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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Sheila England says
July 22, 2014 at 1:51 amUmmm…where am I gonna find buffalo chicken…unless I make it myself by marinating my chicken in buffalo sauce???
Kellie says
July 23, 2014 at 12:58 pmYou can dice raw chicken and cook it via sauteing pan with a little oil. Once it’s cooked, I add some buffalo wing sauce, bring to boil and then simmer for a couple minutes. I take it out of the pan and set it aside. Then use the same pan to do steps 2-4.
Heather Emerick says
July 24, 2014 at 2:49 amClick on “buffalo chicken” and it will send you yo s link for the recipe. 🙂
Heather Emerick says
July 24, 2014 at 2:50 amSorry. It will send you to a link for the recipe.
Nina says
July 24, 2014 at 9:36 pmBuffalo chicken recipe https://www.organizeyourselfskinny.com/2014/04/26/slow-cooker-buffalo-shredded-chicken/
Janice says
July 25, 2014 at 9:17 amSheila, you can use canned chicken and add buffalo wing sauce to it. I’ve done this and just stirred it into my regular mac & Cheese as a quick side dish. But the above recipe sounds delicious if you have the left over buffalo chicken.
Karen says
July 25, 2014 at 3:50 pmhahahaha Sheila ^ I was wondering the same thing!!!!
Tracy says
July 25, 2014 at 7:01 pmHi Sheila England….I just made this for dinner tonight and I added 1 cup of Franks Hot Sauce and reduced the chicken broth to 1 cup. A keeper 🙂 !!!!
vicki says
July 29, 2014 at 11:09 amYou can buy buffalo chicken in a can.
Bonnie Dunham says
July 30, 2014 at 10:55 amGet a rotisserie chicken from your fav grocery store. Shred it and add Franks Hot Sauce as Tracy said.
Launi says
August 3, 2014 at 10:52 pmIf you click the highlighted word, “buffalo chicken” the link will take you to the recipe for crockpot buffalo chicken.
Ronda says
July 22, 2014 at 9:42 pmHow do u make buffalo chicken???
Sara B says
July 23, 2014 at 12:00 amIn answer to the earlier comment about the shredded d buffalo chicken, just click on the blue hyperlink where it is listed in the ingredients section.
I can’t wait to try this. I love the idea of getting different meals out of one base. What a timesaver and a way to keep leftovers from getting boring!
Shawna says
July 23, 2014 at 7:24 amIF you click the link on the buffalo chicken listed in the recipe, it will take you to the crockpot recipe for the chicken. IF you don’t want to do that, I would imagine you could take a rotissaire chicken, shred it and mix it with some bufflo sauce…
sherri says
July 23, 2014 at 3:45 pmcan we get the recipe for the buffalo chicken to please?
falon says
July 24, 2014 at 1:34 pmCan we have a link for the shredded buffalo chicken plz:)
falon says
July 24, 2014 at 1:35 pmSorry found it my bad
Erin says
July 24, 2014 at 7:49 pmThis looks awesome!! I’m a Buffalo girl too, born and raised in the Southtowns..I’ll definitely be trying this soon!!
Lisa says
July 26, 2014 at 2:38 pmFlabbergasted that 90% of the people who commented didn’t actually read the recipe as indicated by asking how to make the buffalo chicken. Maybe you should make a picture book website since people can’t be bothered with those pesky words.
Plan on making this today.
Janine says
July 26, 2014 at 4:05 pmWell just finished with the buffalo chicken in the slow cooker. It tastes so amazing! Putting together the buffalo chicken Mac n cheese now. Have a feeling this will turn out to be a family favorite! Thanks so much for sharing your recipes 🙂
Jeremy says
July 30, 2014 at 2:31 pmDo I add the pasta cooked or uncooked?
Di says
August 3, 2014 at 11:14 amThe pasta is cooked………..but i’m wondering do we use an 8 oz box of pasta & cook it or measure out 8 oz(1 cup) of cooked pasta?
Tammy Kresge says
August 4, 2014 at 6:34 am8 ounces of dry pasta.
Di says
August 3, 2014 at 10:38 am8 oz pasta……..it that 8 oz of pasta after you cook it or is it a 8 oz pasta box cooked? Thanks!
