Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake

Published: Aug 30, 2015 · Modified: Aug 14, 2023 by Drizzle · This post may contain affiliate links · 107 Comments

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Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake is a family favorite in my house. You all know I am a huge buffalo chicken fan, and I absolutely love it in this pasta. It’s spicy, full of healthy carbs from the pasta, and high in protein. So I feel good about eating it often.

If you love cheesy pasta but want to stick close to your diet, this recipe is for you. You can dial up or turn down the spice by changing the amount of buffalo sauce. The lightened-up cheese gives the creaminess we all want in a pasta dish, but allows this pasta bake to be low in fat and calories.

Three reasons why you need to make this recipe!

It’s a great change up from tomato based pasta dishes.

With the spicy buffalo sauce and the melted cheese, this pasta dish is comforting yet filling. If you’re tired of always having spaghetti with meat sauce as the go-to, give this buffalo chicken pasta bake a try.

It gives you a different way to eat chicken.

Chicken for dinner can get extremely boring. This recipe gives you a way to spice it up - literally! Combined with the al dente pasta, ranch, and cream cheese, buffalo chicken is divine.

It’s not often you find a healthy pasta dish under 300 calories.

Pasta is one of those things that can easily rack up in calories, especially if cheese is involved. At a restaurant, you’ll never find a dish under 500 calories that includes all of these ingredients.

Ingredients you need to make Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake:

2 cups Banza Pasta (gluten-free!) or whole wheat high-fiber pasta. Measure it uncooked.
10 oz (2 cups) cooked, shredded chicken
6 oz softened light cream cheese
¼ cup light ranch dressing
½ cup franks hot sauce
⅔ cup reduced-fat shredded cheese

How to make Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake (step by step):

Boil the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain off the water. Set the pasta to the side.
Preheat the oven to 350F and spray a 9x13 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, add the pasta and chicken. In a small bowl, cream together the cream cheese, dressing, and hot sauce with a hand mixer or stand mixer.
Add the cream cheese mixture to the chicken and pasta and add ⅓ cup shredded cheese, leaving the other ⅓ cup aside.
Mix it well and pour it into the casserole dish, spreading it out evenly. Bake the casserole in the oven for 20 minutes. Add the remaining cheese on top then bake for another 5 minutes.
Remove it from the oven and cut it into 6 servings.

Makes 6 servings. Nutrition info for 1 serving: Calories 274, Fat 12 g, Saturated fat 12 g, Carbs 22 g, Fiber 4 g, Sugars 4 g, Sodium 1340 mg, Protein 23 g.

WW Points

Banza Pasta 12 points
Cooked shredded chicken 0 points
Light cream cheese 16 points
Light ranch dressing 5 points
Franks hot sauce 0 points
Reduced fat shredded cheese 9 points

7 points per serving based on the WW app recipe creator.

If you’re using an older version of WW, check out these points below.

Points- 8

Personal Points- 4-8 range depending on your 0PP foods

Smart points- blue- 6 using WW recipe builder

Smart points- purple- 4 using WW recipe builder

Smart points- green- 8 using WW recipe builder

Points plus- 7 using PP calculator

Different ways to change up this recipe:

I like using penne or rotini pasta for this dish but honestly, any pasta will work. Using Banza Pasta allows you to keep this dish gluten-free, as well as lower in points. It adds a good bit of protein and fiber!
If you are not a fan of too much spice or heat, then try adding in less Franks hot sauce. The recipe calls for ½ cup but you could use ¼ cup of Franks and ¼ of water or chicken broth.
I have a recipe for a lightened-up ranch dressing that you could use in this Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake. This might help lower the overall calories and points. The ranch recipe is a big hit with my followers and is so simple to make.
I prefer to use a 9x13 casserole dish but you could use a smaller 9x9 and have a thicker pasta bake.

Tips and Tricks for Making Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake:

I like to make my shredded chicken in the crockpot. I typically make a batch a week and store it in the fridge. It will last up to 4 days so you can use it for several different recipes. You can also make a huge batch and freeze it for easy use later on. I add some chicken broth to the crockpot, about 1-2 cups depending on how many chicken breasts you are cooking. I have used water sometimes if I am out of chicken broth. Add the boneless skinless chicken breast to the crockpot and cook on high for 3-4 hours. Then use a couple of forks to shred it up. If it is not shredding easily, it needs some more time in the crockpot. You can also use a hand mixer or stand mixer to shred the chicken.
If you don’t have time to make up a batch of shredded chicken, you can use any chicken for this recipe. Grill some up on the BBQ and cut it into cubes or buy a pre-made rotisserie chicken, and cut it up into small pieces.
You can store any leftovers in the fridge in a sealed container for 2-3 days. Leftovers are just as delicious the next day. This dish freezes very well, you could even prep it and freeze it before baking if you wish.
To reheat previously cooked pasta bake, let thaw (if frozen) and bake in the oven at 350F for about 15 minutes. If you have an air fryer that will work too.

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