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Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac N Cheese is creamy, cheesy, so tasty and has the perfect amount of spicy! It's an easy and quick recipe that adds a little kick to your dinner rotation!
I have been talking a lot about buffalo recipes recently. Bailee and I have just been on a crazy buffalo kick lately. If you love buffalo sauce, you have got to try this mac n cheese recipe. It is so stinking splendid! It is so easy to make and the end result will keep you coming back for seconds, thirds, and so on until the pot is gone! I'm not even joking... Try it and I dare you not to have more than one helping. 😉
What's in Buffalo Chicken Mac N Cheese?
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- ½ cup buffalo sauce, homemade or store bought
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- 8 oz macaroni noodles or small pasta, about 2½ cups
- ¾ cups milk, any type, I use 2%
- 4 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 oz shredded provolone cheese
- black pepper to taste
Recipe Tips
- I like to use homemade buffalo sauce, however I have used store bought before. In a pinch I like Frank's buffalo wing sauce and Sweet Baby Ray's Buffalo sauce. BUT, homemade sauce is far better and so easy to make. Get my easy homemade RECIPE-HERE
- If the sauce is too thick to your liking, keep adding a little extra milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Shred your own cheese. When you shred your own cheese it melts a lot better because it doesn't have any anti caking stuff on it.
- You can use your favorite cheeses, we have discovered that our favorite combo for this recipe is sharp cheddar and provolone.
- Drizzle with ranch or blue cheese dressing when it's all done. Yum!
How to Make Buffalo Chicken Mac N Cheese in the Instant Pot
First step, set your Instant pot to saute and add the butter. Once the butter is melted add the chicken pieces. Season the chicken with some salt and pepper. Cook the chicken for about 2-3 minutes stirring once. Just looking to get a nice golden brown crust on most of the chicken, not cook it all the way through. Now, turn the pot off.
Next, add the chicken broth, buffalo sauce, garlic and onion powder, celery salt and pasta. Give it a quick stir and put the lid on. Make sure the vent is set to sealing and set the instant pot on high pressure for 7 minutes. The key to making perfect pasta in the instant pot is to cook the pasta 1 minute less than what the box directions say for al dente.
After the 7 minutes, turn the pot off and carefully do a quick release of pressure. Once fully released and the valve stem has dropped, open the lid and stir in the milk. Then add the cheese a handful at a time, stirring after each. This helps eliminate any clumping of the cheese and makes the dish smooth and creamy. If the sauce is too thick for you, you can add some extra milk 1 tablespoon at a time.
Now dig in and enjoy!
Looking for more Instant Pot Recipes? Check these out!
- Drip Beef Sandwiches
- Mac N Cheese
- Mashed Potatoes
- Pulled Pork Sandwiches
- Iced Coffee
- Teriyaki Chicken
- Split Pea Soup
- Hard "Boiled" Eggs
- Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal
- Beef Tips and Gravy
Time to kick up dinner with this Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac N Cheese recipe. Try it out and let me know how you like it in the comments below! Pictures encouraged on Instagram with the hashtag #heathershomemadekitchen You can also follow me on Social Media to see what other crazy things my family and I are doing! If you like what you see, please share with your friends and family!
Pin the recipe for later!
Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac N Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- ½ cup buffalo sauce, homemade or store bought
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- 8 oz macaroni noodles, or small shell pasta
- ¾ cup milk
- 4 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 oz shredded provolone cheese
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Set the instant pot to saute and add the butter. When the butter is melted add the chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper.
- Cook chicken for about 2-3 minutes, stirring only a few times so the chicken can get a golden brown crust. No need to cook chicken all the way through, just browning the outside.
- Turn the pot off and add the chicken broth, buffalo sauce, garlic and onion powder, celery salt, and pasta. Give it a stir.
- Place the lid on and make sure the valve is on sealing. Set to high pressure for 7 minutes.
- Carefully do a quick release, once the valve stem has dropped remove the lid.
- Stir in the milk and add the cheese one handful at a time stirring the cheese in so it melts before adding more. Repeat with rest of cheese.
- Serve and enjoy!
Barbara Hufford Eft says
When to you add the macaroni?
Cook first or in instant pot
Heather says
Hi! Add it to the instant pot when you add the broth and other ingredients. Hope this helps!