Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 766cal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 4 ½ cups half and half
- 7 ounces cheddar cheese shredded
- 3 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
- ½ cup Frank's red hot sauce original
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni noodles cooked al dente
- 13 ounces cooked chicken shredded or chopped
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium-high heat in a deep sided skillet until foamy.
- Whisk in the flour then the half and half. Bring to a boil.
- Stir in both cheeses.
- Whisk in the hot sauce. Simmer over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally until cheese sauce thickens.
- Stir in the cooked elbow macaroni and cooked chicken. Heat through.
Notes
- I highly recommend you shred your cheese yourself straight from the block as opposed to purchasing the pre-shredded stuff. Pre-shredded cheeses contain anti-caking agents which prevent them from melting down as well and may even make your cheese sauce grainy in texture.
- You can cook some chicken breasts yourself for this recipe or use a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. If you plan to cook some chicken for this dish, you may want to season it first. For example, a piece of boiled or poached chicken will be plain, but baked or steamed chicken will retain the seasoning flavors. If you are using a rotisserie chicken, it is already seasoned.
- The half and half is an important part of why this dish is creamy and rich. I would not recommend substituting with regular milk here.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving (1 1/2 cups) | Calories: 766cal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 190mg | Sodium: 1097mg | Potassium: 442mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1432IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 513mg | Iron: 2mg
