High Protein Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese
High Protein Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese is a fun and flavorful twist on everyone’s favorite comfort food. A healthy-ish recipe for the whole family!
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: Dinner, Pasta
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dry chickpea pasta *
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons flour **
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 ounces regular or light cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup hot sauce
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons regular or light ranch dressing
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups cooked & shredded chicken
- fresh chopped green onion for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Cook pasta as directed in salted water
- Start the cheese sauce by making a roux. In a deep large stovetop pan (or pot) melt butter on medium heat, then whisk in the flour, making sure to whisk out all clumps
- Whisk in milk until fully combined and roux is thickened. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder
- Next add cream cheese, hot sauce, yogurt and ranch dressing. Whisk until cream cheese melted and all ingredients combined
- Whisk in shredded cheddar cheese until fully melted. Turn off heat
- Lastly add in chicken and cooked/drained pasta, and coat entirely in the cheese mixture. Serve immediately
Notes
* I like using a chickpea pasta to make this recipe even higher in protein, but any regular or gluten-free pasta will work fine. More notes on that below
** You can use all-purpose flour, or a 1:1 gluten-free flour to keep this recipe gluten-free
See below for more ingredient notes and substitution options
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