Buffalo Chicken Alfredo

Take everything you love about buffalo chicken wings and turn it into a gourmet, Italian-style pasta dish that everyone will love!

Prep: 15

Cook: 25

Total: 40

Yield:6 servings

½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 8-ounce package full-fat cream cheese at room temperature, cut into small pieces
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 ½ cups whole milk at room temperature
¼ cup buffalo sauce store-bought or make your own
6 ounces grated fresh Monterey Jack cheese at room temperature; approximately 1 ½ cups
freshly cracked black pepper to taste, see Notes

1 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature
2 medium grilled chicken breasts approximately 6 ounces each, chopped into bite-sized pieces; approximately 2 cups chopped grilled chicken

Fill large pot with 16 cups water and place pot on stovetop over medium-high heat. Bring water to rolling boil.
When water begins to boil, add 1 tablespoon salt and stir to incorporate. Continue heating until water resumes rolling boil.
Once salted water begins to boil, add 1 pound uncooked penne and stir to incorporate. Boil penne according for time indicated on package instructions, until pasta is al dente.
When pasta is cooked to al dente, pour water and pasta into colander. Drain pasta well and set aside.

While pasta cooks, add ½ cup unsalted butter to medium saucepan and place saucepan on stovetop over medium heat. Heat pan until butter has melted, swirling and tilting pan occasionally to distribute butter across entire surface.
Once butter has melted, remove saucepan from heat and add 1 8-ounce package full-fat cream cheese and 2 teaspoons garlic powder. Whisk ingredients together until fully incorporated into smooth mixture.
Slowly add 1 ½ cups whole milk in small increments, whisking constantly to smooth out any lumps before adding more milk.
After adding all milk, add ¼ cup buffalo sauce and 6 ounces grated fresh Monterey Jack cheese. Whisk to incorporate, then return saucepan to heat. Add freshly cracked black pepper and continue whisking until cheese has completely melted and ingredients are fully incorporated.
Continue whisking until sauce thickens to desired consistency, then remove saucepan from heat and set aside. Stir sauce often to keep sauce from separating or cooling too much. If sauce becomes too thick, whisk in small amounts of milk until desired consistency is achieved.

Return pot used for pasta to stovetop over low heat. Add 1 tablespoon unsalted butter to pot and heat until butter is melted, swirling and tilting pot occasionally to distribute butter across entire surface.
When butter is melted, add 2 medium grilled chicken breasts (chopped into bite-sized pieces) to pot and stir to incorporate into melted butter. Cover pot with lid and warm chicken in pot until chicken is heated through completely, approximately 6 to 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking or burning. Be careful not to warm chicken too long or chicken may become dry and tough.
Once chicken is reheated, add prepared buffalo alfredo sauce to pot with chicken. Stir to incorporate, then add prepared penne pasta. Stir gently, making sure to coat pasta in sauce completely, then let chicken alfredo rest over low heat 3 minutes or until sauce is warmed as desired.

Divide prepared buffalo chicken alfredo evenly into serving bowls. Drizzle additional buffalo sauce over top of pasta (optional), then top each serving with ½ cup crumbled blue cheese and ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions, divided as desired. Serve warm.

Pasta: Any type of pasta will work fine in this recipe, so feel free to use rotini, elbows, fettucini, etc.
Chicken: If you don't have grilled chicken handy, use any type of already-cooked chicken (rotisserie is great!) or you can cook chicken specifically for your alfredo. Grilled is recommended, but not a requirement.
Dairy Products: Make sure all of your dairy products are at room temperature before starting this recipe. If not, the dairy products can curdle, seize, or separate, which will ruin your sauce.
Monterey Jack: Grate your own Monterey Jack from a fresh block, rather than buying it already-grated. Pre-packaged shredded and grated cheese have added starches to keep them from clumping. Those additives also keep them from melting well, which can make your sauce grainy or gritty.
Black Pepper: You're welcome to use as much or as little as you like, but I strongly encourage you to use plenty of black pepper in the sauce. It really makes a difference to the overall flavor!
Make it Gluten Free: Use gluten-free pasta. Double check that none of your other ingredients contain any hidden glutens or at risk of cross-contamination, depending on your sensitivity levels.
Make it Vegetarian: Replace the chicken with plain tofu or buffalo tofu, or omit the protein component entirely and enjoy the sauce and pasta on their own.