Tammy Kresge says
August 4, 2014 at 6:35 am8 ounces of dried pasta cooked
Sarah Young says
August 5, 2014 at 6:05 pmShould it be baked uncovered? Made the buffalo chicken the other day. Husband LOVED it. The next best thing? Add it to Mac and Cheese. Genius!
Tammy Kresge says
August 5, 2014 at 7:09 pmI do not cover it. Glad hubs liked it. Happy hubbies are always a good thing!
Catie says
August 7, 2014 at 7:37 pmI substituted this with almond flour and almond milk instead. I also used quinoa pasta and it came out delicious thank you!
Hannah Temple says
September 30, 2014 at 12:04 amMade this tonight and my boyfriend and I loved it! 🙂
Jenny says
November 8, 2014 at 8:04 amI have made this several times it’s the best recipe I have come across. So tasty and simple to make!!!i love that it is made with ranch, as i am very allergic to blue cheese!! Love love it. I make it often and bring it to parties!!!
Krys says
November 9, 2014 at 9:42 pmThis was delicious!! I increased to portion size to 6 servings and used 2% milk (what I had in the house), chicken bouillon in water (how am I out of chicken broth??), and regular ol’ flour. Equaled 10 WWP+. I’ll take it! And make it again! Thanks 🙂
Krys says
November 10, 2014 at 3:32 pmOh, and I also increased the panko bread crumbs to 1/2 cup, love that crispy topping! How is 1T enough for the whole top of the casserole?? 🙂
novicep says
November 30, 2014 at 7:39 pmThis recipe was awesome! My bf is a picky eater, and he LOVED it. Easy to make and totally delicious! Very filling!
Grace says
December 9, 2014 at 10:34 amCan the mac & cheese be cooked in a crock pot?
jen says
March 19, 2015 at 12:15 pmIt lists the calories and number of servings but not how much a serving is, any idea?
Jen says
March 19, 2015 at 9:20 pmWhat is the serving size?
Kellie says
March 27, 2015 at 5:32 amwe are making a bunch of meals for a family in need to be frozen. I am making this now and want to know if you think I should bake it and then freeze it or freeze it prior to baking . thanks
Tammy Kresge says
March 28, 2015 at 4:18 pmYou can do either or. I usually bake, portion out, and then freeze. This way we can just warm it up in the microwave when ready to eat. But the other way would be fine it will just take about an hour to bake.
Karly says
March 29, 2015 at 2:06 pmOk.. I just put the chicken in the crockpot. I halved the recipe and used a homemade ranch mix I found on Pinterest. I’m pretty excited, my family loves Mac and cheese and also loves hot wings.. So this should be a hit. Thank you for putting nutrition info and WW points. I’m following ww so it helps a lot. On top of everything, you use whole wheat and organic products. This is a big deal to me. Thanks for sharing!
Charlene B says
June 16, 2015 at 2:28 pmI can’t believe I have rated this recipe yet! When I make the buffalo chicken in my Crockpot, I double it so I will have plenty of chicken to make a double batch of this recipe. (My husband has to have at least 2 nights of buffalo chicken sandwiches with blue cheese coleslaw to top). On the day I prepare this mac and cheese I make 2: one I cook on the night I throw it together and one I freeze for some other busy night after work.
I freeze it before baking it up. When I know I am going to have a busy work day, I pull it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw. Then I just get home and set it on the counter while I run around the house a bit to come to room temp before baking it off. I serve this with some roasted veggies and I have a quick and yummy dinner. This is one of our house favorites!!
Joy says
May 25, 2016 at 3:55 pmSo I must say I was pretty skeptical about this recipe- wasn’t all too sure about a Mac and cheese that didn’t start with a traditional roux with butter. But this recipe was fantastic. I’m definitely going to make this again and possibly use it as my Mac and cheese base from now on since it is great and without butter. Thanks!
Tammy Kresge says
May 26, 2016 at 10:07 amSo glad you liked it!! This is one of our favorites!
Jen says
May 10, 2017 at 6:35 amHow much is a serving (i.e. 1 cup, 3/4 cup)?
Jose Rodriguez says
October 20, 2017 at 7:23 pmThis recipe is AMAZING!!!!! Just had buffalo chicken pizza yesterday and tonight is buffalo chicken Mac & cheese!!! I’ve made this a handful of times and it never disappoints!