Protein-Packed Cheesy Baked Buffalo Chicken Mac + Cheese

January 25, 2023
Closeup of protein packed cheesy baked buffalo chicken mac + cheese with a nice golden brown cheese crust being dug into with a fork.

Protein-Packed Cheesy Baked Buffalo Chicken Mac + Cheese

This protein-packed cheesy baked buffalo chicken Mac and cheese is so good and perfect for game day. It’s creamy, tangy and so cheesy with the perfect amount of spice, and it packs an impressive 40 grams of protein per serving!
5 from 8 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings
Calories 631 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 cup carrot chopped
  • 1/4 cup celery chopped
  • 1/4 cup onion chopped
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp Butter
  • 1 tbsp Olive oil
  • 3 cloves Garlic minced
  • 16 oz cottage cheese
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup Hot sauce Franks
  • 16 oz sharp cheddar freshly grated if possible
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 lb pasta
  • 2 cup shredded chicken rotisserie
  • Pasta water

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 350 F (or 325 F if using a convection oven).
  • Add the carrot, celery and onion to a food processor and process until very finely minced. You can also do this by hand. (see notes) Start bringing a large pot of water to a boil.
  • Sauté your carrot, celery and onion with 1 tbsp each of butter and olive oil in a wide, deep sauté pan over medium heat until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and sauté until fragrant (about another minute). While that’s cooking, pull the meat from your rotisserie chicken and set aside.
  • Using a blender, blend your cottage cheese and whole milk together until smooth, then add to your pan with veg. At this point, you can use an immersion blender to make your milk/veg mixture even smoother (optional).
  • Turn off the heat and add hot sauce, sharp cheddar (reserve about a cup for topping) and nutritional yeast and stir till melted and combined.
  • Cook your pasta in liberally salted water (it should taste like the ocean!) till a few minutes under the al dente time listed on the package. Save at least 1 cup of starchy pasta water, then drain and add to your cheese sauce along with your shredded chicken and about a cup of pasta water. Stir to combine.
  • Grease a 13” baking dish with 1 tsp of butter, then pour in your buffalo chicken mac and cheese. Top with remaining cheddar and bake until bubbly (about 25 minutes), then broil on low until the top is golden brown (about 5 more minutes).
  • Remove from oven, let sit for around 5 minutes or so before serving and enjoy!

Notes

If you don’t have a food processor, you can finely mince the carrot, celery and onion by hand, it will just be a bit chunkier. If you have an immersion blender, you can always puree the veg once you’ve added the milk and cheeses in.
If you puree your veg at the beginning, you really don’t need to use the immersion blender. I did to make as smooth as I could, but again, totally optional.
If you’re using a convection oven, make sure you set to 325 F instead of 350 F. Having the heat too high could make your cheese sauce separate, and nobody wants that.

Nutrition

Calories: 631kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 39gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 104mgSodium: 1079mgPotassium: 461mgFiber: 2gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 1487IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 545mgIron: 1mg
Keyword baked mac and cheese, buffalo chicken, buffalo sauce, butter, carrots, celery, cheesy, cottage cheese, creamy, garlic, hot sauce, nutritional yeast, olive oil, onion, pasta, protein, sharp cheddar, shredded chicken, tangy, whole milk
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

One response to “Protein-Packed Cheesy Baked Buffalo Chicken Mac + Cheese”

  1. […] about this recipe is the use of cottage cheese in the sauce because of its high protein content! If you’ve seen some of my other pasta recipes, you’ll know I like to use cottage cheese because it’s a great […]

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I'm a big eater, a huge fan of pasta (and mac n cheese), and I'm on a mission to prove that indulgence and balance can exist well together without silly restrictions or dieting. Life's too short to eat bad food!