Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad

This salad is DELICIOUS. It warrants all caps, definitely, it's THAT good. I really hate when people make substitutions and rate a recipe that is only remotely like the original, but I admit I had to for this one, because I *loathe* green pepper. I substituted celery instead, but otherwise made according to instructions. I'm taking it to a cookout later today, but the Spousal Unit has already requested a second batch for tomorrow, just for us! Thanks for a GREAT dish. EDIT 5/22/14: I made this salad again a couple more times, but am only now getting around to updating my earlier review. The first few times I made it, I splurged for the the thick bleu cheese dressing found in the produce department (like Marie's). The salad was incredible. Once, though, I used regular bottled stuff I had in my pantry (Ken's) and was disappointed. The thin dressing soaks into the pasta and disappears after a few hours. It's definitely worth the extra money for the hearty - and calorific - dressings! Oh yeah, use Frank's Buffalo Sauce, not the Red Hot. The Red Hot is just heat. Only the Buffalo sauce will give it that authentic flavor.

made this for 4th of july and it was a definite success! i did make some changes, including using sauteed chicken breasts seasoned with loads of garlic, adding celery, using ranch instead of blue cheese, adding feta cheese, and increasing the amount of buffalo sauce to kick up the heat. i also used penne pasta because it's what i had. very very good salad that i especially liked because it's different, not the same old thing. thanks!

I used a rotiserie chicken and it was fantastic! I made this for my son's daycare workers to thank them for a great year and they all RAVED about it. Great recipe!

I think this recipe would really depend on what kind of buffalo sauce is used. I used Frank's Red Hot and it was more heat then flavor. Also, next time I think i'll use shredded chicken instead of cubed. Use more mayo and a mix between blue cheese and ranch. I bet crumbled blue cheese would be good in it too.

This was really good. I doubled it b/c I made it for 50 people. I used Buffalo Wild Wings mild sauce. The only thing I did that the recipe wasnt specific on was after I drained the pasta I added the veggies in with the hot pasta to "steam" them so they were alittle softer than raw veggies. I am taking the little that was leftover for my lunch today. I will be making this again. Thanks!

Really, really good! Made this for my husband who loves anything buffalo chicken related and he really enjoyed it. I didn't think it would be up my alley, but I loved it too! We don't care for blue cheese, so I used Ranch instead. We ate on a half batch for a couple days and it didn't dry out at all. Making it again this weekend! Thanks! :)

I would like to give the creator of this salad a solid four. However, as written, this salad is a tiny bit dry after sitting in the fridge and cooling. I used homemade bleu cheese dressing, which was runnier than commercial brands, so I don't know how others would fare. I would suggest adding a half a cup or more of ranch dressing right before serving for additional creaminess. (BTW, I doubled the green peppers and celery)

To make this stretch a little farther, I threw in a half cup of halved cherry tomatoes and a few chopped ribs of celery. I used Frank's Buffalo Hot Sauce in this recipe. This is good, a little too much dressing but it makes a great quick pasta salad.

Tasty and clears out the sinuses. I made several modifications and substitutions due to the pantry situation. I omitted the salt and pepper, subbed celery for the bell peppers, used plain yogurt and blue cheese in place of the dressing, and shredded some leftover roasted chicken. It's delicious warm and I can't wait to taste it cold!

Delicious! We loved this, made a couple of changes to due presonal preference, I subbed ranch dressing for the blue cheese and lite sour cream for the mayo. This did dry out a bit after sitting in the fridge but was easily fixed by just adding a bit more ranch right before serving. Thanks for the recipe, it will be used often.

What could be better.

Made this for my boyfriend and he said it was the best pasta salad he has ever had. He told everyone he knew about it and made all our guests try it. They all enjoyed it too!

Excellent twist on a pasta salad - great way to have a complete cool dinner on a hot summer day!

This recipe is so good! It is even good warm but better cold. I poached chicken breasts and then chopped them into tiny bits. Everything else I followed to the letter.

I'd let it chill in the fridge at least 24 hours for the flavors to really be excellent. Everyone loved it when I had it chilled for 3 hours before Thanksgiving dinner, however, the next day it was AMAZING!

Just made this for dinner (subbed in ranch dressing and added celery) it was soooo hot, used Franks buffalo wing sauce and after a few bites I couldn't eat anymore.. I'll make it again with 1/2 the wing sauce..

