Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese Muffins. Yes. you read that right. Are these party all-stars waist slimming? HECK no. Are they out of this world delicious? You bet.
Blame it on my beantown heritage, but I don’t think there’s a single thing that buffalo chicken doesn’t make better. I mean, there’s a reason why the “I put that sh*t on everything?” Frank’s hot sauce commercials are so catchy, am I right? Sure it has a lot to do with an adorable old lady swearing… but it’s also because it’s true. Anyways, buffalo chicken or not — these muffins are a great grab and go appetizer for cookouts, superbowl parties, kids birthdays, you name it… if you bring macaroni and cheese muffins, you win.
Did I mention this recipe is ridiculously easy? So easy that when I make the little macaroni heaven pies I make everything the night before and leave them in the muffin tins. The next day all I have to do is pop them in the oven!
*I tweaked the recipe to be as close to organic as possible… but I just couldn’t part with the flavor of Franks. If anyone has a good organic hot sauce substitution, please leave a comment at the bottom of the post!
Ingredients:
-2 boxes of organic cheddar macaroni and cheese with elbow noodles (you can’t go wrong with Annie’s)
-2 small cans of organic shredded chicken, drained (I’m a Valley First girl)
-1/4 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
-1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I used Organic Valley)
-1/4 Cup Organic Italian Bread Crumbs (Edwards and Sons is a great brand)
-1/4 inch organic butter (can sub coconut oil)
-1/4 cup organic milk (can sub unflavored almond or coconut milk)
-2 Organic Eggs
-2 tbsp Organic Parmesan Cheese
-Coconut Oil Cooking Spray (I use Organic Trader Joes)
-Pinch of sea salt & pepper
Directions:
1. Boil 4-6 cups of water with a bit of sea salt. Pour in macaroni elbows and cook 8 minutes. They should be still firm, not mushy! Turn off the heat, drain the water from the pan and add butter, milk and 1 packet of the cheddar cheese that comes in the macaroni box. Stir in mozzarella, eggs, chicken and Franks Red Hot sauce. Mix well and let cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with coconut cooking spray.
3. In a separate bowl combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, sea salt and pepper.
4. Once cooled, transfer muffin mixture into muffin tins. Pack mixture tightly. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture evenly on top of the macaroni muffins.
5. Cook for 25 minutes, or until the top is browned and crunchy. Let stand in muffin tins for 10 minutes before removing.
