Meal Prep
Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese
Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese proves you don’t have to suffer to get lean. It’s spicy, creamy, and loaded with that classic buffalo bite, delivering cheat-meal satisfaction without the bloat. The texture is rich, the flavor hits hard, and it meal preps beautifully- so you can prep it once, eat like royalty all week, and keep your cravings in check.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Makes
- 4 servings
High protein
Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese
70g protein621 calories per serving
- Prep Time
- 10 mins
- Cook Time
- 25 mins
- Total Time
- 35 mins
Equipment
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Ingredients
Ingredient links open Walmart products from our grocery planner. Links marked “Walmart search” need your product choice. Confirm package details and local availability at Walmart.
For the Chicken
For the Mac & Cheese
Instructions
Cook the Pasta
8 oz pasta shells
Prep & Cook the Chicken
2 lb raw boneless skinless chicken breast, 2 tbsp Frank’s RedHot, ½ tbsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp smoked paprika, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper
1 tsp olive oil spray
Make the Mac Sauce
4 oz low-fat cream cheese, ½ cup skim milk
½ cup nonfat shredded cheddar, ½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt, ½ tbsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp smoked paprika, ½ tsp mustard powder, 4 tbsp buffalo sauce
Combine
Divide into meal prep containers. Garnish with green onions and drizzle with extra buffalo sauce if desired. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 days.
See it come together
Watch: Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese
Nutrition
Per servingEstimates for one serving. Changing the recipe yield scales the ingredients and keeps these per-serving amounts the same.
- Calories
- 621 kcal
- Carbohydrates
- 51.6 g
- Protein
- 70 g
- Fat
- 13.2 g
- Saturated Fat
- 4.54 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1.73 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 3.73 g
- Trans Fat
- 0.18 g
- Cholesterol
- 185 mg
- Sodium
- 1,068 mg
- Potassium
- 1,156 mg
- Fiber
- 2.7 g
- Sugar
- 5.4 g
- Added Sugar
- 0 g
- Vitamin A
- 147 mcg RAE
- Vitamin C
- 16.47 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.47 mcg
- Calcium
- 297 mg
- Iron
- 3.36 mg
Estimated ingredient cost
$2.48 per serving · $9.91 for this batch
Estimated US grocery prices for the amounts used, including purchase waste and discarded marinade. Your store, brands, and package sizes may cost differently. Buying full packages can cost more. Price sources and methodology.
Ingredient costs and assumptions
Quantities without exact weights use the nutrition library’s portion estimates. Purchase yields are estimates. Separate citrus ingredients are costed independently; reusing the same fruit for juice and zest can lower your cost. Labor, utilities, and delivery are excluded.
- raw boneless skinless chicken breast: $5.14
907.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
Authored ingredient weight. Variable-weight pack priced per pound, raw boneless skinless breast.
Walmart: Freshness Guaranteed Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast · Price checked 2026-09-21
- Frank’s RedHot: $0.28
28.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 4.7 g; Rounded measures agree within 5%. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce, 12.0 fl oz Bottle · Price checked 2026-09-21
- garlic powder: $0.05
4.9 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 9.7 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Garlic Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- onion powder: $0.03
2.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.4 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Onion Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- smoked paprika: $0.09
2.3 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.3 g Four 2 oz jars; full multipack weight is 8 oz.
Walmart: (4 pack) Great Value Smoked Paprika, 2 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- salt: $0.00
1.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 6 g Iodized table salt reference; not a kosher salt price.
Walmart: Great Value Iodized Salt · Price checked 2026-09-21
- black pepper: $0.02
0.6 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (ground) = 2.3 g; texture=ground Ground black pepper reference; cracked pepper may cost differently.
