Meal Prep
Chipotle Chicken Mac & Cheese
There’s meal prep... and then there’s this . Chipotle Chicken Mac & Cheese isn’t just another chicken and pasta situation- it’s a full-blown flavor event. With creamy, chipotle-laced mac and cheese underneath a perfectly air-fried (or seared) chicken breast, this recipe proves you can hit your macros without sacrificing an ounce of joy. It’s smoky, spicy, and somehow still light enough to make the weekly rotation without regret.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Makes
- 4 servings
High protein
Chipotle Chicken Mac & Cheese
70.2g protein625 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 Mac:
For the Chicken:
Instructions
Cook the pasta:
8 oz dry penne pasta
Season the chicken:
In a large bowl, toss the chicken breasts with chipotle powder, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper until evenly coated. Lightly spray with olive oil.
2 lb raw boneless skinless chicken breast, 1 tsp chipotle powder, 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 ½ tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, 1 tsp olive oil
Cook the chicken (two methods):
Make the mac & cheese sauce:
4 oz low-fat cream cheese, ½ cup skim milk, ½ cup nonfat shredded cheddar cheese, ½ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp chipotle powder, 1 tsp smoked paprika, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ limes
Assemble the bowls:
See it come together
Watch: Chipotle Chicken Mac & Cheese
Nutrition
Per servingEstimates for one serving.
- Calories
- 625 kcal
- Protein
- 70.2 g
- Fat
- 13.5 g
- Carbs
- 52.6 g
Full nutrition and how it’s calculated
All values are per serving. Changing the recipe yield scales the ingredients and keeps these per-serving amounts the same.
- Saturated Fat
- 4.59 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1.85 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 3.83 g
- Trans Fat
- 0.18 g
- Cholesterol
- 185 mg
- Sodium
- 1,277 mg
- Potassium
- 1,176 mg
- Fiber
- 3.5 g
- Sugar
- 5.4 g
- Added Sugar
- 0 g
- Vitamin A
- 180 mcg RAE
- Vitamin C
- 1.79 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.47 mcg
- Calcium
- 311 mg
- Iron
- 4.14 mg
Estimated ingredient cost
$2.45 per serving · $9.80 for this batch
Ingredient costs and assumptions
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.
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.
- dry penne pasta: $0.62
226.8 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: Great Value Penne Pasta, 16 oz · 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 cheese: $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 plain 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: $0.03
3.1 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 3.1 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
- chipotle powder: $0.11
2.7 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.7 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Chipotle Chili Pepper, 2.12 oz · 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
3 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: $0.05
1.2 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
- limes: $0.13
35 g purchased · Whole purchased item: 70 g each (estimated); includes shell, peel, or seeds.
Editorial medium/large edible fruit and juice-yield estimates. Juiced fruit uses 30 g each; the whole-fruit nutrition profile remains an approximate proxy. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Fresh Lime, Each · Price checked 2026-09-21
- 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
- chipotle powder: $0.11
2.7 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 2.7 g Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Chipotle Chili Pepper, 2.12 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- smoked paprika: $0.17
4.6 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
- cumin: $0.06
3.2 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp (ground) = 2.1 g; texture=ground; Editorial ground-cumin estimate: 2.1 g/tsp. Grinding/packing varies; this is not a USDA ground-cumin portion. Representative product for this ingredient; your brand and package size may differ.
Walmart: Great Value Ground Cumin, 2.5 oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
- garlic powder: $0.03
3.1 g purchased · Uses the reviewed ingredient quantity before cooking or marinade losses.
1 tsp = 3.1 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
- salt: $0.01
6 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: $0.05
1.2 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: $0.06
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, 17 fl oz · Price checked 2026-09-21
Make it yoursRecipe notes & meal-prep tips
Macro breakdown
- Protein70.2g46%
- Carbs52.6g34%
- Fat13.5g20%
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
I serve this with the whole chicken breast on top and eat it with a fork and knife. The browned outside and juicy center make it feel like a proper meal instead of another box of diced chicken stirred into pasta. That is a little meal-prep ball knowledge worth keeping: cooking the breast whole gives it its own place on the plate. Chipotle in both the chicken seasoning and sauce makes this a smoky option in the mac-and-cheese collection.
Make the sauce over low heat, especially once the Greek yogurt and lime juice are in the pot. Keep it moving and take it off the heat once it is smooth. The pasta should be coated rather than packed into a stiff cheese mixture. If you are juggling two recipes, cooking the chicken separately gives you a little flexibility over which burner or appliance does the work. Give the pasta a slightly firmer finish on prep day; it needs to stand up to both the chipotle cheese sauce and reheating.
Add a small splash of milk or water if the chilled pasta has tightened up. 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. During the pause, loosen the pasta underneath and turn the chicken breast so both parts heat evenly. For a milder version, reduce chipotle in both places while keeping the cumin and smoked paprika. The chicken recipe archive offers more ways to use those same pantry seasonings without repeating the same lunch.
For a steak option with a similar cream-cheese-and-yogurt approach to the sauce, try lighter garlic steak mac and cheese. Choose this chipotle chicken version when you want smoky seasoning in both the protein and pasta.
Notes from your kitchen
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From the community
★★★★★
The flavor of the dry rub on the chicken was insane ! So delicious, unlike basic chicken meal prep recipes I’m used to.
★★★★★
My boyfriend made this for us this week! I love this recipe and will definitely be requesting it in the future. I love hitting my goals without sacrificing happiness and flavor. Highly recommend!!!