Zucchini is finally in season and I’m so stoked, because I LOVE zoodles! Have you had zoodles before? They’re the best! They make a really great substitute for pasta, and you can even twirl them around your fork! I was telling my husband that I wanted to create some new “pasta” recipes and he immediately suggested making a buffalo chicken pasta. Uhhhh…SOLD! We all know by now that I kinda love buffalo chicken. 😉 This Creamy Buffalo Chicken Pasta turned out so amazing, and you can easily adjust the amount of “heat” you add, making it work for your taste buds!
This recipe would also work great using rotisserie chicken, which would also cut down a bit on the prep time. In case you’re looking for more ways to use rotisserie chicken and make super easy meals, be sure to check out my post from earlier this week – 20 delicious ways to use rotisserie chicken!
Every spring, we have a new bird family that makes a nest in our backyard, and it’s so fun watching the whole process! The five eggs in the nest just hatched a couple weeks ago, and it’s amazing how fast these little birds grow!
At first the baby birds look like they have crazy bed head, while their adorable little feathers grow in, and they basically sit in the nest all day long with their mouths wide open, waiting for mom to come back with food. I have to admit, I actually thought their mom was being a jerk mom when I didn’t see her for a couple of days. Thankfully she returned with a mouth full of food, cause those babies love to eat!
When the baby birds were super tiny, the mom always stayed in the nest, while the daddy bird came and brought them all food. It was the most adorable thing EVER! Yesterday I noticed the babies had really grown up and were sitting on the outside rim of the nest. I happened to look a half hour later and they had already flown off! Is it weird that I already miss our little bird family? Nature is pretty incredible!
I hope you all enjoy this recipe for my creamy buffalo chicken pasta! Happy cooking!
Creamy Buffalo Chicken Pasta
Equipment
- Stovetop
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, plus ½ cup water (plus more for soaking)
- 3 medium zucchini, made into zoodles with either a julienne peeler or spiralizer
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or ghee
- 1 small sweet onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced (I used a red one)
- 1-1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes (you could also use leftover rotisserie chicken)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2-3/4 cup hot sauce (depending on how spicy you'd like it - Tessemae's or Frank's Original both work great)
Optional Toppings:
- sliced avocado
- chopped green onion
Instructions
- Place the cashews in a clean bowl. Bring a small pot of water to a boil, and then pour the water over the cashews to soak. The cashews should be fully immersed in the water. Set aside.
- Now let's prep the zoodles! It's totally up to you, and what you want to do with your zoodles, but I typically prefer the salting method. This gets the moisture out, so that they don't become a watery mess when heated with the sauce. To do this, place your zoodles on top of paper towels and salt them generously. Set aside for at least 20 minutes, while they release their moisture.
- Heat the coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once the oil has melted, add the onion and bell pepper to the pan and sauté until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add chicken to the pan, stirring occasionally until it's cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain any excess fat/water from the pan if needed. Add the garlic pepper, onion powder, sea salt and pepper to the pan and stir well.
- Drain and rinse the cashews. Place the cashews in your blender, along with ½ cup of fresh water. Blend on high for 2 minutes, or until the cashew cream is smooth.
- Add the cashew cream to the pan along with the hot sauce and stir to combine. Taste and add more hot sauce if desired. Allow the mixture to heat up while you finish prepping the zoodles.
- Gently press the salted zoodles between dry paper towels, or a clean dishrag, to remove the excess moisture. Once the moisture is removed, turn off the heat on your stove and stir the zoodles into the sauce. Top with green onion and avocado. Enjoy!
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This looks great. I’ve never made zuchini noodles and I’m wondering if you rinse them after you salt them?
Hi Candice! No need to rinse, the salt is pulled out along with the moisture! I have a post I wrote all about zucchini noodles that you can check out here – https://livinglovingpaleo.com/2016/06/01/zoodles-101-everything-need-know/ 🙂
Do you need a high speed blender to make cashew cream or is a regular blender fine?
Hi Leslie! A regular blender will work, or even a food processor, it just may take a little more time to blend the cashews into a smooth sauce 🙂
I have a child with a cashew allergy so I would use heavy cream, what would the equal amount be, 1/2 cup?
I’d say 1/2 cup would be perfect! You can always taste the sauce and add more if needed 🙂
how many calories and fat in this recipe and serving size?
I don’t track any of those myself, but you’re welcome to add the ingredients into an online calculator, such as My Fitness Pal. 🙂
Very good! Hubby ate seconds. 😉 Sprinkled a little blue cheese on my bowl, yummy.
Just wondering how many this recipe is for? Thanks
I’d say 4-6, depending on how hungry everyone is. 🙂