Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
This Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese is a great creamy, cheesy mac with an extra delicious layer of spicy buffalo chicken. We always love having hot sauce with our mac, and now it is built right in.
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 cups 3% milk
- 6 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup AP flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
- 1 tsp mustard powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 5 cups sharp cheddar cheese grated
- 1/2 cup Parmesan grated
- 1 lb macaroni
- 2 cups cooked chicken shredded
- 1/2 cup hot sauce
Panko Crumb Topping
- 1 cup panko crumbs
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 2 Tbsp butter melted
Instructions
- Butter a 3-quart casserole dish or two smaller dishes. If I do two, I usually will put one in the freezer to have later. You just have to thaw and bake accordingly.
- Toss the panko with the grated Parmesan cheese and melted butter and mix to combine, then set aside.
- Fill a large pot with salted water and heat over high heat.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, mix the shredded chicken and hot sauce until the chicken is well coated, set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, set over medium warm the milk, but do not allow it to boil.
- Melt the 6 Tbsp of butter in a second medium saucepan over medium heat.
- When the butter is melted and bubbling, add the flour and whisk, cooking for 1 minute.
- Continue to whisk while slowly adding the warmed milk a bit at a time until it is all incorporated. Let the mixture thicken and bubble while whisking constantly for 3 – 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat when thickened and add the kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic powder, mustard powder and onion powder. Whisk to combine.
- Then add the 5 cups of grated sharp cheddar cheese and the ½ cup parmesan cheese. Set aside but stir it occasionally to prevent a skin from forming on the top.
- Once the water is boiling, cook the macaroni as per the package directions to al dente. You will want the pasta slightly undercooked as it will continue to cook in the oven while baking. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water.
- Stir the cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce.
- Pour half the macaroni and cheese sauce into the casserole dish; if using two casserole dishes, pour 1/4 of the macaroni and sauce into each smaller casserole dish.
- Add all of the shredded chicken; again, if using two smaller casserole dishes, divide the shredded chicken between the two dishes.
- Top with the remainder of the macaroni and cheese sauce. If you are freezing one of the casseroles, allow to cool and cover with plastic wrap then foil. Place ½ the panko mixture into a zip lock bag and freeze with the casserole.
- Sprinkle the panko crumb mixture on top and bake for 30 – 45 minutes or until browned on top and bubbling. If the topping is browning too much, cover with foil.
- Let cool for 5 – 10 minutes before serving.
Equipment
Nutrition
Serving: 1Calories: 789kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 40gFat: 48gSaturated Fat: 26gPolyunsaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 156mgSodium: 1464mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2g
Nutrition calculation is an estimation only. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!