Buffalo chicken baked ziti is a delicious twist on traditional baked ziti. This dish combines tender chunks of chicken with zesty buffalo sauce and creamy cheese for a spicy, savory flavor.
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
If you love buffalo chicken dip, then you are going to love this pasta. I basically just combined buffalo chicken dip with some cooked noodles and layered that all in a casserole dish. Then topped it with cheese. It was HEAVEN. This post has been recently updated on 9/22 with new photos, recipe is still the same.
I’m a fan of buffalo chicken ANYTHING as you can tell and if you are looking for more recipes with buffalo chicken check out the other buffalo chicken recipes above the recipe. There are a ton on this site!
Ingredients Needed
- Ziti pasta - This recipe calls for ziti noodles but any type of pasta shape will work.
- Light butter - I use light butter to help reduce the calories and points.
- All-purpose flour is a type of wheat flour that is commonly used in cooking and baking. It is versatile and can be used for a variety of recipes, including bread, cakes, cookies, and pastries.Low-fat milk
- Cream cheese, room temperature
- Franks Original Buffalo Wing Sauce - This is a must and is the main ingredient in buffalo chicken dip!
- Ranch seasoning - I like to use the dry ranch seasoning and have not tested this recipe yet using ranch dressing. So, I don’t really know if that will work or not.
- Chicken - Any kind of chicken will work for this. When I make a serving of buffalo chicken dip for myself, I will use canned. Cook some chicken in a crockpot or Instant pot and shred it. Just make sure it’s cooked, or else the dish will take longer to make.
- Chives for garnish
- Colby jack cheese - Adds more spice with the buffalo sauce.
- See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make Buffalo Chicken Baked Ziti
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until al dente. Drain and return to pot.
Step 2: Make the sauce: In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add flour and whisk to combine. Cook 1 minute. Add milk and whisk until combined and no clumps remain. Simmer until thickened, 2 minutes.
Step 3: Add cream cheese and break up with a wooden spoon until melted and combined. Add Frank’s and ranch seasoning and stir until combined.
Step 4: Combine: Add chicken, chives, and cooked ziti to skillet and stir until pasta is completely coated. Top with a layer of Colby jack cheese and bake until melted and golden, 15 minutes.
Garnish with chives and serve.
Makes 8 servings, serving size: 1 cup.Â
Recipe Points:
My WW Personal Points: 9 Click here to see in recipe builder (will have to log in)
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can make this dish ahead of time. Once you have all the ingredients in the casserole dish let it cool off and place saran wrap over the dish. When ready to bake take it out of the fridge and sprinkle the cheese on top. Then bake it in the oven.Â
On WW there is no food off-limits and everything is on the table. That is why I love this program so much. So, Let’s stop telling ourselves that we can’t eat certain foods. That’s not true. We can eat them, but sometimes we choose not to eat them.Â
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PrintBuffalo Chicken Baked Ziti
- Total Time: 30min
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
If you love buffalo chicken dip, then you are going to love this pasta. I basically just combined buffalo chicken dip with some cooked noodles and layered that all in a casserole dish.
Ingredients
- 10 oz ziti pasta
- 2 tablespoons of light butter
- 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
- 2 cups of low-fat milk
- 6 oz of fat-free cream cheese, room temperatureÂ
- ¼ cup Franks Original Buffalo Wing Sauce
- 1 tablespoon of ranch seasoning (dry)Â
- 4 oz of Rotisserie Chicken
- chives for garnish
- ½ cup of low-fat Colby jack cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until al dente. Drain and return to pot.
- Make the sauce: In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add flour and whisk to combine. Cook 1 minute. Next, add milk and whisk until combined and no clumps remain. Simmer until thickened, 2 minutes.
- Add cream cheese and break up with a wooden spoon until melted and combined. Add Frank’s and ranch seasoning and stir until combined.
- Add chicken, chives, and cooked ziti to skillet and stir until pasta is completely coated. Top with a layer of Colby jack cheese and bake until melted and golden, 15 minutes.
- Garnish with chives and serve.
- Makes 8 servings, serving size: 1 cup.
Notes
WW Points: 9 Click here to see in recipe builder (will have to log in)Â
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 15min
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: â…›th of the dish
- Calories: 297
- Sugar: 7
- Fat: 4
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Carbohydrates: 43
- Protein: 22
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with WW in any way. I am just a member who creates recipes based on their points system. This recipe is based on WW Freestyle program, and SmartPoints are the value system the company bases their foods on. Some recipes will have older points system values listed in them.
Mary says
What amount is considered a serving?
Jenna says
This casserole recipe can evenly divided into equal servings.
Brianna says
What is the serving size considered? 1 cup? 1.5 cups? I'd love to try this but want to be sure it's worth it!
Jenna says
Yes noodles and chicken are already cooked. Just have to wait for it to warm up.
Malaika says
You bake the chicken within the dish for only 15 minutes? Is the chicken pre cooked?
Jessica says
How much dry pasta is needed?
Jenna says
It's cooked pasta.
Heidi says
The 5 cups of pasta seems excessive. Is that cooked or dry pasta? Thank you.
Jenna says
If the recipe is made in a casserole dish I usually just cut equal servings in the pan.
Amanda says
When you say it makes 8 servings, how much would one serving be? 1 cup?