A creamy, spicy buffalo chicken mac and cheese topped off with a buttery toasted panko. Be sure to check out the video just above the recipe for a super quick and easy visual how-to guide!
Because I literally just shared a savory recipe with you exactly one week ago, I was extremely hesitant to share this Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese recipe with you today.
This is still a dessert blog, and I promise you that there are plenty more cookies in the very near future and lots, lots more sugar. Just, sometimes a recipe is too darn good not to share right away, and this buffalo chicken mac & cheese definitely fits the bill.
And, honestly, if I wasn’t sharing this one with you, it probably would have been my Halloween recipe that I mentioned in my last post, and I’m not sure that everyone else is quite as ready as I am to jump into full-blown Halloween prep (or are you? I hope so because I can’t wait much longer!). 
This Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese recipe started out as a just-for-fun experiment. Those happen a lot around here, especially with savory recipes, and most of them don’t make it onto the blog (because we do sugar here, right? Hard to tell recently!).
This one wasn’t originally destined for the blog, but then it happened…
That first mind-blowing bite where I knew that I had to share it with you because it was just so perfect, so decadently rich, so creamy, so cheesy, so mind bogglingly addictive that my hands were absolutely tied on the subject.
It’s actually so creamy and richly delicious that I really consider it to be more of a “party food” rather than a true dinner. It’s absolutely addictive and sure it has protein (chicken) and calcium (cheese and milk), but it’s a stretch to consider this as a nutritious dinner. It’s more of a comfort food, the kind that you pile on your plate at a party and keep going back to for seconds, and thirds. However, if you want it for dinner, who am I to tell you how to live your life?
To make this buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese so creamy, I went beyond your standard shredded cheeses, and in addition to shredded mozzarella and cheddar, and I also used cream cheese and sour cream. These two ingredients are possibly the most critical in developing such a creamy and richly flavored dish.
Everything is topped off with a buttery, crispy, crown of toasted panko that gives way beneath your spoon to the best dang mac and cheese of your life.
It carries some heat, as all buffalo-flavored things do, but it’s not overwhelmingly hot (though you heat-seekers out there can feel free to up the ante with a few extra tablespoons if you dare), and is nicely tempered by all of that cheese.
Alright, that’s all for today and I promise there will be a lot more sugar in my next post 😉
Be sure to check out my easy mac & cheese recipe if you’re looking for something more classic and simple!
If you make this Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese in the meantime, though, be sure to share it on Instagram and tag it #sugarspunrun so I can see your work and we can obsess together over how amazing this dish really is!!
Enjoy! The printable recipe is just below the video.
Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry macaroni noodles I used Cellentani noodles (230g)
- 3 Tablespoons butter (42g)
- 3 Tablespoons flour (24g)
- 2 cups milk (475ml)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- 4 oz cream cheese (115g)
- 1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese , I use low-moisture part skim (170g)
- 1 cup sharp shredded cheddar cheese (115g)
- ⅓ cup sour cream (80g)
- ½ cup buffalo hot sauce (120ml)
- 1 ½ cups shredded chicken (200g)
For Panko Topping:
- 1 Tablespoon butter (14g)
- ½ Tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup seasoned panko crumbs (30g)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and lightly grease a 1.5qt round baking dish or 9x9 square baking dish with butter.
- Cook pasta al dente according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Once it has melted, add flour and stir until smooth.
- Add milk and spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground mustard), stir well and bring to a boil.
- Once mixture begins to boil, reduce heat, bring to a simmer, and stir frequently until it is slightly thickened.
- Reduce heat to low and add cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, and sour cream. Stir until cheeses are melted and mixture is smooth.
- Add hot sauce and stir.
- Add shredded chicken and cooked, drained pasta noodles and stir until well coated by the sauce.
- Pour into prepared baking dish and prepare your Panko topping.
Panko Topping
- Combine butter and olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring occasionally, until melted.
- Add panko and stir well until the butter and oil has been mostly absorbed. Continue to stir until panko is lightly toasted and turns a light-medium brown color
- Use a spoon to sprinkle over prepared buffalo chicken mac and cheese
- Transfer to oven and bake on 350F (175C) for 15 minutes.
- Garnish with parsley, if desired, and serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
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Kandy
I made this tonight and it was so delicious. I used shredded rotisserie chicken and a little extra Buffalo sauce. But otherwise followed the recipe exact. I served it with slow roasted baby back ribs and ate way too much. 🙂
I will make this again for sure.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Kandy! 🙂
Lindsay
Could I make this ahead of time?
