I’m always looking for sides to serve alongside grilled goodies like burgers and hot dogs, jalapeño popper chicken breast, even ribs or maybe a bacon-wrapped pork loin…

This buffalo chicken pasta salad makes a great side dish, a nice take-along lunch for work or a picnic, or even as a light summer meal… It got Allen’s stamp of approval, so here’s the recipe! 

• 1 lb rigatoni (cooked in heavily salted water) penne or rotini is fine also if that’s what you have on hand
• 1 lb chicken, shredded or diced (I used a rotisserie from the grocery to save time)
• 4 stalks of celery, cut into a small dice
• 1/2 bunch of green onions, sliced (green parts only)
• 1 1/2 cups mayo
• 1/2 cup blue cheese or feta, crumbled (we don’t care for blue cheese so I subbed feta)
• 5 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2-4 tbsp hot sauce (I eyeballed it)
• 2 tbsp really dark beer (an IPA would work just fine, you just want something with some flavor to it)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp salt

Combine the drained and rinsed pasta with the chicken, celery and green onions in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, make the dressing with the rest of the ingredients. Pour the dressing over the chicken and pasta mixture and stir well.

You can serve this right away at room temp or refrigerate it for later, if you can wait that long!

Have a great Labor Day weekend! Maybe this pasta salad will make it to your next cook out!