I grilled about 2 lbs. of chicken breast, diced it, and tossed it in Frank's Hot Sauce before adding it to the rest of the ingredients. I didn't measure anything, but the rest of the proportions in the recipe seem about right. I don't like bell peppers so I skipped them. If I had celery, I would have substituted that as at least one other reviewer did because it just goes with buffalo chicken, doesn't it? This is a VERY good recipe. A little tangy, a little hot. I'd bet if I would have sauteed the chicken in butter it would have really been a Buffalo chicken experience.

This is very good! I did change some of the ingredients... I used more mayo and blue cheese dressing so it wasn't dry. I used less wing sauce because the one I have is very spicy. I also added some crumbled blue cheese and it really made the salad taste better. I used half of the amount of red onion. I think a whole cup is too much... I brought it to a Christmas party and it was a big hit! Thanks for this recipe...

personally i don't like blue cheese or wing sauce. HOWEVER, this salad gets RAVED about everywhere i take it! One change i have made though, I cook my own chicken, i just do 5 -6 chicken tenderloins and cook them in garlic salt and ground pepper then chop it up, let it cool and mix it in. Thanks for the recipe!

This is awesome! We added some serrano peppers to ours for a little more flavor.

I added extra blue cheese crumbles, steamed vega a bit in pasta water, used rotisserie chicken.

Great Idea and recipe... I lightened it up a bit, since I am on Weight Watchers. I used fat free ranch for the blue cheese dressing and light sour cream for the mayo.... very yummy and solid recipe. I used a medium buffalo wing sauce as well. Just enough spice and flavor.

It's ridiculous how good this recipe is! I did switch out the blue cheese for ranch and I used sour cream instead of mayo. I also tried it both hot and cold, I prefered it cold. Thank you for this recipe!

Note from other reviewer: I splurged for the the thick blue cheese dressing found in the produce department (used MARIE'S Super Blue Cheese dressing). The salad was incredible.NOTE: When I used regular bottled stuff I had in my pantry (Ken's) I was disappointed. The thin dressing soaks into the pasta & disappears after a few hours. It's definitely worth the extra money for the hearty - and calorific - dressings! Oh yeah, USE FRANK'S BUFFALO SAUCE not the Red Hot. The Red Hot is just heat. Only the Buffalo sauce will give it that authentic flavor.

use Ranch and Franks hot sauce instead....Make smaller amount

I saw this in my local grocer's salad case at $4.00 per lb. I went home and looked it up on the net and made about three lbs. for about that same price! Loved it! I actually used buffalo chicken strips, had no green pepper in the house, but had everything else. I also used Frank's buffalo style hot sauce and used a bit more than the recipe because we LOVE hot anything! Also used more salt to taste. Great twist on plain ole cold pasta salad - will make many more times - deelish!!!!!

very good and different. exactly what we were looking for in a cold pasta salad.

I am on a pretty restricted diet. I used gluten free pasta which is kinda gross and I used quorn chikn tenders in place of chicken. I did also splurge on a premium blue cheese dressing made with yogurt I also added celery. I thought it was awesome and everyone liked it. I was asked for the recipe by several people

Skipped the blue cheese, and used scallion in place of the red onion,used jalapeno ranch dressing in place of mayo,also used breaded chicken tenders,pepper jack cheese, top with bacon bits.... hit at a party

I have made this several times and people have enjoyed it. I live in Buffalo so the fact that real Buffalo people enjoy it is a bouns. I made just a couple changes to be more authunic. I use Frank's hot sauce not this Buffalo sauce. However most don't like a very spicy salad so I only cover the bottom of the measuring cup with hot sauce and the rest with Frank's sweet chili sauce. Change that around to your preference for heat. Also used a creamy blue cheese not chunky. That keeps it from being dry as well. Also the sweet peppers were good but to be more authunic I use matchstick carrots and diced celery. As for those who use ranch that is blasphamey no real Buffalo person uses ranch.

I made this delicious dish for our Memorial Day cookout. I have made this dish several times and my seventeen year of old grandson requests this salad every time we get together. He just can't get enough of it. Followed the original recipe exactly as written every time I made this salad. Thanks for a great recipe.

Very good recipe. I didn't have peppers on hand so I substituted celery. The recipe certainly had a kick to it. Might ease up on the wing sauce next time but will make again.

