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Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese

The weather around here remains very wet and wintry like. It’s not really cold, just wet. Very wet. This is not a surprise being the Pacific Northwest. If I was not trying to get a fence and a vineyard in, quite frankly I wouldn’t care. However, the weather is wearing on my nerves a bit and thosegrapevines need to get in the ground and take root before warmer weather takes hold. I know, I know, welcome to the world of farming.

Anyway, this dish warms the tummy, calms the nerves and serves as the ultimate comfort food. I never seem to get enough of buffalo wings so why not buffalo mac & cheese.

Serve as a side dish or a main course. It makes a lot too so you can feed a crowd or use it for lunches all week.

I think you will like it, give it a try.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9 x 13 baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt 3 Tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken and garlic and cook 2 minutes, then add 1/2 cup hot sauce and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 more minute.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and mustard with a wooden spoon until smooth. Whisk in the half-and-half, then add the remaining 1/4 cup hot sauce and stir until thick, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, then whisk in the sour cream until smooth.

Spread half of the macaroni in the prepared baking dish, then top with the chicken mixture and the remaining macaroni.

Pour the cheese sauce evenly on top. Put the remaining 2 Tablespoons butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave until melted. Stir in the panko, blue cheese and parsley. Sprinkle over the macaroni.

Bake until bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. Drizzle with some wing sauce for color.

Garnish with even more wing sauce, blue cheese and sour cream if you like, we did!

Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese
Food Network Magazine

7 Tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
Kosher salt
1 pound elbow macaroni
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce, divided
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2-1/2 cups half-and-half
1 pound extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded
2/3 cup sour cream
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 9 x 13 baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt 3 Tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken and garlic and cook 2 minutes, then add 1/2 cup hot sauce and simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 more minute.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and mustard with a wooden spoon until smooth. Whisk in the half-and-half, then add the remaining 1/4 cup hot sauce and stir until thick, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, then whisk in the sour cream until smooth.

Spread half of the macaroni in the prepared baking dish, then top with the chicken mixture and the remaining macaroni. Pour the cheese sauce evenly on top. Put the remaining 2 Tablespoons butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave until melted. Stir in the panko, blue cheese and parsley. Sprinkle over the macaroni. Bake until bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving. Drizzle with some wing sauce for color.

Garnish with even more wing sauce, blue cheese and sour cream if you like!

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Comments

  1. This reminds me of the mac and cheese that little girl that cried all the time made on The Food Network Ultimate Recipe Showdown. Your’s seems much simpler and I might just have to try it!!!

    Reply

  8. Okay, I have blogged about buffalo chicken and mac and cheese but never would have thought about putting the two together. Just brilliant! I will definitely be trying this 🙂

    Reply

  10. The weather does cooperate sometimes and you will be surveying your glorious vineyard in the sunshine one of these days. In the meantime good call with the homey casserole:D Mac n cheese is such comforting food.

    Reply

  11. I hope the weather turns around soon. It’s really been a miserable winter all of the country!

    I’d say the buffalo mac and cheese is a good way to chase away the blues..

    Reply

  18. I think I gained 5 pounds just reading this post. I’m really trying hard not to lick the screen. This is definitely a dish for the doldrums of a rainy day.

    After reading your status updates in FB, I do feel for you trying to get everything done in the wet weather. If it makes you feel any better, it’s pretty miserable on both coasts right now! Sending my wishes for sunshine, dryness, and a well-planted vineyard!

    Reply

  23. This definitely looks worth an extra 90 minutes on the elliptical machine. As for the rain here in the valley, it usually only lasts until the 4th of July.

    Reply

  30. What’s not better with a bit of hot sauce, I ask? 🙂 Buffalo mac & cheese is definitely one of my favorites. All you need is a beer and a bit of time alone.

    Reply

  32. Such a weird coincidence I made this recipe yesterday and was just stopping by to see what you might have whipped up over the weekend! Really wierd! Anywho…. this recipe is indeed delish and kind of a modern comfort food. Great choice. You should give wine pairings with your recipes.

    Reply

  39. Seriously, is there anything better than mac ‘n cheese…YES there is…when you do it this way! Great recipe. Thanks. Btw, am trying to get to culinary school. Please check out my site and let me know what you think of the ‘desperate times call for creative measures’ road I am taking to get there.

    Reply

  44. I made this for dinner tonight. It was really really really good. I did sub half the cream for 1% milk and next time I will use straight milk. It was very rich and quite heavy but super delicious!!!!

