One-Pot Buffalo Chicken Pasta Recipe

In One and Done, senior test kitchen editor Jesse Szewczyk uses one pan—like a Dutch oven, sheet pan, or cast-iron skillet—to make meals you’ll come back to again and again. Click here for even more one-pan meals.

Buffalo chicken dip is impossible to dislike. It’s creamy, spicy, and tangy—and paired with crunchy celery and punchy blue cheese to complement the heat. This recipe borrows that same winning flavor combo and reimagines it as a pasta that comes together in just one pot. First, chicken thighs or chicken breasts (your choice) get seared, then transferred to a plate and shredded. Next, you cook the pasta in the same pot. As it cooks and the water reduces, it forms the base of the sauce without any need for draining. Just make sure to properly measure the water you use in this recipe. Use too much and the sauce will turn out runny; use too little and the sauce will be too thick and the pasta will be undercooked. Instead of fussing with a roux, grated cheese coated in cornstarch gets added to the pasta a handful at a time. This creates a luscious cheese sauce, which gets bolstered with a generous amount of hot sauce, plus the shredded chicken you cooked earlier. Topped with crumbled blue cheese and thinly sliced celery, the pasta houses everything good about the classic dip in a comforting weeknight meal.