One Pot Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Election Day was Tuesday. I know this because Mom voted before work and Dad voted after work and they cancelled each other out the way they've been doing since 1988, and also because the TV was on all night and I sat on the couch with a blanket and watched the results come in without caring about them the way I should have. I used to care. Jess and I stayed up for the 2012 election eating Doritos on her bedroom floor and screaming at the TV. This year I sat on my parents' couch and felt nothing, which is its own kind of political statement, I guess.

Dr. Perkins asked me this week if I've thought about what I want to do between now and January. Not big things. Small things. Structure, she said. Something to organize my days around besides grief and Nar-Anon and sleeping until noon. I said I'd think about it. She said thinking about it counts. I am paying this woman — well, my parents' insurance is paying this woman — to tell me that thinking counts. She's not wrong.

I cooked twice this week, which is a record for the new version of me. Monday I made chicken noodle soup from scratch — a whole chicken from Aldi, $4.29, simmered with onion and celery and carrots until the meat fell apart. I shredded it, strained the broth, added egg noodles. It's the most budget-friendly thing in the world: one chicken, some vegetables, a bag of noodles, and you've got six servings for under seven dollars. Dad came home and said, "Smells good in here," which from Steve Kowalczyk is practically a Yelp review.

Thursday I made pierogi. Not Babcia Rose's — I'm not ready for that, not alone, not without her standing behind me telling me I'm doing it wrong. I made the lazy version: store-bought Mrs. T's from the freezer aisle, pan-fried in butter with onions until the edges were crispy. Babcia Rose would disown me. But I ate them standing at the counter and they tasted like something close to comfort, and close is all I've got right now.

Nar-Anon on Saturday. Rita brought banana bread. Homemade, wrapped in foil, still warm. She cut it with a plastic knife and passed pieces around the circle. Nobody said anything about it. Nobody needed to. That's the thing about food in rooms full of broken people — it doesn't fix anything, but it says: I am here and I made this and you are worth the effort of butter and flour and a preheated oven. I ate two pieces. They were good. Rita's son has been dead for six years. She still bakes banana bread. There's a lesson in that. I'm not ready to learn it yet, but I can see it from here.

The chicken noodle soup reminded me that I could still do this — still stand in a kitchen and make something from almost nothing and have it matter. This one-pot cheesy buffalo chicken pasta is the next step in that same logic: one pot, cheap ingredients, minimal effort, maximum comfort. It’s got that same quality the soup had — the kind of meal where you don’t have to think too hard, you just follow the steps, and somewhere in the middle of stirring you realize you’ve been present for the last ten minutes without meaning to be.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup buffalo hot sauce (such as Frank’s RedHot)
8 oz (about 2 1/2 cups) medium pasta shells or rotini, uncooked
4 oz cream cheese, cut into cubes
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and black pepper, to taste
2 green onions, sliced, for garnish

Instructions

Brown the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Add to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4–5 minutes until lightly browned. The chicken doesn’t need to be cooked through yet.
Soften the aromatics. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring, until softened. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the liquids and pasta. Pour in the chicken broth, milk, and buffalo sauce. Stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the uncooked pasta and stir to submerge it as much as possible.
Simmer until pasta is tender. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook uncovered for 12–14 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent sticking, until pasta is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add a splash more broth if it thickens too quickly.
Make it cheesy. Reduce heat to low. Add the cream cheese cubes and stir until melted and fully incorporated. Add 1 cup of the shredded cheddar and stir until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, or buffalo sauce as needed.
Finish and serve. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar over the top and let it melt for 1–2 minutes. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve straight from the pot.

Nutrition (per serving)

One Pot Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Pasta — The Soup That Told Me I Was Still Here