Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese
1 lb boneless chicken breasts
1 lb box cooked cavatappi pasta
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 cup cream (half & half or heavy cream)
4 oz cream cheese
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup colby jack cheese, shredded
1 cup fontina cheese, shredded
1 cup gruyere cheese, shredded
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled
2 cups Sweet Baby Ray's Buffalo Wing Sauce
1/4 cup Sriracha
1/2 cup Parmesan goldfish, crushed
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
salt & pepper
• Preheat oven to 350°
• Cook pasta
• Season chicken breasts with salt & pepper and cook in a skillet over medium heat with 1 cup buffalo sauce
• Pull chicken apart with fork and set aside in a small bowl with remaining buffalo sauce and the Sriracha
• Melt 2 tbsp butter in large skillet over medium heat. Stirring constantly, add flour until a thick roux forms. Continuing to stir, add in milk & cream
• Once cream mixture is bubbling, season with salt & pepper and add in cream cheese
• When cream cheese is fully melted, add in all remaining cheeses, with the exception of the blue cheese, stirring after each addition to help it melt evenly
• Start layering! In a large baking dish, first layer 1/3 of the noddles, chicken, handful of blue cheese crumbles, and top with the cheese sauce. Continue the layers until you have 3 even layers of everything
• For the topping, combine crushed Parmesan goldfish & panko breadcrumbs with 2 tbsp melted butter and sprinkle over the top
• Bake for ~30 min.
*You can use any type of larger noodle to sub for the cavatappi: rigatoni, penne, etc.
*I personally like the Parmesan goldfish for this recipe, but you can definitely use original cheddar, or mix it up with other cheese crackers like Cheez-its