We are a leftover eating family, is yours? I, for one, am really thankful for that. The number of meals we’ve been able to put together with extra portions is great and saved me lots of cooking. This Buffalo Chicken Pasta was a happy concoction of leftovers in the fridge. We had leftover chicken from our Buffalo Chicken Pizza and, since MJ and I were still craving that spicy taste, I figured out another way to eat it. It’s a spicy dish, one that packs some heat. We happen to like it but it’s not for everyone. But for those who do like the buff chick, it’s (hot) heaven.
The buffalo chicken and sauce is the same we use for our pizza recipe. Tenderized chicken is sprinkled with chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper and then pan-seared in olive oil. Once thoroughly cooked, the chicken is sliced and returned to the pan with buffalo sauce and butter. The sauce is cooked down a little to thicken and the chicken soaks it up. (Yum!!)
The chicken and sauce is tossed with cooked pasta, feta and green onions. I would say the green onions are the game changer in the dish, adding their little crunch, but that would leave out the feta and oh the feta. Add in avocado chunks to temper the heat and dinner is served.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, tenderized
- paprika
- chill powder
- salt & pepper
- olive oil
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup buffalo sauce
- 12oz cooked pasta
- 1/2 cup feta crumbles (more for garnish)
- 1/2 cup green onion, chopped (more for garnish)
- Avacado chunks, optional
Instructions
- Tenderize the chicken breast well.
- Sprinkle the chicken with paprika, chill powder, salt and pepper on both sides and rub it in.
- Drizzle a saucepan with olive oil and place over medium heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook the chicken breasts until no pink remains. (Watch out for hot oil splatter!)
- While the chicken cooks, microwave buffalo sauce and butter together until the butter melts.
- Once the chicken is cooked, take the chicken out of the pan and slice. Return to the pan.
- Pour the buffalo butter mix on top of the sliced chicken and cook for 3-5 minutes to thicken the sauce. Make sure all the chicken get covered.
- Once the sauce has thickened up a little, remove the pan from the heat.
- Combine the chicken and sauce, cooked pasta, feta crumbles and green onions in a large bowl and toss well.
- The dish is best when served cool.
Notes
To lessen the heat, after removing the chicken and sauce from the heat, add just the chicken to the pasta, not the extra sauce. If that is still too heated, add more pasta.