This was a great salad to take to my Bunco group BBQ. I was in a rush so I used chicken strips from my local deli refrigerator section and turned out great! I opted to use celery and red pepper along with some red onion. Really great flavor. I adjusted the amount of buffalo sauce to my taste. The chunky blue cheese dressing was a must! I will be making this for my next BBQ for sure. Perhaps this will also become a Sunday football favorite.

Liked it a lot. I used fresh chicken breast brined, then pan cooked it cubed. So I had it browned on all sides. If I make it again I'll use ranch instead of bleu cheese though.

This is a crowd pleaser I make it all the time and never had anyone who didn't like. No changes needed for this recipe

Yummy!! This is such a nice alternate to the typical summer pasta salads. I have made this so many times I finally had to add a review. This is a crowd pleaser, every one loves this salad, you cannot go wrong. I typically use about 50% more buffalo sauce than the recipe calls for.

This salad was delicious and I would definitely make it again. I added celery but kept everything else the same.

It was great, but my wife found it a bit spicy

Loved it! A total hit at my potluck. I don't like Blue Cheese, so I see Ranch instead, no issues.

This is a great recipe. I was looking for something that my husband would eat as he claims he does not like pasta salad. He loved it!!!!!

mmm yummy yummy............. very taste...................

Used mild wing sauce (still pretty spicy) but reduced quantity to 1/4 cup and used entire jar of Marie's blue cheese to compensate for missing 1/4 cup of moisture. Still had a nice "zing" to it but not too much for my wife. Browned off and cut up 2 boneless skinless breasts (can't stand that frozen stuff). Great recipe, quick and easy to make. Definitely make this a regular!

This was a hit with the family! I used garden variety noodles and grilled cubed frozen chicken instead since they were on sale. The boys loved it, one now wants it on his birthday.

Tried it with ranch and bleu cheese dressing instead of mayo. Found some buffalo popcorn chix in the freezer section, I thawed and added this instead of cooked chicken. Hubby doesn't like bell peppers so I put celery instead. He doesn't like any other pasta salad but he loves this one. Taste better the following day.

Liked everything except blue cheese substituted ranch and added sour cream made it gluten free with my brown rice elbow macaroni. Everyone wanted more and we ran out.

I used low-fat mayo as normal and fat free Ranch instead of Blue Cheese. I used buffalo sauce and only put in half because others eating it don't like things too spicy. I would have used more if it was just myself.

Very delicious! I grilled the chicken breast over charcoal grill, basting with Frank's Red Hot Buffalo. And then cut it up and added to salad. Also added a container of blue cheese to it.

It was OK. You can doctor it up however you want. I’m not a big blue cheese fan so I added avocado ranch dressing or just ranch dressing. I also made my own chicken. Don’t care for the frozen stuff.

A new family favorite in our house! I added 1/2 tsp garlic powder, along with 1/2 cup peas and 1/4 cup each sliced olives, diced celery, and sliced green onions. I omitted the salt and bell peppers. This will be a regular salad in our house! Quick, easy, and you can't go wrong!

I never really do things by the books. So when I made this it was no different. I used a bag of frozen fajita chicken strips thawed and cut into pieces. I boiled the chicken in hot sauce with peppers and onions and drained it. I used a spicy ranch instead of blue cheese, but still mayonnaise. I added mini pepperoni, diced ham, bacon bits and cheese cubes so there would be more flavor. I'm going to take this for lunch for the week. I tried some and its wonderful.

I made this for the 4th and this was my 1st time attempting to make a pasta salad. My family loved it. I used Ranch instead of blue cheese. I also did 1/2 pasta added a little Italian dressing then the meat and sauce and did the other 1/2 of the pasta and mixed all together.

04-13-16 ~ Delicious salad! I used leftover grilled chicken in place of the frozen chicken strips. I also diced up some celery as we love celery with 'buffalo foods'. My DH is not a bleu cheese person, so I split it in to two bowls, I made mine with the bleu cheese dressing and his with Ranch dressing. Win-Win, and we both loved our salads. I made enough so we could carry it for a couple of lunches. The salad held up great.

This is delicious! I added more buffalo chicken sauce since I love the flavor. So yummy. I'll definitely make it again!

I love this!! don't knock it till you try it

Will absolutely make it again - my family was asking for more before the first batch was gone. Very easy and tasty.

