; toss until well combined.
- Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, or until chilled.
Looking for more summer pasta salad recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
cant wait to make this soon for me for the sauce can i use vegan ranch dressing / mayonnise and coconut cream and for the salad can i use vegan cheese and mushrooms and skip red and green bell peppers as am not a big fan of red and green bell peppers i never had buffalo chicken pasta salad before perfect for my after office meals love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
Hey Ramya! You can definitely adapt this recipe as needed for your personal preferences – in fact, that’s one of the best things about cooking. I love making slight changes and twists to recipes…even ones that are long-time favorites in our house. I hope this pasta salad becomes a favorite in your house!
Although I do not envy you concerning your move, there is truly something exciting about a fresh start in a new place, but especially for you in returning to an old familiar setting. Good luck with everything. This buffalo chicken pasta salad has so many layers of flavor and texture. And it looks so enticing!! I haven’t always favored buffalo chicken until the last few years and for some reason, a switch was turned on and now I can’t get enough of it. So I’m very enthusiastic about trying your recipe. It’s perfect for a Memorial Day cookout!
You said it, Kristy! Moving is difficult…there is no way to sugar coat that part. Fortunately we’re pretty far along in the process now as we have a house down in Asheville, and our house here in upstate NY is finally on the market. Switching gears over to the food, though, we love (!!) summer pasta salads. This one was a fantastic combo of flavors, and we’ll certainly be making it again…maybe for Memorial Day picnics!
I love, love, love pasta salads and this one looks amazing. That dressing looks perfect with buffalo sauce! Can’t wait to dive in!
Yes! We are two peas in the same pod there, Kathy – I love all kinds of summer pasta salads, and I can’t wait to make them all summer long! This one is packed with great flavor…I highly recommend it!
Congrats on the move, must be so exciting to be back where you grew up! The pasta salad looks perfect for the upcoming summer months!
It really is exciting to head back to the Carolinas – I can’t wait!! And we’ll get longer summers down there which means more opportunities to make summer food like this pasta salad! 🙂 Thanks, Michelle!
So exciting about your move! Hopefully Robbie isn’t too sad – it’s always hard. As someone who went to15 different schools, I know, but it also adds to your life experiences. Great pasta. Love that sauce!
Hey Mimi! Robbie was a little sad when we told him about the move, but he quickly transitioned over to excitement about all of the new adventures waiting for us in Asheville. (It’s known as the land of waterfalls, and that kid does love a good waterfall!!) Thanks so much, my friend!
I know you’re someone who likes to freeze stuff, so you must’ve gone on quite a freezer purge in anticipation of the move! Moving is always exciting, but also so much work! Well I’ve heard only good things about Asheville; I’m sure you’re going to love it there.
Oh man – you’re telling me, Jeff! We’re still working through smoked brisket, pulled pork and roasted garlic. Any ideas on how to use those together? 🙂 Also, moving is work…but it’s a task that I’m absolutely overjoyed to be tackling!
i do love a sharp and tasty cheddar. as you may remember i am not a huge fan of pasta but this does sound quite appetising:) How exciting and hectic to be moving interstate. good luck with it!
Thanks so much for the kind wishes, Sherry! I do remember you mentioning that pasta isn’t your thing. Is that the case for pasta salad, too? I feel like cold pasta gets a bit firmer…so maybe the texture is a bit better for you? Either way, I appreciate you stopping by!
Good luck with the move from New York to Asheville David. I don’t know how I’d feel about another move. We’ve been here 10 years. You get kind of settled don’t you? This is a great looking pasta salad. Definitely one to enjoy at this time of year!
Yeah, we’ve been in upstate New York for about 11.5 years now. While there is something to be said about getting settled, there is also something exciting about new adventures. Plus, there’s less snow in Asheville. 🙂
Yes, this pasta salad is perfect for this time of the year – it’s heating up over here, and that means it’s time to break out the classic summer recipes!!
Congrats on the move, David! Such a huge project and always feels great to have it done. I hope that you and your family will love it!
As for this salad: yes please! I love a creamy, cheesy pasta salad with some kick!
Thanks so much, Marissa – we’re excited for the move, too! And we’re excited for summer…and summer food! This pasta salad is a great way to kick off the summer vibes! 🙂
I made this pasta salad last night and it was super good! I am so happy with the flavor of this dish. I will definitely make this recipe again. Thanks.