Walmart: Great Value Ground Black Pepper · Price checked 2026-09-21
- olive oil spray: $0.11
4.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 4.5 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cooking Spray, 7 oz Can · Price checked 2026-09-21
- pasta shells: $0.49
226.8 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
Authored ingredient weight. Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Shells · Price checked 2026-09-21
- low-fat cream cheese: $1.73
113.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
Authored ingredient weight. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Philadelphia Reduced Fat Cream Cheese, 1 Tub, for Smooth, Spreadable Mornings, Original, No Artificial Preservatives, Flavors or Dyes, 8 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- skim milk: $0.09
123.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup = 247 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Fat-Free Milk, Gallon, 128 fl oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- nonfat shredded cheddar: $0.84
56 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup (shredded) = 112 g; Editorial shredded hard-cheese estimate: 112 g/cup (four 28 g quarter-cup portions); loose packing varies. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Kraft Natural Fat Free Cheddar Shredded Cheese, 7 oz Bag · Price checked 2026-09-21
- nonfat Greek yogurt: $0.41
113.5 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 cup = 227 g; Editorial Greek-yogurt volume proxy using King Arthur's generic yogurt weight, 227 g/cup. Plain nonfat Greek yogurt reference; unspecified-fat Greek yogurt uses this as a price estimate.
Walmart: Great Value Greek Plain Nonfat Yogurt, 32 oz Tub · Price checked 2026-09-21
- garlic powder: $0.05
4.9 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tbsp = 9.7 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Garlic Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- onion powder: $0.03
2.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.4 g Representative product; brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Onion Powder · Price checked 2026-09-21
- smoked paprika: $0.09
2.3 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.3 g Four 2 oz jars; full multipack weight is 8 oz.
Walmart: (4 pack) Great Value Smoked Paprika, 2 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- mustard powder: $0.06
1 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Ground Mustard, 1.5 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- buffalo sauce: $0.39
56.4 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 4.7 g; Rounded measures agree within 5%. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Sweet Baby Ray's® Buffalo Wing Sauce 16 fl oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
Make it yoursRecipe notes & meal-prep tips
Macro breakdown
- Protein70g46%
- Carbs51.6g34%
- Fat13.2g20%
Per serving · Share of calories from macros
Calculated using 4 calories per gram of protein and carbs, and 9 for fat. Rounding and fiber can affect the listed calorie total.Triple B's Meal Prep Notes
This buffalo mac uses cream cheese, skim milk, Greek yogurt, and nonfat cheddar, so treat the sauce gently. Keep the heat low while you bring it together and avoid letting it boil after the yogurt goes in. The goal is a smooth coating on the shells, not a sauce reduced until it is stiff. The buffalo sauce brings enough tang that you can taste and adjust the heat after the chicken and pasta are combined.
The chicken can cook in the air fryer while the pasta boils, leaving the pasta pot available for the sauce afterward. That is a useful setup if you are fitting this around another recipe during the same prep session. Mix the chicken through the whole batch before dividing it so each container gets a fair share. Our chicken meal-prep recipes include other ways to use the same protein when you want more variety. Pull the shells slightly before your usual soft-pasta finish so they still have structure after a night in the sauce and a trip through the microwave.
Add a small splash of milk or water if the chilled sauce needs loosening. For a refrigerated serving, microwave on high for 90 seconds, stir, then heat for another 45 seconds. Use that as a starting point and continue in short intervals as needed until the food reaches 165°F throughout. Stir from the bottom and fold gently so the shells keep their shape. A little fresh buffalo sauce after heating is an option if you like a sharper finish, but taste first. You can compare this with the other mac-and-cheese recipes and stovetop meal preps before picking your next batch. The moderate-calorie collection is another way to compare lunches by their listed serving size.
Notes from your kitchen
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From the community
★★★★★
I made this because I simply needed a buffalo chicken recipe that didn't come with 1000+ calories. Don't get me wrong- I love my buffalo chicken gouda mac recipe- but I was on a cut and wanted the same delicious flavors. This bad boy proves you can still have indulgent combos without the aggressive calorie overload. Let me know if this scratched your buffalo chicken itch!
Omg, so good! Creamy, and gives you that kick you need after eating bland food.
You get it Sue!🔥 That creamy buffalo kick turns “meh” meals into something you actually look forward to all week. Appreciate your comment!