BBQ Chicken Mac & Cheese

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 6 servings

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Two favorites in one! This BBQ Chicken Mac and Cheese can be made all in one pot for an easy weeknight meal ready in 30 minutes or less!

sliced barbecue chicken over a bed of creamy mac and cheese on a white plate

I’m all about combining favourites.

I mean, adding two already delicious things together can only make it better, right?

Obviously, there are exceptions. Only about a million of them.

But if you could peek inside my mind throughout the day you’d see, “pizza… what can I put on pizza that I never have before? What can I combine and put together on pizza that I’ve never seen before?” And then an hour later, “Mac and cheese…. there are already so many awesome variations of mac and cheese…. what can I put on mac and cheese.”

close up image of bbq chicken mac and cheese on white plate with blue towel underneath

I feel like it’s kind of my thing.

And the cool part is, I didn’t know it was my thing until I started blogging and was trying to come up with new recipes.

I love coming up with different (in a good way) combinations that I’ve never seen before.

Like this BBQ Chili Shepherd’s Pie.

And this Pepperoni Florentine Pizza.

Spaghetti and Garlic Toast Grilled Cheese.

Iced tea and milkshakes.

Lentils and chocolate cake.

BBQ chili and lasagna.

Mexican beef and scalloped potatoes.

barbecue chicken slices on top of creamy white mac and cheese

When I was thinking about starting a food blog, I thought to myself, “but who is really going to look at it? There are so many food blogs already out there, how can I be any different from any of them?”

But that’s the great thing about food. There are positively endless combinations and ways to reinvent recipes.

So what do you add to your mac and cheese?

I love the combination of velvety, creamy cheese sauce and smoky, sweet barbecue sauce in this mac and cheese. They’re such different flavour profiles but they complement each other so nicely. After all, who doesn’t love cheese and barbecue?

You might also like this One Pot BBQ Chicken and Bacon Pasta!

Or this One Pot Pepperoni Pizza Mac & Cheese!

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BBQ Chicken Mac & Cheese

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Creamy, cheesy pasta topped with slow-cooked chicken and barbecue sauce — two of our favourites in one dish!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Cuisine American
Course Main Course
Servings 6 servings
Calories 705cal

Ingredients

For the barbecue chicken:

  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 large chicken breasts
  • 3/4 cup barbecue sauce

For the mac and cheese

  • 4 cups macaroni
  • 5 cups milk
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups cheese

Instructions

  • Rub chicken with oil and season with salt and pepper. Add chicken breasts to a large pot and cook over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes until cooked through (165 degrees F), flipping once. Remove to a cutting board and slice thinly. Toss with barbecue sauce and set aside, keeping warm while you make the macaroni.
  • In a large pot, combine macaroni, milk and salt. Over medium-high heat (you don’t want it too high, because milk will scald and leave a bitter flavour), bring the milk to a simmer, stirring frequently. Reduce to medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, for 10-15 minutes until noodles are cooked and milk is thickened (if sauce is thick before pasta is cooked, slowly add in a little bit more milk). Stir in cheese.
  • Spread macaroni and cheese into serving dish and top with BBQ chicken. Garnish with extra cheese and green onions if desired.

Notes

You could also cook the chicken in the oven, in a frying pan, or on the grill. For me, I wanted easy and moist, so I went the slow cooker route.
*You want to stir frequently and watch closely, because there isn’t extra moisture in the pot and you don’t want the noodles stuck to the bottom. You also don’t want your milk to scald on the bottom of the pot.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 705cal | Carbohydrates: 94g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 1514mg | Potassium: 728mg | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 800IU | Vitamin C: 0.7mg | Calcium: 552mg | Iron: 4.1mg

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Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!

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Comments

      • Ashley says

        I use plain old marble Amanda. I’m in Canada, so I’m not sure if you have the same varieties that we do or not… I would consider it a cross between a mozarella or white cheddar and regular cheddar. I think regular cheddar would be amazing, too, though, if you don’t have marble! Or pretty much anything you like!

  1. Jess @ On Sugar Mountain says

    Your flavor combos are always so exciting! I can’t wait to dive into a big ole bowl of this bbq mac and cheese! 😀

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