I made this salad, for the first time, when we had company, and everyone loved it! Even our company's younger children! I thought it was a bit spicy, which, I realize, is how wings are supposed to be. I may try a mild wing sauce next time or use less wing sauce and more mayo and bleu cheese dressing. I used yellow bell pepper in place of the green bell pepper and green onions instead of the red onion. A nice variation to my usual go-to pasta salad that I usually make!

Wasn't real crazy about this. It was edible, but won't be keeping this recipe.

Changes I made: I used a radiatori pasta. I also used chicken I had baked with salt and chipotle sprinkled on. Last difference was 12 oz. jar of roasted red peppers rather than the fresh red and green peppers. Everyone liked it. It was a nice low level of spice I would say.

Celery is a logical companion for buffalo wings, so I switched out the bell peppers for celery, but otherwise made this exactly as written. The dressing was delicious and just the right consistency for the amount of pasta. Three people enjoyed this as a summer supper main course. We each had seconds, and there's enough for us each to take a bowl as a side for lunch. I'll definitely make this again. It would be perfect for a potluck!

Great recipe. We loved it.

Delicious salad. I will definitely make this again.

I made this as directed, except I added 1 cup of diced celery. I would definitely make this again!

Awesome salad! I followed the recipe exactly except, I didn't have a red bell pepper, so I used celery instead. I made this for an occasion with friends, and I was worried there wouldn't be enough because my husband kept getting "samples" out of the fridge. Will make again and again! Thanks!

I always use farfalle pasta (bowtie). The better the blue cheese dressing the better the flavor. There are many different buffalo sauces that will taste different. My favorite is Frank and Teressa's Medium Original Anchor Bar Buffalo Wing Sauce.

No changes needed. Absolutely delicious. Love it.

The great salad!!!! I did use celery instead of green pepper. Family asked for recipe!!!

We love blue cheese and are not big into spicy foods. So we left out the wing sauce and added a parmesan cheese dusting on top. Also used rotisserie chicken and tri-colored pasta because it's what we had on hand. Turned out great and will definitely use it again!

Loved this! Kept basic premise but free poured mayo, regular/inexpensive bleu cheese dressing, and Crystal hot sauce. I cooked, drained and refrigerated the pasta for a couple of hours before adding sauce and even the next day it was moist. I did add celery, bleu cheese crumbles and sauteed chicken breasts with a bit of Emeril's Essence. Instead of adding chicken into the pasta I made it an entree salad. Field greens, scoop of pasta mixture, sliced chicken on top with some dried cranberries. It was attractive and delicious. The leftover pasta was a nice side the next day. Definitely worth a try.

nothing special... not as much flavor as I was hoping for... followed directions, subbed celery for the peppers as that's what I had on hand... will maybe try again using a different brand of hot sauce

Made this for a bridge club luncheon and everyone loved it. I did add diced celery and made my own blue cheese dressing, as others suggested. Will definitely make again.

It was a great dish. I use Ranch instead of the original dressing and not as much of buffalo sauce since my spouse can not eat spice food for health reasons. but it is a great recipe. Thank you for sharing it!

Big Hit in my house! I made this on memorial weekend for my family and we all loved it. I didn't change anything. I used Frank's Red Hot Buffalo wing sauce and Kraft chunky blue cheese dressing. It was delicious!!!

This salad is delicious. Will make again!

I just made this with a few changes. I reversed the amounts of chunky blue cheese dressing and the mayo. I also added about 1/2 cup chopped celery. It was absolutely awesome. I think the next time I could probably make the amounts of chunky blue cheese dressing and the mayo at 3/4 cup each. I was afraid if I used the 1 cup of blue cheese and 1/2 cup of mayo, that the blue cheese would be too overpowering of a flavor.

I have made this recipe for a potluck and a birthday party! And I am making it again tonight for a potluck at work tomorrow! It is always a huge hit, and my hubby always asks to extra to take to work with him.

I added more buffalo sauce and it was more to my liking.

This is very good , Everyone who has ever tried it Loves it. A go to recipe . I change up the veggies sometimes but the base is wonderful. I add blue cheese itself also.

I added a little buffalo sauce to the pasta water because I like to add things to pasta water. This turned out very well.

Great flavor and texture - easy to make and will definitely make it again!

I made this for a company picnic. I did use rotisserie chicken, and celery. I also added diced tomatoes. I used a different buffalo sauce than what was in recipe. It came out great. This is a good base recipe.

