Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

At Ajpal, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

Delicious and easy buffalo chicken mac and cheese

Try this cheesy and flavorful buffalo chicken mac and cheese! Perfect for game day, parties, the weekend, or a fun family dinner.

This is so easy to make and guests love it. It’s a fun twist on macaroni and cheese that takes it to another level – if you love the flavors of chicken wings and macaroni and cheese, you’re going to LOVE this easy dinner.

We’re going to show you how to make this in a flash

How To Make Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

I used rotisserie chicken, but you can also cook your own chicken beforehand. I used about 2 cups.

If you use rotisserie chicken, it is better to eat it immediately. Reheating will cause the rotisserie chicken to dry out.

I used cavatappi pasta, but you can use your favorite shaped pasta.

I find that monterey jack and cheddar are a good combination of cheeses that pair with the buffalo flavor, but feel free to experiment with your favorite cheeses.

For less spice, use ? cup buffalo sauce and ½ cup ranch. I use Frank’s red hot, but any buffalo sauce will work.

You can swap the panko topping for crushed Ritz crackers, or top with additional cheese.

Buffalo chicken mac and cheese is easy to make! Follow these steps for a perfect mac every time.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, grease a 9×12 pan (I like to grease it with butter), and set it aside

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. I like to add some extra salt to the water when boiling pasta.

Add pasta to boiling water and cook to just al dente (rare and a little firm in the middle.)

While the pasta is boiling, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk four into the melted butter and allow it to bubble for 30 seconds once fully combined. Continue whisking constantly until it yellows a bit, into a roux – this should take about 5 minutes.

Stir cheeses into roux until combined. I like to use both monterey jack cheese and sharp cheddar because the combo of both is perfect.

Add spices, buffalo sauce – I use a 1/2 cup, but if you want a little more bite you can add a bit more hot sauce here – and ranch to your cheese sauce, continuing to mix until thoroughly combined.

Drain pasta and return it to the pot, add cheese mixture and shredded chicken to the pot and stir until well-mixed.

Pour the pasta into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly.

In a separate small bowl, melt the remaining two tablespoons of butter. Pour melted butter over panko bread crumbs and sprinkle over the top of the mac and cheese.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is golden-brown.

Tips to Perfect Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

How do you cook pasta al dente?

Al dente means “to the tooth” in Italian. It means you should have some resistance when you bite into your pasta, and it should still feel like it has structure.

It’s particularly important with this recipe to cook the pasta just a bit rare because you want it to cook to perfection in the oven. If you overcook pasta in the first step, it will fall apart in your mouth by the time you pull it out of the oven in the second.

Why add salt to a pot when boiling water?

Adding salt to the water when you cook pasta accomplishes two things. First, it helps to season the pasta. Secondly, it helps to maintain the structure of the noodles. I always add salt to the pot when boiling pasta.

If you use a rotisserie chicken from the store, use it right away. Trying to reheat it will make it dry out.

If you want to mix it up, think about using some green onions as garnish. Or try serving it with carrot and celery sticks with some ranch dressing on the side. It’s a whimsical way to serve this fun dish.

FAQs

Sure! I used cavatappi for this, but I also love how cheese sauce sticks to a rotini.

A roux is a flour and fat mixture used to thicken sauces. I love to use them in gravies and almost any kind of sauce you can think of.

My kids right now will do anything for those wagon wheel pastas. Maybe it’s just me, but I always feel like shells with cheese feel fancy (maybe that’s a holdover from it being the “expensive” mac and cheese when I was a kid.)

This mac and cheese can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.