on Jan 09, 2020, Updated Mar 18, 2024 My buffalo chicken mac and cheese recipe is perfectly creamy and full of flavor. It’s one the best comfort foods around and with a super quick and easy recipe like this, you can’t go wrong! There is nothing like hearty comfort food, especially during colder seasons. We love to spice it up in different ways. One of those ways (and my personal favorite way) to eat macaroni and cheese is with the addition of chicken, some buffalo wing hot sauce and blue cheese crumbles. It’s a combination of my mom’s classic homemade mac and cheese and delicious buffalo chicken inspired by a visit to NYC and the restaurant S’mac over a decade ago where we had it for the first time. It’s truly one of my favorite comfort foods. This easy recipe is quick because while the chicken and pasta are cooking on the stove, you can prepare the sauce in the microwave by slowly mixing a few ingredients.
Ingredients/What to Buy
I love that you just need a handful of ingredients to make this yummy comfort food and most of them are pantry staples! I love a strong cheese flavor but you can really customize this recipe based on your preferences. You will need:
Pasta of your choice (this is Fusili, but feel free to grab your favorite pasta shape) Extra sharp cheddar cheese (or your favorite shredded cheeses) Milk Butter All-Purpose flour Salt Chicken breast Franks Original Buffalo sauce (or your favorite hot sauce) Blue cheese crumbles, optional topping Green onions
How to Make Spicy Buffalo Chicken Mac
Start by boiling your water in a large pot on high heat. Once the water is boiling, add a pinch of salt and your pasta. Reduce to medium heat and cook until pasta is al dente or your preferred consistency if you like it a little more done. While the pasta water is heating, prepare the cheese sauce. To do this, stir together the milk, flour, butter, cheese, and salt in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 4 minutes.
Stir the melted butter and cheese with the flour and microwave again for another 4 minutes. Stir that deliciously cheesy sauce until well combined and set aside. It’s ok to add a minute or two in the microwave if needed but you don’t want it to overheat. For the meat, you can use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken to save time. Or, take diced raw chicken breast and cook it on the stove in a large skillet. Add a little olive oil or butter to the skillet with chicken pieces and cook until done over medium-high heat, turning often. Pour 1/4 cup of spicy buffalo sauce into the pan and remove from heat. If it is too spicy, simply melt butter into the sauce to lighten the taste. Stir in the cheese sauce into the cooked pasta and top with buffalo chicken and other optional toppings like bleu cheese crumbles, ranch dressing, or green onions. Buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food! There’s just something about the combination of cooked pasta, creamy cheese sauce and the unmistakable flavor of buffalo chicken wings that melts in your mouth.
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Whether you serve this as a side dish or as a complete meal, I hope you love it! If you loved this recipe, please leave a star rating and/or comment below! 🌟 Like this post? Share it with friends!
