Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
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This baked Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese is super creamy with 3 cheeses, lots of chopped Buffalo sauced chicken and a fantastic bleu cheese breadcrumb topping baked to a golden brown. This feeds a crowd, or halve it for a mid-week dinner, too.
Buffalo chicken wings are a house favorite for party foods and an appetizer. Way back in the day when we used to go out for drinks with friends we’d meet up at this place that had the best wings. The drinks weren’t bad either, but that’s another story…
Anyways, it was a hole in the wall bar called Foggy’s Notion down in the Sports Arena area here in San Diego and we LOVED their wings. I miss them, but every now and then I make a Buffalo Chicken style dinner and that’s how this Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese came about.
Chunks of rotisserie chicken get sautéed with onions, celery and garlic, then are drenched in a hot sauce and simmered.
An amazing, cheesy sauce made with half and half, sour cream, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses and even more hot sauce that gets poured over the macaroni and chicken mixture.
And if you’re like me your mac and cheese has to have a crunchy breadcrumb topping. In mine the Panko breadcrumbs get mixed with melted butter, parsley and bleu cheese crumbles. A-mazing!
Just look at this Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese! All that cheesy goodness with chunks of seasoned chicken and spots of crunchy breadcrumb topping and bleu cheese meted over it all.
All that wonderful cheese and pasta plus the chicken is great, and did you see how I snuck in those veggies to round it all out?
If you’re a fan of mac and cheese, try my Chili Mac and Cheese Casserole, Bacon Mac and Cheese Casserole, or these Crispy Mac and Cheese Waffles. Enjoy!
This recipe first appeared on Kevin Is Cooking January 2018 and has updated with photos and a new video.
Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 oz elbow macaroni cooked and drained
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Buffalo Chicken Mixture
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 onion medium, chopped
- 3 celery stalks chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup hot sauce , I use Franks
- 4 cups rotisserie chicken, chopped (See Note 1)
Cheese Sauce
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 1/2 cups half and half
- 1/4 cup hot sauce , I use Franks
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 cup sour cream (See Note 2)
Topping
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 2 tbsp butter melted
- 1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped loosely packed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl mix together 2 tablespoons of melted butter, Panko breadcrumbs, bleu cheese crumbles and chopped parsley. Set aside.
- In a large stock pot boil pasta in heavily salted water per package directions. Drain and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil to prevent sticking.
- Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery, cooking for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, salt and pepper and cook another 2 minutes. Add the hot sauce and cut chicken, stirring to combine. Cook another 2-3 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Set aside.
- In same skillet melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute. Add the half and half and whisk to mix thoroughly. Whisk in the hot sauce, mustard. Lower the heat to simmer and cook for 4 minutes, the sauce will thicken.
- Add the sour cream, both cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, stirring to melt in the sauce. Sauce should be smooth.
- Pour cooked elbow macaroni into a 13x9" casserole dish (see Note 3) coated with cooking spray. Add the chicken mixture and pour cheese sauce over all. Stir to mix in completely. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes.
- Remove aluminum foil, sprinkle crumb topping over all and bake uncovered for another 5 minutes or until top is golden brown and crunchy.
Video
Notes
- Instead of rotisserie chicken, you can substitute 2 large chicken breasts. I poach in hot water until cooked through. Allow to cool and then chop into 1/2 inch pieces.
- You can substitute plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream if you wish.
- Feel free to use two 9x9” square or one 13x9” pan coated with cooking spray.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This is so good! Even my boyfriend, who cooks with bagged shredded cheese and leaves half the ingredients out (OK, the celery was left out by request), can’t mess it up! The onions confused me at first but by the end of my first bowl they were my favorite part. I ate literally all of it by myself (it microwaves deliciously) and now I’m hoping he’ll make it again so I can not share again. 😇 😍
Sorry for the late reply Lauren, but thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know. Makes me smile to know you guys have tried this! 🙂 #NoBaggedShreddedCheese
My kids will go crazy for this!! And so will I! 😉
Thanks Annie, tasty comfort food goodness. 🙂
One thing I miss often living over hear is the lack of proper hot wings and all the glorious mess they make. So how would I not want to cook this right now! Great recipe for our weekly B&W movie night.
Thanks Ron. Maybe you should open a Wings House and give a new treat to Sweden? In the meantime you can dig into a bowl of this! 🙂
Mmmmm……you had me at buffalo chicken…or was it mac and cheese? This sounds lovely, Kevin! YUM!
Either combo, right? All around tasty comfort food meal. Thanks Dawn. 🙂
I haven’t had my breakfast yet and am really wishing this is what my breakfast was. What an incredible decadent mac and cheese. I just love the hot sauce and chicken and the blue cheese topping…just perfection!
Thanks so much Danielle. I see no reason it couldn’t be a breakfast myself! Great idea. 🙂
This would be a HUGE hit at our house! I’ve got to try!
Great to make ahead of time too and pull it out after a day at the beach for the family. Thanks Mary Ann. 🙂
This looks AWESOME, Kevin! I love all the blue cheese on top. I normally ask for extra, but it’s perfect! Nice and spicy, too, just the way I like it.
Hey Mike! Thanks so much. I love that crunchy blue cheese topping too. Lots of textures and flavors here.
This looks decadent delicious, Kevin! Keith and I both have January birthdays, so our food lightening usually doesn’t happen until after them. So why not wait until after the Superbowl? 😉
I like your thinking Marissa!
After the Super Bowl? Yaaas! I like the way you think, Kevin! I cannot handle all that cheesy goodness! Happy New Year, my friend!
I figure why kid myself Annie, there’s so much happening with snack Game Day foods I could never be THAT good until after the Super Bowl. 🙂
I’m totally with you! I don’t make New year’s resolutions about health. I just try to moderate my bad foods. But never cut them out. Like this mac and cheese. Good god does it sound delicious. I saw buffalo mac and cheese pop up in my email and had to come over and check it out. I love the crunchy topping. This sounds like the perfect dish to get over the depression of being back at work 🙂
Exactly Danielle! The topping is fantastic, bits of crunchy and then bits of melted bleu cheese mixed in. So good!