Buffalo Hen Mac n’ Cheese

This buffalo hen Mac n’ Cheese is a comfortable, creamy, and spicy pasta dish with 3 cheeses – Cheddar, Gruyere and Mozzarella!
PLUS juicy items of buffalo hen. No have to bake something within the oven, it’s all accomplished on the stovetop.

Nicky’s Recipe Notes

Why do I LOVE making this simple pasta dish for dinner?

• The bottom of this recipe is a consolation meals basic. Everybody loves Mac n’ Cheese. Particularly further tacky Mac n’ Cheese. Robust Cheddar for flavour, Gruyere for a extra savoury flavour and a little bit of complexity to the sauce, and somewhat Mozzarella for creaminess and that good cheese stretch (Gruyere is a pleasant stretchy cheese too)!
• We’ve bought a stunning spicy kick with the addition of Cajun spice and Cayenne pepper coating the hen, plus tangy scorching sauce and sliced Jalapeno within the sauce. This enhances the creaminess of the mac n’ cheese SO WELL!
• The addition of hen makes it a full meal with loads of protein. The hen is seasoned and pan fried till golden and juicy.
  **SUB IDEA** If you happen to like, you can too swap out the hen items for breaded hen (fry within the air fryer or bake individually), then slice and high the spicy mac n’ cheese with it.
• It’s completely customisable…
  – Need to add greens? Bell peppers, peas, sweetcorn and mushrooms make nice additions (or add a facet salad like I do).
  – Need to minimise the warmth? Sub the Cajun spice and Cayenne pepper for delicate fajita spice combine. Depart the jalapeno out of the sauce and halve the new sauce (if doing this, add an additional tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce).
  – Swap the pasta? Any quick or lengthy pasta works nice!

However most of all, it’s a simple weeknight household dinner that I do know will go down properly each single time.

📋 Substances

Sizzling Sauce – We’re on the lookout for plenty of tang on this recipe, to supply steadiness with the cream, so we’re utilizing Sizzling Pepper Sauce. I like Franks Sizzling Sauce, however any related kind of scorching pepper sauce will do. Don’t be tempted to swap it out for Sriracha or candy chilli sauce or related. The new sauce is what provides this dish its signature flavour.

Greatest cheeses to make use of for this spicy mac ‘n’ cheese

I take advantage of a mixture of Cheddar, Gruyere, and Mozzarella as a result of the Cheddar provides that basic tangy flavour, the Gruyere provides a extra savoury flavour and a little bit of complexity to the sauce, and the Mozzarella provides creaminess and that good cheese stretch!

Substances swaps

Sort of pasta – Elbow macaroni is a basic, however any quick or lengthy pasta works nice! I significantly like spiralli and penne for this recipe too.

Bacon – You’ll be able to fry up some crispy bacon, chop it up into little chunks and sprinkle it on proper earlier than you serve.

Hen Breast – is my go-to for this recipe, however you possibly can swap it out for bite-sized hen thigh items should you favor.

Watch learn how to make it

***Full recipe with detailed steps within the recipe card on the finish of this put up***

Professional Tip

Be sure you reserve a cup of the pasta cooking water once you drain the pasta. You should use this to loosen up the sauce later. The starchiness of the pasta water retains the sauce velvety and helps it to stay to the pasta.

You may serve this up household type with a inexperienced salad on the facet or dished out into bowls with chunks of garlic bread.

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• Put a big pan of water on to boil prepared for the macaroni.

• Beginning with the hen, warmth the oil in a big frying pan over a medium-high warmth. When scorching, add the hen, salt, pepper, Cajun spice and Cayenne pepper. Prepare dinner for 7-8 minutes, stirring usually, till the hen is simply cooked by way of. Take away the hen from the pan and place in a bowl.

  1 ½ tbsp oil, 450 g (1lb) hen breasts, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp Cayenne pepper, 2 tbsp Cajun spice combine

• By now the water ought to be boiling. Add within the macaroni and prepare dinner as per the pack directions. Then drain in a colander, reserving a cup of the pasta cooking water.

  280 g (9.9oz) elbow macaroni

• In the meantime, add the butter to the frying pan that you simply cooked the hen in and warmth on a medium warmth till melted. Add the onion and Jalapeno and prepare dinner for five minutes, stirring usually, till the onion has softened.

  2.5 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 giant onion, 1 Jalapeno

• Stir within the flour till it coats the onion. Prepare dinner for 1 minute, stirring usually, then a splash at a time, add the milk. Stir with a whisk between every addition of milk till all of the milk is used and the sauce has no floury lumps.

  2.5 tbsp plain (all objective) flour, 400 ml (1 + 2/3 cups) full-fat milk

• Proceed to stir while heating till the sauce begins to thicken. Then add cooked hen and the cooked and drained pasta. Prepare dinner for an extra minute to warmth the hen again by way of. Add in splashes of the reserved pasta cooking water if you wish to loosen up the sauce.

• Stir within the salt and pepper, scorching sauce, Worcestershire sauce, all three cheeses. Prepare dinner, whereas stirring, for an extra 2 minutes, till the cheese melts.

  ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper, 4 tbsp scorching pepper sauce, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 125 g (1 + 1/4 packed cup) cheddar cheese, 75 g (3/4 packed cup) Gruyere cheese, 35 g (1/3 cup) mozzarella cheese

• Divide between bowls and high with sliced spring onions earlier than serving.

  2 tbsp chopped spring onions (scallions)

Notice: In order for you the sauce to be a bit thinner then add in a splash of pasta cooking water.
Dietary data is per serving (this recipe serves 4).

Energy: 837kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 53g | Fats: 39g | Saturated Fats: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 4g | Monounsaturated Fats: 12g | Trans Fats: 0.3g | Ldl cholesterol: 162mg | Sodium: 1317mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g

Diet data is mechanically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.

🍽️ Facet dishes to serve it with

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🍲 Extra implausible hen pasta recipes

Acquired any leftovers?

When you have leftovers, you possibly can cool, cowl and refrigerate them immediately. It ought to hold properly within the fridge for as much as two days.
Reheat in a pan, on the hob, over a medium warmth, stirring usually. You’ll in all probability want so as to add a couple of splashes of water to loosen up the sauce. Be sure it’s piping scorching all through earlier than serving.

Notice: Because the dish cools, the pasta will proceed to soak up liquid, so the pasta can be somewhat softer upon reheating.

? Incessantly Requested Questions

Do it’s essential to bake mac ‘n’ cheese within the oven?

Often, you’d bake mac ‘n’ cheese within the oven for a crispy high; nevertheless, this could take an additional 20 minutes. This buffalo hen mac ‘n’ cheese is the right creamy, tangy mac ‘n’ cheese that’s on the desk shortly.

The way to regulate the spiciness of this dish?

Sub the Cajun spice and Cayenne pepper for delicate fajita spice combine. Depart the jalapeno out of the sauce and halve the new sauce (if doing this, add an additional tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce).

Among the hyperlinks on this put up could also be affiliate hyperlinks – which implies should you purchase the product I get a small fee (at no further value to you). If you happen to do purchase, then thanks! That’s what helps us to maintain Kitchen Sanctuary working. The dietary data supplied is approximate and might differ relying on a number of elements. For extra data please see our Phrases & Circumstances.