Buffalo chicken is a staple found in our household. One of our favorite ways to eat it is in macaroni and cheese. This Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese recipe is easily one of the best! Oh, and it’s lightened-up! You’re welcome!
A couple weeks ago I made a Slow Cooker Buffalo Shredded Chicken. It is honestly one of the best buffalo chicken recipes I ever made. However, it makes a ton and unless you are feeding a huge crowd there are going to be lots of leftovers. Good thing this recipe freezes great for future dinners – just make sure to freeze in 1 -2 cup portions so don’t have a large chunk of shredded chicken to chisel apart.
Believe it or not – even though I am a born and raised Buffalo girl – I never tried buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese. Yes it is true. So tonight I decided to take out one of the buffalo shredded chicken portions from the freezer and use it in a delicious comforting homemade mac n cheese. Yes, please!
I kept this recipe super simple and as healthy as possible using whole wheat pasta, shredded cheddar, a little romano, chicken stock, 1% milk, and of course some shredded buffalo chicken breast. It was so incredible delicious. Everything you would imagine this recipe to be – comforting, satisfying, tasty, and borderline addicting. In fact, you really need to be careful cause can be easy to eat way more than 1 portion of this mac n cheese. It is helpful to make a salad or vegetable side to go with it.
Check out my other Buffalo Chicken recipes below:
Buffalo Chicken Mason Jar Salad
- 8 ounces whole wheat shell noodles, cooked al dente
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- 1 cup 1% milk
- 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup grated romano (or parmesan)
- 1 ½ cups shredded buffalo chicken
- 1 tablespoon panko bread crumbs
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- In a medium to large pot, over medium heat, whisk together chicken stock, milk, and flour. Whisk until flour is completely dissolved.
- Cook until bubbly, about 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in granulated garlic, onion powder, salt, hot sauce and both cheeses. Stir until smooth, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Place pasta in an 8 x8 baking pan coated with cooking spray. Mix shredded chicken in with pasta. Pour cheese sauce over pasta and chicken then stir until it is all evenly coated.
- Sprinkle bread crumbs over top and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until bubbly. Let sit for 3 minutes then enjoy.
The chicken for this recipe can be make ahead of time and frozen. Or you can make entire recipe ahead of time and freeze in portions. Or you can assemble and freeze before baking. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator then proceed with cooking instructions.
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