Buffalo Chicken Mac And Cheese
Everyone’s favorite mac and cheese just got an uplift with cubes of seared chicken breast and hot buffalo sauce. The ultimate comfort food, this mac, and cheese gets a spicy kick from the buffalo sauce to balance out the cheesy creaminess of the pasta.
I am sure every one of us has a favorite mac and cheese memory. After all we have eaten it at every Christmas and Thanksgiving meal, potluck, and barbecue. A mac and cheese dinner was the norm after a trip to the mall or the arcade. And as we grew up, we ate the good ol’ mac and cheese at our college cafeterias, office lunches, and lobster at gourmet restaurants. Ahhh… the ultimate comfort food and a nostalgic meal for the soul !
As a kid, I was all about more cheese in my pasta kinda girl. But in recent years, I need a dash of hot sauce in my mac cheese to offset the heaviness of cheese. Buffalo sauce is spicy, and has a slight acidity to it. After making our all-time favorite Buffalo chicken wings, the rest of the sauce either goes into this mac and cheese, Buffalo Chicken Taco or Buffalo chicken wraps. Oh boy !! I do love my food extra spicy.
Why you should try my Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
- It’s easy, peasy, and….. cheesy!
- If you are not a “cheesy” person, pun intended then this recipe offset the cheesiness with hot and tangy buffalo sauce.
- My pasta, when it comes out of the oven retains its shape and is perfectly cooked. The trick is to initially cook the pasta until it is firm and still has a bite to it. So, when I mix this partly uncooked pasta with the sauce and bake it, the pasta turns out just right.
- One pot recipe and you can easily halv or double the quantity.
Ingredients
- Pasta – I have used macaroni (elbow) pasta but any short pasta like penne, fusilli or ziti will work.
- Buffalo Sauce – Spicy, tangy, and buttery this sauce can really heat things up.
- Chicken Breast – I have used boneless chicken breast if you have leftover rotisserie chicken use that instead.
- Milk, flour, and butter – To make the roux. Roux helps to thicken the sauce and also prevents the cheese from splitting.
- Cheese – I have used a combination of sharp cheddar for its robust flavor and mozzarella for the cheesy pull.
- Chicken Stock – Adds a depth of flavor to the sauce. You can also use water instead.
- Chicken seasoning – Garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and salt to season the chicken before searing.
- Onion powder and garlic powder – To season the sauce.
Lets prepare Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Prep and fry the chicken
For the chicken to cook evenly and juicy, first pound the thick part of the chicken breast or cut extra large breast horizontally into cutlets. Season it well with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and salt.
Use a heavy bottom skillet that is also oven proof, so that you can finish the dish in the same pot.
Always sear the chicken in medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes undisturbed to get perfect brown caramelization. After removing the chicken, cover it loosely with foil to prevent it from drying. After resting it for 10 minutes, dice the chicken and keep it aside.
Prepare the bechamel sauce base
After caramelizing the chicken, the brown bit in the skillet adds flavor to the sauce. If the brown bits are not burned, no need of cleaning the skillet. Saute butter and flour without browning the flour much.
Deglaze the skillet with stock and milk. Scrap the bottom of the skillet to release any stuck bits. Give everything a good mix and let the sauce thicken a bit. Add cheese and seasoning.
Tip: Add cheese only after the milk is mixed well and the sauce is starting to thicken a bit to prevent the sauce from splitting.
Toss the cooked pasta and cubed chicken into the sauce
For the pasta to retain shape and not get all mushy at the end, it’s important you cook pasta 3/4th of doneness. When you bite a pasta, towards the end you should still feel it’s raw. it will cook further in the sauce while baking and will be al dente.
While mixing the sauce with pasta, it might look like a less pasta more liquid kinda situation, but once baked you the consistency will be just right.
Bake and savor the Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Sprinkle the rest of the cheese. Cover and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake again for 10 minutes in the upper third of the oven to brown the top.
Serve with a drizzle of ranch dressing and extra hot sauce if required.
Quick ranch dressing (Optional) – Mix together 1/2 cup of mayo, 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt and 2-3 tablespoons ranch seasoning.
Serving Suggestions
There is no dearth of dishes that go well with a bowl of mac and cheese. From roasted vegetables to fresh salads, grilled chicken to pulled pork, the mac and cheese stars as a perfect accompaniment. So instead of listing the hundreds of dishes that can pair with Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese, let me share with you a few of my dishes that I love to serve with this.
- Green beans With Bacon
- Oven Roasted Carrots with parmesan
- Sweet and spicy Baked Brussels Sprout
- Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
- Baked Lemon Pepper Zucchini
- Air Fryer Roasted Broccoli
Storage Suggestions
You can store the pasta in the refrigerator for 3-5 days in an air-tight container. Leftovers can also be stored in the freezer. If you plan to make a large batch and store it, then I would recommend portioning it out and freezing it before baking.
When it is time to consume, first bring the pasta to room temperature by placing it on the counter-top or overnight in the fridge. Then place it in a baking dish and bake it as mentioned in the recipe steps. This will give you a fresh and crisp crust on top to savor.
If you store baked pasta, then you can reheat it in the microwave or the oven, until it warms through.
More Cheesy Comforting Pasta Recipes
Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound Short pasta
- ¾ cup Buffalo sauce (adjust as per taste)
- ¼ cup Butter
- ¼ cup Flour
- 3 cup Milk
- 1 cup Chicken stock
- 1 pound Chicken breast
- 2 teaspoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion powder
- 2 cups Cheese (I have used mix of Sharp cheddar and mozzarella)
To season Chicken
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Mild paprika
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Pound thick part of chicken breast or cut extra large breast horizontally into cutlets.Season with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and salt.
- Heat oil in a Dutch oven (or ovenproof skillet). Place seasoned chicken breast and cook undisturbed for 3-4 minutes on medium-high heat. Flip and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove and keep it loosely covered with a foil. After resting for 10 minutes, dice the chicken.
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Season it with salt. Cook pasta until it is 3/4 cooked. (ref note 1).
- In the same pot , melt butter. Stir in the flour and cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes( take care not to brown the flour).
- Keep the heat low. Stir in the chicken stock and milk. Increase heat to medium and keep stirring for a couple of minutes for the sauce to thicken a bit. Let the mix simmer for 2 minutes.
- Switch of the flame. Stir in garlic powder, onion powder, half of the cheese and mix until you get a smooth sauce.
- Add cooked pasta, chopped chicken breast, and buffalo sauce to the Dutch oven. Give a gentle stir to coat pasta with the sauce.
- Sprinkle rest of the cheese. Cover and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake again for 10 minutes in the upper third of the oven to brown the top.
- Quick Ranch Dressing (optional) – Mix 1/2 cup of mayo, 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt and 2-3 tablespoon ranch seasoning.
- Serve with drizzle of ranch dressing and extra hot sauce if required.
Notes
- To avoid mushy over cooked pasta in the final dish, its important to cook the pasta until 3/4th done (to check the doneness, it should still have a bite at the end not al dente). Once the undercooked pasta is added to the sauce and baked, it will just be right.
- We have added salt while searing chicken and cooking pasta. Chicken stock in the sauce also has salt in it. So add more salt towards the end if required.
- If not making chicken from scratch, use about 3-4 cups of rotisserie/leftover chicken.
- The amount of buffalo sauce is just right. It doesn’t make the pasta too spicy or vinegary(sour). Adjust the amount of as per spice tolerance.
Nutrition
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