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This Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese is rich, spicy, cheesy and incredibly easy to make by tossing just a handful of ingredients into a crockpot!
Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
This Buffalo Mac and Cheese recipe are so good and easy to make using a slow cooker! This recipe is packed with spicy flavor and a rich creamy cheese sauce. Mac and Cheese is a great recipe for feeding a crowd of people, so it is a perfect recipe for potlucks, picnics, parties, and more.
You’ll also love these Buffalo recipes: Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas, Buffalo Chicken Wontons, Buffalo Chicken Crescent Ring and Buffalo Chicken Roll Ups.
Key Ingredients You Need
Buffalo Mac and Cheese use simple ingredients that can be thrown right into the slow cooker. You can sit back and relax as the crockpot cooks your dinner for you!
- Cream Cheese: Use softened or room temperature cream cheese to allow ingredients to blend more easily. Using cream cheese in your filling will enhance the flavor.
- Chicken: You can use any form of chicken that you prefer. Chicken Breast is a great option, but canned chicken, tenderloins, rotisserie chicken or even chicken thighs work just as well.
- Hot Sauce: You can use any hot sauce that you prefer or buffalo sauce, however, Frank’s is a great choice to add a great flavor and heat to the recipe that’s not overpowering.
- Ranch Dressing: You will need the dressing and dry ranch mix to add more flavoring. Any ranch can be used, but a great option would be traditional Ranch or Buttermilk.
- Cheddar Cheese: Shredded Cheddar is the most commonly used for a Buffalo-style recipe, but any cheese is good.
- Pasta: Use any choice of pasta for this recipe like rotini, elbow macaroni, pasta shells, etc.
- Green Onions: This is an optional ingredient, but can be used to add flavoring to the finished recipe.
How To Make Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese in the Crockpot
- Buffalo Mixture. In the slow cooker, add in the cream cheese, chicken, hot sauce, ranch dressing, dry ranch mix, and 1 cup of cheddar cheese and combine. Place the lid on top and set on high to cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or on low for 3-4 hours. (stir occasionally).
- Pasta. Prepare your al dente pasta 30 minutes before serving. Drain the pasta and add it into the slow cooker and combine with the buffalo mixture. Top with the rest of the 1 cup of cheese and place the lid on top until it is melted. Sprinkle green onions on top with a little more ranch dressing if desired. Enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- Garnishes can also include crispy onions or blue cheese crumbles.
- All short-style pasta like elbow, shells, etc. will work well with this dish.
- For extra texture and flavor, you can top with cooked pieces of bacon!
- Blue cheese dressing is another great option instead of Ranch.
- A good 1/2 cup of hot sauce adds the perfect amount of heat to this dish, but you can use as much as you want!
- Other cheese options are Monterey jack cheese, pepper jack cheeses, sharp cheddar cheese or mozzarella cheese.
More Mac and Cheese Recipes:
- Baked Mac and Cheese
- Homemade Chili Mac and Cheese
- White Cheddar Mac and Cheese Recipe
- Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
- Seafood Mac and Cheese
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Add as Google Trusted SourceCrockpot Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 8 ounce packages cream cheese , softened
- 4 cups cooked chicken, shredded
- 1/2 cup hot sauce, I use Frank's
- 1 cup ranch dressing
- 1 ounce envelope dry ranch dressing mix
- 2 cups cheddar cheese , shredded
- 16 ounces rotini pasta
- Green onions for topping , optional
Instructions
- Place the cream cheese, chicken, hot sauce, ranch dressing, dry ranch mix, and 1 cup of cheddar cheese into the slow cooker. Stir until combined.
- Cover and cook on high for 1 ½ to 2 hours or low for 3-4 hours. Stir occasionally to prevent any cheese from burning.
- 30 minutes before serving cook and drain your pasta.
- Add all the pasta to the slow cooker and stir to combine with the buffalo chicken.
- Top with the remaining 1 cup of cheese and cover until the cheese melts.
- Garnish with green onions and more ranch dressing if you like.
- Serve!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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