    Reply

  49. Now this is what I love to see … new twists on old favorites. I’m sitting here thinking about how brilliant this recipe is. It’s going into my folder right now! YUM!

    Reply

  55. I just made this recipe and it was quite good. I only took about half a bowl of it and that was enough. As one can imagine, it’s very filling. Now I can go take a nap!

    Reply

  56. SO I made this last night. Absolutely FANTASTIC!!! Although, I’m not a big fan of Blue Cheese so I just replaced it with Feta. Still VERY appetizing though. My boyfriend loves hot and spicy and so do I so this was perfect! I’m still trying to figure out what main dish would go well with it though.

    Reply

  57. Yum. I made this the other night for my wife after a long day of work – the perfect comfort food! We cut out most of the butter – who made this originally? Paula Dean? – using just 1 tablespoon of butter for sauteing the veggies. Came out fantastic.

    Reply

  61. Just made this for the family tonight. I currently have a head cold, so didn’t taste much other than the wing sauce, but everyone else raved about it! There are definitely leftovers after feeding four people. Another great recipe!

    Reply

  64. I just made this recipe last night for my family. My parents don’t eat spicy food, but they ate this one and said they would eat it again! It was amazing. I’ve tried other cheese sauces before and their texture has always been off to me. But this one was spot on perfect! I’ve had it every meal (except breakfast) since last nights dinner! Great job!

    Reply

  65. Is there a link or way I could instantly print just the recipe??
    If there is, I can’t find it. I am not very good with this Puter stuff. So I need all the help I can get.
    Thanks,
    Laura

    Reply

  67. I am an avid food gawker. I absolutely LOVE looking at food blogs… but I rarely comment on them. I don’t know why — I appreciate them so much, I should write more often than I do.

    I just wanted to let you know how much I admire your blog… and this recipe in particular. Definitely going to be making this one, and DEFINITELY going to enjoy it.

    Thank you for all of your hard work — it is adored by so many more than those who speak up. 🙂

    Reply

  69. I tried this recipe once for a family party, I didn’t have it out of the oven 5 minutes before a majority of it was gone.

    Now I get requests to make it for every function.

    Reply

  70. I made this on Tuesday night. Its Thursday morning and its very nearly gone! Everyone loved it! It is absolutely DELICIOUS!!! Not a difficult recipe at all and a big big hit!

    Reply

  72. Great recipe! I made it this past wkend and your directions were easy to follow, uncomplicated ingredients. It tasted awesome. This is going in my notebook to make again!

    Reply

  73. This recipe is fantastic. I made this for my wife and we just loved it. Super easy to make, outstanding direction. The only thing I would consider doing different is making it with a hotter sauce. Thank you for a fantastic recipie.

    Reply

  74. This recipe is fantastic. I made this for my wife and we just loved it. Super easy to make, outstanding direction. The only thing I would consider doing different is making it with a hotter sauce. Thank you for a fantastic recipie.

    Reply

  77. I had been wanting to make mac & cheese for awhile but when I saw this recipe I knew it was exactly what I was looking for-even better the next day!

    Reply

  80. Assembled a double batch last night and cooked it at a tailgate today (UW Huskies v. Colorado Buffalo-seemed appropriate). Used extra chicken and substituted for some of the cheeses (Mexican 4 cheese blend, aged Coastal cheddar, Monterey jack, and bleu). Also mixed the noodles with the cheese sauce, then layered it up, rather than layering first and then pouring the cheese over the top.

    It was AWESOME! A massive amount of food, served with smoked, pulled pork on the side, devoured almost instantly. Thanks for the recipe -will definitely keep this one.

    Reply

  81. I made this last night and we loved it.My elderly mother who is 89 lives with me.I care for her.She thought the picture looked good.When I served it at supper with a salad and rolls she loved it a lot she said.She told me the next morning that she hoped I made a lot of that casserole we had because it was so good she wanted more.I was afraid it would be too hot for her but the other ingredients help cool that hot down some so it was not too bad.Very delish.I will make this a lot.I did substitute milk and butter for the half and half .And I used 1% milk and it did not hurt the recipe at all.Everybody should try this.It would be great for company or a dish to take to a pot luck or dinner somewhere.I plan on freezing part of this one.Hope that it freezes well . We will see and I will let you know.Thanks for the recipe.I just found your site and we are going to try several of the recipes this month.I look forward to following you for new and other recipes.

    Reply

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