This High Protein Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese is an amazing weeknight meal that is satiating and comforting! This meal is something you will want again and again.
Quick
Beginner-friendly
You’ll Learn: How to balance heat, creaminess, and protein
Worth It: It’s a satisfying, protein-forward option that actually keeps you full
Bonus: Substitutions that make this recipe come together even faster
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy comfort Meal – I absolutely love a good comfort meal. This mac and cheese is so comforting. I love the crispy layer on top of the creamy delicious cheese.
- Perfect for weeknight eating – The best part of this meal is that it is perfect for weeknight dinners! It comes together in a little over a half an hour, with very little hands on prep time!
- High protein family favorite – Pasta is one of my favorite meals to make, but sometimes it is hard to pack in the protein. The chicken and cottage cheese in this recipes adds so protein to make this high protein mac filling and satiating. It’s not only good for you, but also a recipe that your family will love.
Serving suggestions
This buffalo chicken mac and cheese is so great on it’s own, but I love adding some extra greens to the meal when possible.
You could do simple veggies on the side, like air fryer asparagus or air fryer brussels sprouts. Or you could make a simple salad with some greek yogurt salad dressing, or buffalo ranch to keep it a buffalo themed meal.
For another high protein pasta, make this high protein baked manicotti.
Ingredients
- Pasta – I used rotini for this recipe, but you can use any shape you like. You’ll need about half a box or eight ounces for this recipe.
- Oil – use any neutral oil for this recipe. I went with extra virgin olive oil
- Ground chicken – I love ground chicken for this recipe because it cooks quickly and creates the perfect bite
- Ranch seasoning powder – ranch seasoning powder is such a great secret weapon to keep in your cabinet! It adds so much flavor with so little work
- Cottage cheese – cottage cheese is a great way to incorporate more protein. It’s creamy and neutral flavored, so it’s perfect for making a delicious sauce
- Milk – use any milk you have on hand
- Hot sauce – Frank’s hot sauce is my go to, but you can use any kind you like
- Garlic powder and onion powder – I like this spice blend to add a bit of extra flavor to your mac and cheese
- Cheddar cheese – you can get a block of sharp cheddar cheese and grate it yourself, or buy a pre-shredded cheese
Ingredient Substitutions
You can use a classic macaroni noodle for this recipe, but I love rotini because of the way it holds onto the sauce. Shells would also be a good option. For an even higher protein meal, use a chickpea pasta. You can use gluten-free pasta, but be sure to keep it al dente to avoid it breaking down.
I like making this high protein buffalo chicken mac and cheese with ground chicken, but you could make it even quicker by using canned chicken or rotisserie chicken. If you have chicken breast or chicken thighs, you could cut that into bite size pieces to brown instead.
Cheddar cheese is my favorite, but you can use any cheese you enjoy. Gouda, gruyere, monterey jack, mozzarella or even a mixed blend would be great. If you like blue cheese, add some crumpled blue cheese on top.
If you like your buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese with a more creamy texture, add in some sour cream or greek yogurt to your sauce mixture.
I find it easiest to just use Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, but you could also make a quick buffalo sauce. Melt butter and whisk in your hot sauce.
This easy mac and cheese sauce is thick enough in my opinion, but you can add a bit of all purpose flour to thicken it. Add a quarter to half teaspoon salt and black pepper as needed to taste.
How to make
Step 1: Brown the chicken
Preheat oven to 350F. Cook pasta in heavily salted pot of boiling water on the stove according to package cook time. You can also boil it in chicken broth or vegetable broth on the stovetop for more added flavor.
Heat oil in a large oven safe skillet over medium heat. Add ground chicken to the warm pan to cook and break into crumbles as you brown (Image 1). When its mostly cooked through season with ranch seasoning.
Step 2: Make the Sauce
While the pasta and chicken finish cooking, blend cottage cheese, milk, hot sauce, garlic powder and onion powder in a high speed blender or with an immersion blender (Image 2).
Drain cooked pasta and pour into the skillet along with the chicken (Image 3) and the buffalo cheese sauce (Image 4). If you do not have an oven safe skillet, transfer everything to a baking dish.
Step 3: Combine and Bake
Stir it all together (Image 5) with a flat spatula and top with the shredded cheese (Image 6).
Place in the oven to bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes. Feel free to broil for a few minutes until the cheese is golden brown. Garnish with green onions or chives and serve in bowls or plates.
Storage, reheating and Freezing
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat, put the mac and cheese in the microwave until warmed through.
Check out these other Pasta Recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
High Protein Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 oz pasta
- ½ tbsp oil
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 2 tbsp ranch seasoning powder
- 16 oz cottage cheese ~ 2 cups
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup hot sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Cook pasta in heavily salted boiling water according to package instructions.
- Heat oil in a large oven safe skillet over medium heat. Add ground chicken to the warm skillet to cook and break into crumbles as you brown. When its mostly cooked through season with ranch seasoning.
- While the pasta and chicken finish cooking, blend cottage cheese, milk, hot sauce, garlic powder and onion powder in a high speed blender or with an immersion blender.
- Drain cooked pasta and pour into the skillet along with the chicken and the buffalo cheese sauce. Mix it all together with a flat spatula and top with the shredded cheese
- Place in the oven to bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes. Garnish with green onions or chives and serve.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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