The only changesI made was I substituted ranch for the blue cheese and added some shredded carrots. Great side dish

I made this dish for Memorial Day weekend as a side dish. It was amazing...my fiancé loved it! If you like blue cheese dressing and buffalo wing sauce flavor, then you'll love this. I followed the recipe much as I can. I took some chicken breast, cooked and cubed it. I didn't have Ken's "buffalo sauce", bc I accidently picked up Ken's "pepper sauce". However, it was just as good (taste like hot sauce, but better). I didn't have any blue cheese crumbs to complement it , but I used Publix Blue Cheese dressing. TIP: After a few days, if any left, add some more dressing to give it a little moisture...then alah!!

I love Buffalo Wings and I love pasta.....this is a winner! I will be making this recipe for a long time!

My friends and I really enjoyed this salad. It was delicious. I expected it to have more of a "buffalo zing", but I'm guessing that can vary dependent upon the sauce used. I had a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's wing sauce open so I used that. I'm going to try another brand next time around...there will definitely be more of this hitting the table! Thanks for a great recipe for me to share! Fantastic!

I made this as the recipe as is but used the extra spicy Frank's hot sauce. It was a huge hit and everyone loved it...a little spicy but it was really good and so different than the same old pasta salad. It was quick too!

I used ranch package dressing w the mayo and added 6 oz of blue cheese and some carrots. Everyone one inhaled this. Keeper!

This really good. I don't like bell peppers, so I substituted celery instead. I will definitely make this again.

Awesome! What a great way to re-purpose leftover chicken! Used ranch dressing instead of blue cheese. But, did add blue cheese crumbles to the mix. Also did not use onion (don't like raw onion) and instead used chopped celery. Did not add salt. Used Frank's Hot Sauce 'thick' which is a milder version hot sauce. This did not disappoint! The 'dressing' mixture makes a great dip too!

Delicious! I didn't change a thing & it's now what EVERYONE asks me to bring to EVERY cookout! ;-)

Outstanding. Easy to make! Nice kick to it. Everyone thought it was great!!

This salad is great! I was looking for something to make from what I had already, and didn't take time to chill the salad before eating, but it was still great. I added halved grape tomatoes and chopped cilantro, but it would be good without modifications. I used Chalula hot sauce instead of buffalo sauce with no problems.

This was delicious and I will most definitely make it again. I followed the suggestion to use Frank's Buffalo Sauce instead of the Red Hot. Also I used a rotisserie chicken. I used celery instead of the peppers, as that is what I had on hand. Very tasty!!

This is very good and easy to make. Nice go to meal!

Made a double batch. Used rotisserie chicken meat. For the dressing used Miracle Whip, Guy Fieri Buffalo Wing Sauce and Litehouse Chuncky Blue Cheese Dressing/Dip. Topped the finished salad with some red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, and dill weed. It has lots of pep and is creamy and so yummy. Once I drained my penne and rotini pasta I lightly coated it with olive oil let it cool and mixed everything together. This is a great side dish or a main dish. Very tasty.

It was delicious!!! I substituted Feta cheese for the blue cheese as a few family members aren’t fans of blue cheese. Also, I ran out of the “Original” Hot sauce, used 1/8th of a cup of original with the Franks Buffalo, to finish it up! FANTASTIC! Either sauce 100% would definitely work

I loved this recipe. Made it for my picky gks and they really surprised me. They all had seconds! I did change out the peppers for celery and will even add more the next time. Also used 1/2 cup each of mayo, buffalo sauce, ranch dressing , and chunky bleu cheese dressing. I did add a bit more chicken. This will be a great go to salad/meal this summer. Thanks.

This is my favorite dish to make for summer parties and cookouts - I LOVE buffalo anything, so I do add a bit more buffalo sauce than the recipe calls for. I use freshly cooked chicken and I also add an orange and/or yellow pepper for some more flavor and color

I made this recipe as is. I always like to do that the first time I make any dish. Then I'll know how to tweak it later. This one, in my opinion, doesn't need any tweaking! IF I did anything, it would be to add some finely diced celery but it is amazing just as written. I made it last week just because it sounded good. I'm making it again this weekend for a church picnic. I think everyone will enjoy it as much as I do. Give it a try! And thank you, Andrew C., for posting it in the first place.

Yummy! I added extra wing sauce and some garlic pepper. Enjoyed this.