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Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese is an easy one-pot recipe with tender bites of chicken and macaroni pasta in a slightly spicy cheese sauce. Perfect for an easy weeknight dinner!
Table of Contents
Easy Buffalo Chicken Pasta Recipe
Enjoy the ultimate comfort food with this spicy twist on classic mac and cheese. Creamy, cheesy pasta combined with buffalo chicken creates the perfect balance of flavors for a truly satisfying meal.
This Buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese recipe is a true one-pan meal with minimal prep. You don’t have to drain the pasta, there’s no flour and no roux. Best of all, there’s only one pot to clean!
I love whipping up this easy recipe on busy weeknights or Friday nights when we have our “movie and mac” and I let the family eat in front of the TV. It also is perfect for game days during Football season! Serve with celery sticks, carrots and ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing on the side.
If you love homemade macaroni and cheese recipes, try my stove top mac and cheese or mac and cheese with ham.
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients from the grocery store for this one pot pasta. Full ingredient amounts and directions are in the printable recipe card below.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts — cut into bite sized pieces
- Butter — for cooking the chicken and in the sauce
- Sea salt and black pepper — to season the chicken
- Buffalo sauce — I like Frank’s Red Hot. We use the milder wing sauce, but you can use regular or your favorite brand of hot sauce.
- Pasta — elbow macaroni noodles or any short pasta shape, like shells
- Water — to cook the pasta. I usually like using chicken broth in homemade mac, but there is a lot of flavor from the sauce.
- Heavy cream — for the creamy sauce
- Cream cheese — makes the sauce thick and cream without using a roux. Use room temperature cream cheese, cut into cubes so it blends easily
- Cheese — a combination of shredded cheddar cheese and Colby Jack cheese and American cheese
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
First, cook the chicken in a little melted butter and some of the Buffalo sauce over medium-high heat, and season with salt and pepper. Then, remove the cooked chicken to a clean plate or bowl, and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
Next, add water to the same pot you cooked the chicken in, and bring to a boil. There will be some leftover sauce, but that just ads flavor to the pasta. When the pasta is nearly al dente, stir in the heavy cream and remaining Buffalo sauce on medium heat. The pasta will finish cooking in a few minutes.
Then, stir in the cream cheese, remaining butter and cheese, one cup at a time. Finally, stir the cooked chicken and any leftover sauce from the chicken into the cheesy sauce.
Give the pasta a quick taste before serving. You can stir in a little more wing sauce if you want spicier pasta. Or serve with additional sauce on the side, so folks can help themselves.
Storage
Store leftover Buffalo macaroni n cheese in an airtight container in your refrigerator for 3-5 days. We usually reheat smaller portions in the microwave, but you can do this on the stove, as well. You can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months in a freezer safe container.
Recipe Tip
Grate your own cheese for best results.
Use rotisserie chicken to make this recipe even easier!
Add a little more wing sauce at the end for spicer pasta.
More Buffalo Chicken Recipes
Try my Buffalo chicken casserole or Instant Pot Buffalo chicken pasta or Instant Pot Buffalo chicken dip and crockpot Buffalo chicken sandwiches next!
Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 pound boneless chicken breast cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ⅓ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ cup Buffalo Sauce divided
- 4 cups water
- 16 oz elbow macaroni
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 4 oz cream cheese cubed, at room temperature
- 2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup shredded Colby Jack Cheese
- 4 oz American Cheese about 4 slices
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter on medium heat
- Add chicken and ¼ cup Buffalo sauce. Season with salt and pepper, and cook over medium high heat
- Turn off heat, and remove chicken to a clean plate or bowl, and cover with aluminum foil
- In the same pot, add water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat
- Add the macaroni, and cook until just before al dente, about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Reduce heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and remaining 1/4 cup Buffalo sauce. Allow to simmer on medium heat until pasta is done, about 3 minutes more
- Add the remaining tablespoon butter and cream cheese, and stir until melted
- Reduce heat to low or medium low, and stir in 1 cup of cheese at a time until cheese melts and cheese sauce is creamy
- Stir the chicken back into the pot until well blended with the creamy sauce
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I could mac n cheese every day of my life! Changed it up with this recipe! It was a great hit with the family! A new choice for mac n cheese!
So glad you liked the recipe, Jeff. Thanks!