Add Delicious Buffalo Chicken Flavor To Mac And Cheese With This Canned Soup

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

The pairing of mac and cheese with piquant red sauces isn't a new phenomenon — we love canned tomato soup as an upgrade to boxed mac, for instance, and who could forget the fact that some folks controversially smother their noodles with ketchup? In the hierarchy of saucy mac and cheese drizzled with condiments, we believe that Buffalo-style mac is a real contender for dinnertime superiority. It's spicy, cheesy, gooey, and, if you incorporate chicken, meaty and packed with protein. Campbell's, purveyor of canned soups (and possessor of a mononym after a well-publicized name change), is raising the bar on easy-peasy Buffalo chicken mac and cheese with its Condensed Spicy Buffalo-Style Cream of Chicken Soup, a fiery take on the iconic cream of chicken soup that's used as the basis of countless homestyle recipes.

If you want to jazz up a struggle meal, simply prepare the noodles from your boxed mac and cheese and stir the cheese packet into your Buffalo-style soup. The resulting product may be a little thick, so feel free to thin it out with your choice of milk. Stir in the noodles, and you're good to go. Boxed mac and cheese is a pantry staple — although it does eventually expire, so keep that in mind — and canned soup is a stock-up item that will wait patiently for when you need it in a jiffy. Of course, if you have a little more time and patience, you can use this canned Buffalo chicken soup as the basis of a truly show-stopping mac and cheese that will impress even the loftiest of mac snobs.

The obvious addition to Buffalo chicken mac and cheese made with canned soup is, obviously, chicken. Condensed cream of chicken soups typically have tiny amounts of chicken meat in them, but we think that's a paltry amount to justify the name of your dish. Adding protein and heft to your noodles need not be a chore, either. Shredded grocery store rotisserie chicken is one speedy option; a can of cooked chunk chicken is another. If you have the resources and time to poach chicken breasts, go for it! 

We've focused a lot on boxed mac and cheese, but you can make your pasta and cheese sauce from scratch and produce an extraordinary product. Cheeses to focus on are freshly shredded funky ones that will stand their ground in the face of the spicy Buffalo sauce; we like a mixture that starts with sharp cheddar. Pepper Jack will layer in more gentle heat, while mozzarella adds inimitable creaminess. Topping your mac with gorgonzola crumbles will really give it that traditional Buffalo chicken flair. On that note, consider adding a crispy broiled breadcrumb topping over your baked mac, as it will lend texture to your noodles that, again, puts diners in mind of Buffalo chicken. Serve your mac with a bottle of hot sauce for those that like more oomph in their dinner and possibly some celery sticks and blue cheese dressing for crunch, savor, and the total Buffalo-style experience.