My family loves my homemade Mac and cheese, so sometimes I try to make a while meal out of it. This time, I added in some roasted chicken and Buffalo hot sauce to kick things up a notch. What’s best about this recipe is how easy it is to put together on a weeknight. Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese needs to be on your next week’s menu plan.
I have included my recipe for Ranch Seasoning at the bottom of the recipe card. It’s pretty simple to put together and great to have on hand. Just be sure to store in an airtight jar or container. If you don’t have the time to put it together yourself, you can definitely use the ranch powder packet. One packet equals the three tablespoons you need for this entire recipe.
I almost always use an elbow noodle or macaroni for my mac and cheese recipes. I just like the way it eats, especially when you add in a protein. But really you can use any sort of short pasta that you have to hand like rotini, shells, penne, ziti, etc. I also use a sharp cheddar, again, out of preference, as it stands up well to the hot sauce. If you have a mild or medium cheddar or prefer it, you can use that too. Speaking of the hot sauce, the amount I added is what I would consider a “middle of the road” amount. If you want it spicier or milder, just adjust the amount. I like to use Frank’s Red Hot for my wings, but you can use any buffalo wing sauce you like. One day I will sort out how to make my own.
This is a hefty bowl of mac, so you really probably don’t need anything with it. That said, if you want to spread this out over some lunches in the coming days, you could serve it up with a nice salad, maybe with some blue cheese dressing. And on that note – a sprinkle of blue cheese crumbles over the top of this pasta dish – would be so good!
Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 1½ lb Elbow Pasta
- 6 Chicken Thighs bone-in, skin-off
- 2 tbsp Ranch Seasoning see recipe below
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 3 stalks Green Onion chopped
For the Cheese Sauce
- 4 tbsp Butter
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 4 tbsp Flour
- 2 cups Milk
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Ground Mustard
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 3 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese shredded
- 1 tbsp Ranch Seasoning
- ½ cup Buffalo Hot Sauce plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400degF.
- Add chicken thighs to a bowl and drizzle with oil. Toss to coat then sprinkle with ranch seasoning. Toss again. Line out on a baking rack over a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Add to oven and roast for 40 minutes.
- Start water boiling for the pasta.
- Add pasta to boiling water and cook as directed on the package. Drain in a colander and return to pot away from heat.
- In a sauce pan over medium high heat, add butter, onion powder and garlic powder. Once melted whisk in flour. Let cook for two minutes then whisk in milk and let cook for two minutes then whisk in remaining seasonings and cook another two minutes. Add in hot sauce then whisk in heavy cream and cook another two minutes. Then add in cheese, a handful at a time, whisking until it's melted in.
- Remove chicken from oven. Remove meat from bones and then chop chicken.
- Add cheese sauce to pasta and stir to thoroughly combine. Then add chopped chicken and stir again.
- Add portion of mac & cheese to serving bowl. Drizzle with hot sauce (if desired). Top with green onions.
Notes
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS
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Oooo! Pinned 📌 this one too.
Thanks’ so much for sharing buffalo chicken mac n cheese with Sweet Tea & Friend’s this month.
{{Hugs}}