Make these Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells for a delicious twist on traditional stuffed shells. Combine the spicy kick of buffalo chicken with creamy cheese and pasta. Fill each shell with a mixture of shredded chicken, buffalo sauce, cream cheese, and ranch dressing, then bake them to perfection. Try my Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Shells for another variation of this dish.
Buffalo sauce is a great way to add a twist to any dish. My Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese is another great cheesy pasta dish benefiting from this combination. Try my Buffalo Chicken Salad for a lighter dish, or my Buffalo Chicken Dip (with canned chicken) for a quick and easy appetizer.
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Ingredients
This recipe for Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells is great when you have leftover chicken to use, either from a rotisserie chicken, a baked chicken or roasted chicken breasts.
- Shredded Chicken - chicken breasts or a rotisserie chicken work great
- Jumbo Pasta Shells
- Ranch Dressing
- Prepared Buffalo Sauce
- Cream Cheese
- Grated Mozzarella
- Green Onion (for topping)
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells
Start by setting your oven to 350F with a rack in the middle position.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a tablespoon of salt to it. Cook the jumbo shells until al dente. When cooked, remove from the water and set on a large plate.
In a large bowl, mix together the softened cream cheese, buffalo sauce, and ranch sauce.
TIP: If taking the cream cheese out of the refrigerator, microwave it for 45 seconds to soften it.
Once the cream cheese mixture is smooth, add in the shredded chicken.
Mix in the chicken until well combined.
Fill 24 of the cooked jumbo shells with the chicken mixture. Place them in a greased baking pan.
Sprinkle the dish with the grated mozzarella. Place in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until heated through.
Remove the Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells from the oven. Drizzle with a little more buffalo sauce. Top the dish with chopped green onions and bacon bits.
Substitutions and Variations
- Ranch Dressing - Replace the Ranch in the recipe with Cesar dressing.
- Cheese - Substiture the mozzarella cheese with any type of cheese you have.
- Toppings - If you are fan of blue cheese, it goes great crumbled on this dish.
Storing leftover pasta shells
Store any remaining Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells in an airtight containers to prevent the pasta shells from drying out. Place in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. These also freeze very well if you want to keep them for up to a month in the freezer.
Recipe
Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Shells
Ingredients
- 1 box Jumbo Pasta Shells
- 3½ cups shredded chicken from 2-3 chicken breasts
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese softened
- ½ cup Buffalo Sauce plus more to drizzle on top
- ? cup Ranch Dressing
- 1 cup Grated Mozzarella
- 1 large Green Onion finely sliced
- ¼ cup Bacon Bits (optional topping)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F with an oven rack in the middle position.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add in a tablespoon of salt. Cook the jumbo pasta shells as per directed on the package. Drain the cooked shells and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the softened cream cheese, the buffalo sauce and the ranch dressing. (This works best if you microwave the cream cheese for 45 seconds to soften it.)
- Use a spoon to fill 24 cooked jumbo shells with the buffalo chicken mixture. Place them in a greased baking dish.
- Sprinkle the grated cheese over the filled shells. Place the baking dish in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden on top.
- Take the baked shells out of the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Drizzle the shells with buffalo sauce and sprinkle them with the chopped green onion.
