Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese. Spicy mac and cheese from the pressure cooker.
My kids haven’t been this excited about a blog recipe for a long time. As jaded teenagers with a food blogger dad, they have the world weary attitude of a hard-boiled detective. “Taco night? Let me tell you about that taco night back in ’12…”
But, the questions haven’t stopped since they saw this week’s menu on the refrigerator whiteboard. “Is today Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese day? When is Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese Day? You said today was Buffalo Mac and Cheese Day! Where is it?”
This recipe is adapted from my most viewed recipe of all time, Pressure Cooker Macaroni and Cheese. Like that recipe, I pressure cook the noodles in just enough water, use evaporated milk to replace the thickening power of bechamel sauce, and stir in a lot of shredded cheddar at the end.
The difference is in the chicken and buffalo sauce. “Stir Fry Cut” chicken breast is my short cut from the grocery store, pre-sliced and ready for a quick sauté. Then it stays in the pot to finish cooking with the noodles.
Hot Sauce
Buffalo sauce is a simple, two ingredient recipe: butter and Franks RedHot sauce. I stir them in after the noodles are cooked, with the evaporated milk, and before melting the cheese. For the record, this recipe is not sponsored by Franks RedHot. The flavor of Franks and butter means “Buffalo Wings”, so it is the key ingredient for this recipe to taste right. (See the notes section of the recipe if all you have is a jar of “Buffalo Wing Sauce”, not straight Franks RedHot.)
Garnish
The last step is optional, but a good one - I spread panko bread crumbs over the top of the mac and cheese, scatter crumbled blue cheese on top, and brown it in the oven. Now, if you’re anti-blue-cheese, you can skip it - the recipe will still be great - but I always have blue cheese with my buffalo chicken wings.
💡Tips and Tricks
- Bread crumb crust: Sure, you can eat this mac and cheese straight out of the pot, but I like to add a bread crumb crust. I broil my mac and cheese to toast the bread crumbs, because it's quicker than baking, but I have to be watchful - broiled bread crumbs go from toasted to burnt very quickly.
- Blue Cheese: I'm a fan of blue cheese with my buffalo wings, so that's what I use to top the finished recipe. If you are a Ranch Dressing fan, you can drizzle it on to replace the crumbled blue cheese in the recipe.
- Rotisserie chicken: If you have 2 cups of leftover, shredded rotisserie chicken (or any other cooked chicken), you can substitute that for the uncooked chicken breast.
Inspired by: https://www.franksredhot.com/recipes/franks-redhot-classic-buffalo-chicken-mac-n-cheese.
Print🔪🔪Recipe🔪🔪
Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese. Spicy mac and cheese from the pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 12 ounces (¾ pound) boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into ½-inch thick strips (“Stir Fry” cut at my local grocery store)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 pound dried elbow macaroni
- 4 cups water
- 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 12-ounce can evaporated milk
- 4 ounces (½ cup) Franks RedHot original sauce
- 16 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- More Franks RedHot for topping
Bread Crumb Topping (optional)
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 4 ounces crumbled blue cheese
Instructions
- Brown the chicken: In an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, heat the vegetable oil using Sauté mode until the oil is shimmering. (Use medium heat with a stovetop PC). Sprinkle the chicken with ½ teaspoon of salt, then add it to the pot and cook until it is browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes.
- Pressure cook the chicken and pasta for 4 minutes with a quick release: Stir the macaroni, 4 cups water, and 1½ teaspoon salt into the pot, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any stuck bits of chicken. Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for 4 minutes in an Instant Pot, electric PC, or stovetop PC. (For an Instant Pot, use Manual or Pressure Cook mode, and set the time to 4 minutes.) When the cooking time is done, quick release the pressure and remove the lid.
- Stir in the butter, evaporated milk, Franks RedHot sauce, and cheese: Leave the Instant Pot in Keep Warm mode (turn the heat down to low under a stovetop PC). Add the butter, evaporated milk and Franks RedHot, and stir until the butter melts. Stir in the cheese one handful at a time, stirring constantly and waiting for the current handful to melt before adding the next handful.
- Top with breadcrumbs and blue cheese, and broil (Optional): Pour the macaroni into a 3 quart broiler-safe dish, patting it down to level out the surface. Sprinkle the panko bread crumbs over the macaroni and cheese in an even layer, then scatter the blue cheese on top of the bread crumbs. Broil the macaroni and cheese on high until the bread crumbs are toasted, about 5 minutes - but it really depends on your broiler. Keep checking the bread crumbs – they go from pale brown to burnt in a flash.
- Serve: Pass the Franks RedHot at the table so your diners can add more if they need it. Enjoy!
Equipment
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Notes
- Want to use buffalo wing sauce instead of straight Franks RedHot? Replace the 2 tablespoons of butter and ½ cup of Franks with ⅔ cup of buffalo wing sauce. (The original Buffalo sauce was a 50-50 mix of Franks RedHot and butter - I’m upping the Franks ratio in this recipe to balance out all the ingredients.)
Tools
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot 6-Quart Pressure Cooker)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Weeknight Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese, Pressure Cooker Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
☃️ Storage
I portion leftovers into a 2-cup container, which will last in the refrigerator for a few days, and freeze for up to 6 months.
🤝 Related Posts
Pressure Cooker Macaroni and Cheese
Pressure Cooker Buffalo Chicken Wings
Instant Pot Fettuccine Chicken Alfredo
My other Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Paul says
Can I scale the recipe by 1.5 for use in a 6 quart IP? (18 ounces pasta/6 cups water)
Thank you very much.
★★★★★
Mike Vrobel says
Yes, as long as you don't go over the Max Fill line in the cooker, and that should still be below max fill.