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Buffalo chicken broccoli mac n cheese in a bowl next to a skillet full of the dish.
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Buffalo Chicken Broccoli Mac N Cheese

The terrible picture that would not leave me alone
The other day I came across this truly terrible AI picture of buffalo chicken mac and cheese, and I hated how much it made me want buffalo chicken mac and cheese. It was one of those ideas that gets in your head and refuses to leave. So instead of fighting it, I figured we might as well make aversion that actually looks like food and tastes even better.
That is how this Buffalo Chicken Broccoli Mac & Cheese happened. We have Cajun-seasoned chicken, creamy shell mac and cheese, broccoli, buffalo sauce, and ranch seasoning all hanging out in one big skillet. It is cheesy, a little spicy, hearty, and exactly the kind of dinner I want when I am craving comfort food but do not feel like making a whole production out of it.
Start with the chicken and build from there
I used half a pound of thin-sliced chicken breast cut into bite-size pieces. The package I bought was a full pound, but the box of mac and cheese was only 12 ounces, not the giant family-size situation, so half the chicken made sense.
Give the chicken a little drizzle of olive oil and hit it with Cajun seasoning. I used a seasoning a friend sent me, but you can use whatever Cajun blend you like. And if Cajun seasoning is not your thing, use another seasoning you enjoy. Ain't nobody gotta like it but you.
Get the chicken into a hot skillet and leave it alone long enough to get some color. Once one side has browned, toss it around and let the other side do the same. You do not need to cook it completely at this point. We are going to keep cooking everything together in the same pan, so the chicken gets another chance to finish.
Boxed mac and cheese is doing us a favor
Once the chicken is browned and about three-quarters of the way cooked, the pasta shells go right into the skillet. Toss them around with the chicken so they pick up some of that seasoning and flavor from the pan, then pour in just enough water to cover the pasta.
Normally I might cover pasta while it cooks this way, but these shells cook pretty quickly, so I let them go uncovered. The goal is to cook the pasta while most of that water cooks away. If you still have a little liquid hanging around once the pasta is tender, drain off that last bit before moving on.
While all that is happening, microwave the frozen broccoli according to the package directions. You do not have to add broccoli if you do not want to, but I love it here. It gives the whole skillet some color, texture, and a little vegetable moment without creating another pot to wash.
Now make it buffalo chicken mac and cheese
Once the pasta is cooked and the extra water is gone, stir in the broccoli and the cheese sauce packet from the box. Then comes the part that turns this into what we were actually craving: buffalo wing sauce and a packet of ranch seasoning.
I used about half a cup of wing sauce, maybe a little more.Start there and adjust it however you like. More sauce means more tang and heat, so this is one of those places where you can make dinner taste like your dinner.
Stir everything together until it is thick, creamy, cheesy, and coated all the way through. I am personally not a blue cheese fan, so I skip it, but if you love blue cheese, some crumbles over the top would be pretty dang good. I finish mine with chopped green onions for a little freshness.
This is shortcut cooking doing exactly what shortcut cooking is supposed to do. We are taking a box of mac and cheese, adding real chicken and broccoli, and turning it into a full skillet dinner that feels fun without asking you to work all night for it. Feed your people, make it as spicy as you want, and call supper handled.
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Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: comfort food, dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: creamy, one-pot, quick, spicy
Servings: 2 people

Equipment

  • 1 Large deep skillet or braiser

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound thin-sliced chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
  • Olive oil a drizzle
  • Cajun seasoning a generous sprinkle or to taste
  • 1 12-ounce box shell-style macaroni and cheese with cheese sauce packet
  • Water enough to just cover the pasta
  • 1 package frozen broccoli florets microwaved according to package directions (optional)
  • About 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce plus a little more to taste
  • 1 packet ranch seasoning mix
  • Blue cheese crumbles for serving (optional)
  • Chopped green onions for serving

Instructions

  • Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season generously with Cajun seasoning, or use another seasoning blend you like.
  • Set a large deep skillet or braiser over the heat and let the pan get hot. Add the chicken and leave it alone for a couple of minutes so it can get some color. Toss or turn the pieces and brown the other side. Cook until the chicken is about three-quarters of the way done.
  • Add the pasta shells from the macaroni and cheese box to the skillet. Toss them with the chicken so they pick up the seasoning and flavor from the pan.
  • Pour in just enough water to cover the pasta. Cook uncovered, stirring as needed, until the shells are tender and most of the water has cooked away. If a small amount of liquid is still left once the pasta is done, carefully drain it off.
  • While the pasta cooks, microwave the frozen broccoli according to the package directions. Add the cooked broccoli to the skillet and stir it through. Skip the broccoli if you do not want it.
  • Add the cheese sauce packet from the macaroni and cheese box and stir until the pasta, chicken, and broccoli are coated.
  • Pour in about 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce, adding a little more if you want extra tang or heat. Add the ranch seasoning packet and stir everything together until thick, creamy, and heated through.
  • Make sure the chicken reaches a safe internal temperature of 165°F before serving.
  • Spoon into bowls and finish with chopped green onions. Add blue cheese crumbles if that is your thing.

Notes

  • Matthew describes the buffalo sauce amount as about 1/2 cup, maybe a little more. Start there and adjust to taste.
  • The broccoli is optional. In the video, frozen broccoli is microwaved separately, then stirred into the skillet once the pasta is cooked.
  • If the pasta is tender before all of the water cooks away, drain the small amount that remains before adding the cheese sauce.
  • Blue cheese crumbles are suggested as an optional topping, but Matthew leaves them off his own serving.