Buffalo Chicken Mac ‘N’ Cheese Casserole
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For some reason, I have been craving comfort food lately. It is probably not a good thing, considering I am going to Africa to the beach for three weeks, one month exactly from today! Oh well, what can you do. Cheese is one of my biggest weaknesses. I could probably eat an entire block of cheese as a snack, but I am getting off the topic.
This casserole is to die for, the ultimate dinner for cheese lovers or anybody who loves Frank’s Red Hot buffalo wing sauce. The bread cubes give it an awesome crunch and the cheesy buffalo goodness makes this one of the best comfort casseroles. My advice to you is to indulge yourself with this one, even if you try to eat healthy.
Buffalo Chicken Mac ‘N’ Cheese Casserole
This casserole is to die for, the ultimate dinner for cheese lovers or anybody who loves Frank's Red Hot buffalo wing sauce. The bread cubes give it an awesome crunch and the cheesy buffalo goodness makes this one of the best comfort casseroles.
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 8 slices white bread cubed into small pieces
- 5 cups low-fat milk
- 1/2 cup flour
- 3 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 5 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 cups grated jack cheese
- 1 pound cooked pasta al dente
- 1 lb cooked shredded chicken
- 1/2 yellow onion chopped
- 3/4 cup Frank’s Red Hot buffalo wing sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F and grease a 3 quart casserole dish.
- In a large saucepan, melt 6 tbsp of the butter then whisk in the flour. Continue to whisk the mixture until golden brown (about 3 minutes).
- Slowly add the milk to the mixture, continuing to whisk to break up clumps. Continue to whisk the mixture until it thickens (about 10 minutes).
- Add the seasonings, 4 cups of the cheddar cheese and 2 cups of the jack cheese to the mixture, continuing to stir until all of the cheese is melted.
- In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, buffalo sauce and onions and toss until well mixed.
- To build the casserole, place a layer of noodles over the bottom of the dish, then layer with the cheese sauce, shredded cheddar cheese and buffalo chicken, repeating until all of the food is layered.
- Melt 2 tbsp butter and toss with the bread cubes, then spread across the top of the casserole.
- Bake at 375F until top is golden brown and cheese is bubbling (about 30 minutes).
You’ve totally just combined 2 of my favorite things! I can’t wait to try this out!
This looks delicious! I have a buffalo chicken & blue cheese mac n cheese that I love, but I’ve never put bread on top. Yours looks absolutely yummy! And – why not indulge a little before vacation? I think you deserve it!
Wow, this looks great and sounds delicious! Easy too. My kids love these flavors I’ll have to tell them about this recipe!!!
Yum! Love the combination. Great idea.
This looks fantastic–I can’t wait to try it!
I just made this like 2wks ago on my blog,isnt it amazing?!
Definitely try adding the bread topping, even though I burnt mine a bit, it made it so tasty with that extra crunch!
I know right?! I love both as well. I also have a Mac ‘N’ Cheese Soup with Buffalo Chicken Fries post, I think you might like. Here is the link: https://savourthesensesblog.com/mac-‘n’-cheddar-broccoli-soup/ =)
That is awesome, and yes it is! The best flavors.
Mac and cheese + buffalo chicken……I am all over this. Two of my favorite things.
What a great recipe..love how you made it! This is a must try and I think my kids will love it!!!
So much cheese! I’m in love.
Wow this looks sooo delicious, Jenny! I’ll take a serving of this now, please! 🙂
I’m definately saving this!
You are so, so bad and I love it!! This is such a common flavor combo in such an uncommon format! Since I don’t like pasta, I could always use more bread cubes and make it into more of a strata type thing. A-mazing!
This sounds delicious. We like to eat healthy, but I don’t believe in depriving myself, and both pasta and cheese are on my must eat list. I think you could make this recipe far lower in fat and still have all of the flavor. Whenever I make a white sauce (béchamel) I always use olive oil instead of butter, and just enough to moisten all of the flour, so in this recipe you may only need 3 T, or less. I think you could use half the amount of cheese without losing any flavor since you are using sharp cheese with a strong flavor, and you could use a 2% cheese if you wanted to lower the fat even more. I probably wouldn’t use more than a tsp of salt, but that would be to taste. Also, try a handful of Panko breadcrumbs as a crunchy topping, no butter needed, yum. All the comfort, but a little healthier! PS I make a lot of your recipes, and love them, especially the spinach, feta quiche (which I make with egg beaters)! Thanks, keep up the good work!
I feel the same way. Yeah, I usually use skim milk when cooking and try to cook with as little salt as possible. I didn’t know that you could substitute olive oil for the butter in a roux though, good to know! Thanks =)
What a wonderful recipe. I love the buffalo chicken flavor.
I just found this recipe and it looks fantastic…I can’t wait to try it! Just two questions though, how long did you put it in the oven for at the end and did you cover it?
Ah so sorry I didn’t even realize that I forgot to add the cook time! You cook it for about 30 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and the bread crumbs are golden. I turned my broiler on high for a minute or two at the end to get them really crispy (but don’t burn them like I did! haha). No covering needed, the crispier the bread the better =)
Pardon my ignorance – but how do you print these recipes?
Ah no you are not ignorant at all! I have been meaning to make a print button for everything but I am not that good with building websites yet. I will be putting up a print button ASAP!, in the next few days =)
I love anything Buffalo Chicken, so I’m sure I would LOVE this! I will definetly be trying this!
Wow and wow!!!!!!!
I have finally added a print button to my posts, it is at the bottom right of each post =)
Oh my goodness, this looks too good – would be a HUGE hit in our home. Let’s see, we are expecting 50 degrees and rain for the next FIVE days so I think this recipe might be deserved.
The greatest food since sliced bread!
hahaha and that might not be an exaggeration!
What an Amazing recipe!!! I will be making this one for sure!
This recipe looks awesome! I love anything “buffalo style”! Can’t wait to make it!
It came out awful when I made it but Im horrible at cooking!
Being a vegetarian I skipped the chicken, used quinoa pasta, added in some frozen mashed butternut squash and it came out realy yummy. I used less cheese and milk too to cut down a little on the calories.
This recipe is so good, my family loves it!