The Recipe Rebel / Dinner
written by Ashley Fehr
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Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
Servings 6 servings
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Last updated on April 11, 2022
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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!
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.”
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.
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 !
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Pin this recipe to your favorite boardBBQ Chicken Mac & Cheese
written by Ashley Fehr
No ratings yet
Creamy, cheesy pasta topped with slow-cooked chicken and barbecue sauce — two of our favourites in one dish!
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ReviewPrep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
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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Reader Interactions
Comments
oh my gawd, Ashley! I love this!!! We sometimes add broccoli or chopped hot dogs to our mac and cheese for the kiddos! but this is wayyyyyy better! delicious!
Reply
Ashley Fehr says
Hahaha, thanks Alice!
Reply
Amanda says
What kind of cheese did you use? Shredded mild cheddar?
Reply
Ashley says
I used marble, but cheddar or mozzarella would work well, too!
Reply
Amanda says
By marble you mean colby jack? Sorry, just want to get this right I am making this today! 🙂
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!
Kathryn says
How much barbeque sauce goes in the crockpot? Why is it divided?
Reply
Ashley says
So sorry Kathryn — I’ve updated the recipe. Didn’t realize I missed a step!
Reply
Adrian says
Surprisingly this looks really delicious!
Reply
Ashley says
Haha, thanks Adrian!
Reply
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! 😀
Reply
Ashley says
Thanks Jess! It’s the only way I seem to come up with new ideas! lol
Reply
This is a great way to reinvent old recipes, Ashley. Love Barbecue Chicken and mac and cheese!
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Ashley says
Thanks Mallory!
Reply
Oh my goodness, this looks amazing!!! I love that you combined BBC chicken and Mac & Cheese – what a great and delicious idea! Pinning 🙂
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Ashley says
I’ve taken to just combining random things I like. Lol. Thanks Kelly!
Reply
Jamie | Jamie's Recipes says
I like the way you think. Toss out the bun and get your carbs from ooey gooey mac and cheese.
Reply
Ashley says
Haha, definitely! Though you could always make it a BBQ chicken Mac and cheese sandwich!
Reply
Matt Robinson says
An awesome combo that I need to make here. It would be a huge hit:)
Reply
Ashley says
I figure you can’t go too wrong with barbecue and cheese! Thanks Matt 🙂
Reply
Rina~I Thee Cook says
Seriously! What a great combo. 3 of my favorite things!! Pinning this.
Reply
Ashley says
Thanks so much Rina!
Reply
What?!! BBQ chicken AND mac and cheese?! You are my hero. This looks wonderful! Pinned!!
Reply
Ashley says
Thanks for sharing Jen! It’s hard to make Mac and Cheese any better… but I try! lol
Reply
