This Smoked Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese is an easy recipe to make and it’s the ultimate comfort food!
If you’re a cheese lover and you also love buffalo chicken wings – this recipe is for you. Juicy chunks of chicken, creamy cheese and buffalo sauce all smoked for a ton of added flavor. This has the perfect amount of spice to still be family friendly, but feel free to to kick it up a notch if you love spice.
Be sure to make this Mac and cheese recipe and serve it up on game day or for your next party
Ingredients you will need from the grocery store
Meat: Chicken breasts and chicken thighs from a rotisserie chicken
Cheese: Velveeta, gouda, sharp cheddar cheese, mozarella. You can also use cream cheese or Monterey Jack cheese
Noodles: Elbow noodles or your favorite noodle for Mac & cheese
Sauce: Buffalo wing sauce and Homemade ranch or Blue cheese
Seasoning: Ranch dressing packet, BBQ rub
Garnish: Buffalo sauce, homemade ranch and green onions
How to make Smoked Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Preheat the smoker to 275° F and add in some cherry or oak wood for some bold smoke flavor.
Boil a large pot of water over high heat, then place the macaroni noodles in for 6 minutes. Strain the noodles then run them under cold water to stop the cooking process. The noodles should be al dente as they will cook when they smoke later on in the process.
Make the Roux in a sauce pan by melting one stick of butter over medium heat.
Whisk in 1/4 cup flour with the melted butter until a paste forms.
Next, make the cheesy sauce. Slowly pour in and whisk 3 cups of whole milk, 1 tbsp hot sauce, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp salt. Add 16 oz of Velveeta cheese then let it cook down over medium low heat. Once the cheese is creamy, remove from it from the heat.
Next, assemble the Mac and cheese in a large ceramic dish, cast iron skillet or disposable aluminum pan. Start by first adding in the al dente noodles to the bottom then add in 2 cups of shredded chicken, ¼ cup of buffalo sauce, 2 tbsp BBQ rub, 2 tbsp ranch dressing seasoning, 1 cup of gouda cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
Mix thoroughly with the par boiled noodles so everything is evenly coated.
Add the warm creamy cheese sauce from the pot on top of the noodle mixture then thoroughly stir.
Sprinkle more BBQ rub on top and add a little more shredded cheese. This top cheese will melt and get golden brown when it’s done cooking.
Place the pan of macaroni on the smoker at 275 degrees F for 35-45 minutes.
While the Mac and cheese is smoking, put together the homemade ranch. Trust me, this is 10 times better than store bought ranch and it’s super easy to make. It’s made of mayo, sour cream, chicken broth, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, dill and parsley.
Once cheese melts on top, remove it from the smoker. Drizzle ranch or blue cheese dressing on top then garnish with green onions and blue cheese crumbles.
Serve the buffalo Mac and cheese hot and enjoy! If you happen to have leftovers, store them in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
Looking for other delicious recipe ideas?
Be sure to check out and try some of my favorite recipes below!
Grilled Chimichurri Chicken Wings: Crispy, juicy chicken coated in some bright, fresh chimichurri. These could possibly be some of the best wings of all time!
Buffalo Chicken Jalapeno Poppers: Grilled chicken, crispy bacon in a cream cheese mixture smoked to perfection!
Chicken Bacon Ranch Sliders: Grilled chicken, crispy bacon and homemade ranch on slider buns. What more could you need for an easy weeknight meal?
Buffalo Chicken Queso: The perfect appetizer for game day! Smoked chicken smothered in gooey cheese with some spice. This is the classic buffalo dip on steroids!
Print
Smoked Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Smoked Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese is the perfect dish to serve up! Juicy chicken, smoked gooey cheese with buffalo sauce and ranch
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 16–20 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp BBQ Rub
- 2 tbsp ranch dressing seasoning
- 16 oz elbow noodles
- 16 oz Velveeta cheese
- 2 cups of shredded chicken
- 1 cup shredded Gouda cheese
- 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 3 cups whole milk
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ cup buffalo sauce
- ¼ cup ranch or blue cheese dressing
- 2 tbsp green onions
Instructions
- Par boil macaroni noodles for 6 minutes then strain and run them under cold water.
- Make the Roux in a pot, melt one stick of butter then slowly whisk in 4 tbsp of flour.
- Slowly add and whisk in 3 cups of whole milk, 1 tbsp hot sauce, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp salt and 16 oz of Velveeta cheese. Cook down over medium low heat until creamy then remove from heat.
- In a foil pan, add the par boiled noodles, 2 cups of shredded chicken, ¼ cup buffalo sauce, 2 tbsp BBQ rub, 2 tbsp ranch dressing seasoning, 1 cup of gouda cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, 1 cup of cheddar cheese and mix with the par boiled noodles.
- Add the creamy cheese to the noodles and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle on more BBQ rub and top with a little more shredded cheese.
- Place the pan of macaroni on the smoker at 275°F for 45 minutes.
- Once cheese on top is melted, garnish with green onions and drizzle ranch or blue cheese dressing on top.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
1 Comment
This was super delicious and I’m so glad we made it. But she’s a super creamy, and I love the added spice from the buffalo sauce. And such a great side dish.