Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Ready to level up on your mac and cheese game? Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese is just the right amount of insanely easy to make, rich and spicy, and totally creamy with a homemade cheese sauce.
Is it possible to have too much cheese? The answer is, of course, no. This buffalo chicken mac and cheese has a super creamy cheese sauce with just the right amount of spice. While it’s a totally grown up version of your favorite kid comfort food, the whole family will love this. Super simple to make and totally homemade with a from scratch cheese sauce… who could refuse a serving or three?! Use your slow cooker to make easy work of this wholesome Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese that everyone will will go crazy for.
Can you cook mac and cheese pasta in a slow cooker?
- The answer is… yes!
- It takes a little bit of a watchful eye after adding the pasta to make sure it cooks evenly.
- Cook the chicken in the broth/sauce base first.
- Add the pasta in the last 30-45 minutes and stir a few times to ensure it cooks just right.
- You don’t even need a fancy or special slow cooker to so this. I used my favorite basic 5 quart slow cooker!
Another important note regarding the pasta… be sure to use shell pasta. You need all the little pockets to be able to hold all of the cheese. Cheese to pasta ratio is an important consideration when it comes to good mac and cheese.
There’s a little trade-off here in the time it takes to make this meal. You’re going to save some time by tossing the pasta right in the crock. But you’ll take a few minutes to make a from scratch cheese sauce because it’s worth it. Really. This will be the key that makes this the best buffalo chicken mac and cheese you’ve ever had.
How do you make cheese sauce for buffalo chicken mac and cheese?
The buffalo sauce part of this dish will go into the slow cooker with the chicken. I suggest starting with less and adding more once the dish is done if you are unsure how spicy you would like it.
While I often make cheese sauces right in the slow cooker (see my cheesy buffalo chicken pasta) this time I’m suggesting taking the few extra minutes to make it on the stove.
If you’ve never made cheese sauce before it’s really just melting butter and whisking in some flour to create a thickener/paste. Let the flour cook a few minutes. Then slowly add milk and let it thicken and simmer. Finally, stir in shredded cheese.
Be sure you use cheese you’ve shredded yourself from the block when making cheese sauces. Pre-grated cheese has an anti-caking agent that will leave you with a grainy sauce.
What sides go with buffalo chicken mac and cheese?
- tossed green salad
- crusty rolls
- buttered peas or any favorite steamed veggies
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce (start with 1/4 and add more to taste when done)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
- 8 ounces shell pasta
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 6 oz shredded colby jack cheese
Instructions
- Add chicken, broth, buffalo sauce and seasonings to slow cooker
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8
- Shred fully cooked chicken with forks and return to crock
- Add uncooked pasta and stir to combine
- Cover and cook pasta on high for 30-45 minutes until fully cooked (if needed you can add additional water 1/4 cup at a time for any uncooked noodles and stir)
- In saucepan over medium high heat melt butter
- Whisk in flour
- Slowly pour in milk while whisking until smooth
- Bring to simmer for 4-6 minutes until sauce thickens enough to stick to a spoon (it will be just a little thinner than most cheese sauces)
- Remove from heat and whisk in cheese until melted and smooth
- Add cheese sauce to slow cooker and stir to combine
- Serve immediately
Notes
Nutrition
This is a dumb question but are you throwing away the liquid after pulling the chicken or leaving it in the crockpot
Not at all!! You will leave the liquid as it is what is used to cook the pasta and will be absorbed.
I was wondering if you’ve ever added any cream cheese to this recipe or if it’s even really needed? TIA
Hi Britany! Certainly not needed in this recipe but you could add a little for even more richness if you wanted!!
Made this for a potluck yesterday and it was fantastic. Only two comments. I doubled the size and found it to be a little mild. So I increased the Buffalo sauce to 4 cups (double what is proportionately recommended) and found it gave a satisfying zing without being spicy.
Also, I had excess liquid after the cheese sauces was added. Leaving the pot slightly ajar for a little bit helped steam that off. This was seriously fantastic. I want to make it again immediately.
Awesome!! Thanks for the feedback and so glad you loved it! 🙂
Love this recipe. I was wondering if you had a trick to prevent the flour/butter mixture from sticking and burning on the bottom of the sauce pan. Seems no matter what I try or how hard I whisk, it still happens. Thanks.
Hi!! and thanks!! Try using a nonstick pan. You will only need to whisk it just until it’s combined so get the milk going in right away as soon as the flour is mixed in and perhaps reduce the heat just a bit. Hope that helps!
Made this for a superbowl party and it was such a hit! It made enough that I had leftovers for lunch too. 🙂
Woohoo! Double win 🙂
Hi,
I can’t believe it took me this long to discover your website! I made this last night and it came out AMAZING!!!! My boyfriend and I are both buffalo chicken fans, and being that I also love mac n cheese, I figured I would give this a go. A+++++ For this one!
Hooray!!
I have looked through a few of your tasty recipes and they look great! But…how many servings each produces would be great
As a rough rule of thumb these are the meals I’m making for my family so most will feed about 4 people give or take. Always hard to estimate as everyone eats such different serving sizes 🙂 That being said I agree. One of my goals is to incorporate more step by step photos and measurements of the final product. So much work, so little time! 😉
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it!
This mac and cheese looks SO incredibly cheesy, creamy and of course delicious! Wish I had some to devour right now – great recipe too!
Hi,
I was wondering that if I was to use chicken breasts, then should I uhave the crockpot on high? Or would low be ok?
Thanks! Hoping to make this for.dinner tonight!
You can leave the chicken in the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours. Then just kick it up to high for the 30-45 minutes that you are cooking the pasta. Hope that helps 🙂
Thank you Jennifer for the info about the on low for 6 8 hours
I made this. It came out horrible. My noodles completely disintegrated. They were just gone. And my cheese sauce was too thick. I dont think ill make this again. Probably my fault.
Hi Evette, I’m so sorry you ended up disappointed. How long did you cook the noodles and how often did you check them? What kind of pasta did you use? As far as the cheese sauce, you can always thin it out with a bit of broth, but I’d love to help you solve the noodle problem. The most common culprit is the type of noodles or cooking them too long.