A gluten free Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese, for when only indulgent comfort food will do! This baked macaroni and cheese recipe is made with a layer of spicy buffalo chicken, and a rich white cheddar cheese sauce.Â
*Today I’m partnering with Sharp Home USA ~ Sharp creates quality home appliances that make life easier! I’ve been using the Superheated Steam Countertop Oven for the past few months, and can’t wait to share how it makes cooking healthy meals easier. Thanks for supporting me and the brands I work with. I only share this space with the very best.
Contents
Making the Perfect White Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Years ago, I worked in a fondue restaurant. We made cheese fondue at the table — which sounds intimidating, but once you’ve learned to make it, it’s super simple. We didn’t even measure the ingredients!
Fondue starts with a liquid base — beer, wine, or even broth, which is what I’ve chosen to use here.
The cheese is shredded, and then lightly coated with flour. To keep this gluten free, I used arrowroot.
The broth is flavored simply with garlic and mustard powder.
Once that’s mixed together and warmed, start pouring the cheese in, starting with about half. Use a fork to “whisk” the cheese into the broth, and as it melts, it will become a thick cheesy sauce, perfect for coating macaroni noodles.
The tricky part in making fondue is having a cooktop that will allow for a low temperature that will melt, but not burn the cheese.
I used my Sharp Induction Cooktop for this task. It has a simmer enhancer feature that is perfect for delicate sauces, like cheese, chocolate, or cream-based dishes.
I quickly heated the pasta water by using the Power Boost feature (my favorite feature – I am impatient!), and after the pasta was nearly finished, I started making a creamy cheese sauce.
The Sharp Induction Cooktop has a “Keep Warm” function, which makes it easy to cook multiple dishes or components, like this buffalo chicken mac and cheese.
An Easy Buffalo Chicken Recipe
It’s best to use a whole chicken in this recipe. A whole chicken takes only 50 minutes to bake in the Sharp Superheated Steam Countertop Oven. Season it simply with salt, pepper, and paprika. I like to add some sage and thyme for an extra boost of flavor.
Save time by buying a precooked chicken, if that better fits your schedule!
After pulling all the chicken off, it’s as simple as melting butter and buffalo wing hot sauce in a pan, and coating the chicken. You can also do this with chicken breasts — cook them, shred them, and add them in. I’ve made it both ways but we definitely prefer the whole chicken — plus, it makes this dish fast to put together and get in the oven!
This creamy comfort food casserole is enough for 8 servings — but instead of heating up my entire oven for 1 casserole, I baked it in my Sharp Superheated Steam Countertop Oven.
If you love wing sauce like I do, but aren’t a huge fan of the deep fried chicken pieces, this is such a fun way to enjoy the flavors!
Layer for the Best Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Get this casserole ready for the oven in these easy steps:
- Boil macaroni noodles
- Prepare the chicken by melting butter in a pan, and mixing in Buffalo Wing Sauce
- Make gluten free breadcrumbs by blending brown rice crackers
- Whisk together the easy cheese sauce — only 5 ingredients! And about a MILLION times better than a store bought mac and cheese!
I love a layer of buffalo chicken at the bottom of the pan, topped with the creamy white cheddar macaroni and cheese, and then a crunchy layer of toasted breadcrumbs on top.
Put it into the Sharp Superheated Steam Countertop Oven, and broil just long enough to toast the breadcrumbs and heat the casserole all the way through!
Ooooh, that crunchy layer!
Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Baked Whole Chicken
- 4 pound chicken* whole
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon sage
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- black pepper to taste
Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
- 1 pound macaroni noodles gluten free, if necessary
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup buffalo wing hot sauce
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs gluten free (brown rice crackers, blended into a flour)
White Cheddar Cheese Sauce
- 2/3 cup chicken broth
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
- 4 cups aged white cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 1/2 tablespoons arrowroot
Instructions
Baked Chicken
- Rub chicken with salt and spices, and place in a shallow baking dish.
- Bake in the Sharp Superheated Steam Countertop Oven on 425º F for 50 minutes on the BAKE/REHEAT setting.
- If baking in a conventional oven, preheat the oven to 425º F. Cover the chicken and baking dish with foil tightly, and bake for 1 hour. Uncover, and bake for another 30 minutes to brown.
- Once chicken has cooled some, remove the chicken from the bones and shred into bite-sized pieces.
Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
- Boil water and cook pasta per package instructions.
- Prepare the buffalo chicken by melting butter in a frying pan, and then adding the hot sauce. Add the shredded chicken and mix to coat.
- Add the buffalo chicken to the base of a 9x9 baking dish.
- Prepare cheese sauce by adding the broth to a saucepan over low heat. Set the Sharp Induction Cooktop to level 1 for the simmer enhancer feature. If using a standard cooktop, turn on the lowest setting.
- Add mustard powder and garlic to the broth, and stir until the broth has warmed.
- Sprinkle the cheese with arrowroot, and stir to gently coat.
- Add the cheese to the broth, and use a fork to mix it together well. "Whisk" the cheese until a very smooth and slightly thin cheese sauce as formed. If the sauce seems too thick, add a little more broth to thin it out so it easily coats the pasta.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the drained pasta, and mix to combine.
- Add the pasta to the baking dish in a layer over the buffalo chicken.
- Top the macaroni with a dusting of breadcrumbs.
- Bake in the Sharp Superheated Steam Countertop Oven for 15 minutes on the Broil/Grill function at 450º F until the breadcrumbs are toasted and the casserole is heated throughout.
- If baking in a conventional oven, preheat the oven to bake at 425º F, then bake for 20 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.
- Serve with carrots and celery, or sprinkle on blue cheese.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Other Cheesy Casserole Recipes:
- Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Baked Eggplant Parmesan Pasta, by Sunkissed Kitchen
- Butternut Baked Spaghetti, by Sunkissed Kitchen
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