Sam
Sure thing! 🙂
Taylor
Can’t wait to make this! Could breaded chicken tenders work too?
Sugar Spun Run
Yes, you can! I hope that you enjoy it. 🙂
Renee
Made it for my husbands lunches every one who tried it loved it and asked me to make it again!!! I absolutely love this recipe
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Who doesn’t like Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese for lunch?! So glad it was a hit! Thanks for commenting, Renee 🙂
Annabelle
I made this tonight and it was a big hit. I added some gouda and it came out so good. Thank you for this great recipe!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Annabelle! 🙂
Josée
Is it a spicy mac n cheese? I love the buffalo hot sauce flavor, but I don’t handle the heat so well hahahaha! Do all the creamy ingredients turn down the spicyness a little bit?
Sam
Hi Josee! It’s going to be a lot like a buffalo chicken dip. I would say a buffalo sauce level spicy. The cheese will tone it down a bit but not completely.
Laura
I have made this four or five times already and it is always a hit! I was super late to a party and brought a big dish of this mac and cheese and it was still the first thing gone 🙂 also made it for work! This week I volunteered to make a whole lot of it for a different work event. Wondering if I could prepare dishes and put in fridge for two days before baking several at once?
Sam
Hi Laura! I haven’t let tried letting it sit that long. It should work. Typically the longer a macaroni like this sits the more juice the noodles absorb so that’s just something you will want to watch out for. 🙂
Margie
Hi Sam, thank you for your delicious recipes. I have tried three of them this week and we really liked all of them. The lemon cupcakes, the Lasagna Soup and the Buffalo chicken pasta dish. Keep up the good work!
Sam
That is so awesome! Sounds like you have been busy. I’m glad you are enjoying everything. 🙂
Adriana
I made this for my family today and will definitely be making it a part of our Christmas dinner! So creamy and delicious!!! We all loved it! ❤️
Carol Eastway
DELICIOUS!!!! My husband loved it so much, its going in my recipe keepsake cookbook for future meals and get-togethers with family and friends 🙂
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Carol! 🙂
Amy
This was delicious! I was a little nervous at how rich it might be, but it struck the perfect balance of creamy and spicy. I used oat milk and it turned out fine. I do have a question though, can you make this ahead and freeze it? Please let me know!
Sam
Hi Amy! I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! While I haven’t tried freezing it myself I think it will freeze just fine. 🙂
Molly
Hi! This recipe looks so good and I can’t wait to make it! One question however, your nutrition label says 1 serving is 458 calories, but you don’t indicate how much is in that serving. I was wondering of you could be more specific as I am fairly health and diet conscious. Thanks!
Sam
Hi Molly! This should serve about 8 and should make about 6 cups of mac and cheese. This would be about 3/4 cup. I hope you love it! 🙂
Maria
The family loves this dish.. so delicious!!!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Maria! 🙂
Brittney
Hi there I am planning on making this recipe for Christmas Eve dinner. It sounds absolutely delicious I am so excited to try it! I wanted to know how spicy this is? I have one person who definitely wants to try it but she cannot handle extremely powerful spicy things and I wondered if maybe it would be better to cut down on the amount of hot sauce or if it provides just enough heat that you know it’s buffalo if that makes sense? Thank you in advance I hope to hear from you and merry Christmas to you
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Brittney! It’s going to be a lot like a buffalo chicken dip. We would say a buffalo sauce level spicy. The cheese will tone it down a bit but not completely. We hope that helps. Enjoy your dinner and have a merry Christmas!
Kelly
This recipe is INCREDIBLE! It will definitely become a staple in our home. Thank you for sharing.
Sam
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed, Kelly! Thank you so much for commenting! 🙂
Brittany
I am not one to leave reviews but this is soooo good! I am very picky with homemade Mac and cheese and this was phenomenal. My boyfriend has celiac disease so I made this gluten free and was perfect
Sam
Hi Brittany! I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
Nan
This has become my ultimate comfort food recipe! I substitute Trader Joe’s Four Cheese blend for straight up mozzarella and make individual breaded and baked chicken (breast) fingers with buffalo sauce to go on top and crumble blue cheese around them on top, then back into the oven for 5 minutes. Absolutely insanely delicious !!!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoy it so much! 🙂
Anjail
My family enjoyed the Mac n cheese I will definitely be making this again thanks so much for sharing this
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear that everyone enjoyed it, Anjail! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Tyler Pullin
I added grated parm, white vinegar, more butter and heavy on the buffalo sauce and garlic powder. Extra cream cheese chunks and cheddar on top before throwing in the oven. Fantastic recipe will definitely keep this one
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Tyler! 🙂