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This Macaroni and Cheese turns out to be a complete meal when grilled chicken and steamed broccoli is added to the mix! Chicken and Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese turns a side dish into dinner!
Alright, Alright…I know this Chicken and Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese doesn’t actually have macaroni in it but that’s what I’m calling it! If you want to be like all picky and stuff, I suppose you could call it Chicken and Broccoli Fusilli and Cheese but that just doesn’t have quite the same ring now does it. 😉
Chicken and Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese it is.
You’d normally just think of macaroni and cheese as a side dish, well unless you’re me and you consider macaroni and cheese to be a complete meal on it’s own, but let’s kick it up just a tad.
We’re turning this humble side dish into a full meal by simply adding some cooked chicken and steamed broccoli to the pot.
For the base? I used my favorite white cheddar mac and cheese recipe as normal. I can’t tell y’all how much I love this mac and cheese base. It’s seriously mac and cheese perfection!
I mean really, you could just eat the mac and cheese as it and be totally good with the whole making dinner thing. I mean if Thomas just made mac and cheese for me and called it dinner I would be fine.
But there are people out there, like my husband, that don’t consider mac and cheese a full meal so we have to add things like chicken and broccoli to please them. 😉
Trust me though, it’s amazing either way. Don’t like Broccoli? Add in some sauteed asparagus or peas. Don’t like chicken? Leave it out or change it up and replace it something else (I was going to say tofu butttt I would never do that soooo I’m not adding that in haha)
However with that being said, you do you. You add what you want in place of the chicken and broccoli if you need to change it up. I won’t judge.
But if you can leave it like it is, do it. It’s good, it’s realllly good.
So Far, 6 out of my 6 taste testers have loved it. By the way, anyone want to be a taste tester for some more mac and cheese recipes? haha I might be pushing it by getting my family to taste mac and cheese a few times a week.
-Tips and Answers-
- For re-heating – no need to add milk before reheating like some mac and cheese recipes. This one should still be creamy after re-heating. Just make sure to stir it well.
- Steam the broccoli before adding it to the mac and cheese
- Cook the chicken before adding it to the mac and cheese! This mac and cheese is made on the stove top so everything needs to be cooked before mixing it in.
- Cube the chicken before cooking it. Season it with salt and pepper and then saute small batches of it in a little olive oil in a skillet until cooked. Cooking it in small batched with give you a crispy outside. 🙂
- When you’re melting the cheese into the milk mixture it may look like it’s very thicken at first but just keep heating it on medium heat and stir it for about 5-7 minutes and it will be smooth and creamy. This is when you want to add in the noodles, cooked chicken and steamed broccoli.
Chicken and Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese
Chicken and Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese
This Macaroni and Cheese turns out to be a complete meal when grilled chicken and steamed broccoli is added to the mix! Chicken and Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese turns a side dish into dinner!
- Yield: 8-10 SERVINGS
Ingredients
- 16 ounces fusilli pasta, uncooked
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 chicken breasts, cubed and seasoned with salt and pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 cups whole milk
- 8 ounces extra sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
- 8 ounces white American cheese slices, cut into small pieces
- 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened and diced
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cups steamed broccoli florets
Instructions
- Cook cubed chicken in a medium skillet with olive oil until crispy and completely cooked.
- Steam broccoli and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 10 minutes.
- Drain and set aside.
- In a the same pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour.
- Whisk flour and butter together for 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in milk and whisk until smooth.
- Whisk in dry mustard and white pepper.
- Heat milk until hot and then add in cream cheese.
- Whisk until melted and smooth.
- Add in all grated cheese and whisk until melted.
- Mix in the chicken and broccoli.
- Pour pasta into cheese sauce and mix well.
- Stir well and heat for 2-3 minutes.
- serve warm
Linking to meal plan monday #37
LOVE! This really reminds me of a dish my mom made for us growing up! Except she made the chicken spicy! This definitely looks like a must try to add to our menu!
Ha! I love mac and cheese as a main dish as well. I could definitely eat this yummy recipe for dinner!
Yum! This looks perfectly creamy and absolutely delicious!
Macaroni and cheese is my weakness and I love broccoli so I would be in big trouble with this dish. Looks amazing!
I would for sure eat too much of this. YUM!
I make a meal out of Mac and cheese all the time! This is next on my list!
I’m pretty sure this would make my husband eat broccoli
I love an easy dish like this that my whole family would love!
Oh so Creamy, a little green veggie in there, all that cheese, man this is such a comforting meal!!
Yum, this would go over so well in my house! And hey, as far as I’m concerned, you mac and cheese is mac and cheese no matter the actual type of pasta you use. 😉
YES, that looks so delicious and I want it right NOW for dinner!
Haha. What?! People don’t consider cheesy macaroni a full meal? That’s silly. When I make mac and cheese, it’s ALL I eat. 😀
Perfect comfort food! I have everything for this! Yay for one less trip to the store!! 😀
I’m with Erin…when I make mac and cheese, that is it! And the addition of broccoli is perfect to get some veggies in! Creamy and dreamy!
What a fantastic-looking meal. I love how creamy this is – my family will love it!
The perfect weeknight dinner — full of yumminess the whole family will happily devour!
I love mac and cheese! But it makes me feel a lot better (and healthier) with the added chicken and broccoli! 🙂
This is a perfect dish to make for my family! Thanks for sharing!
This looks so yummy! Perfect for the family gathering. Thanks for sharing.
Does this freeze well? Looking for fix ahead and freeze meals to prepare for a friend having surgery.
Hi Rose,
I have no idea if it freezes well but I know it refrigerates well. I’ve never frozen it before. Sorry.
What can I use to substitute the cream cheese? I have a weird reaction to cream cheese and cottage cheese, but this looks too good to pass up.
Hi Brittany! I haven’t made this with anything other than the cream cheese so I’m not 100% sure on what to use in its place. Cream cheese is kind of the base for this as far as what makes the perfect creamy cheese sauce for this dish. I’m sorry.
Here are two other great mac and cheese recipes on my blog that don’t use cream cheese. You could always just add the chicken and broccoli them 🙂
https://www.bigbearswife.com/mushroom-and-truffle-sea-salt-white/ and https://www.bigbearswife.com/shells-and-cheese-with-bacon/
This looks delicious! We do make mac and cheese for a main meal every now and then. My husband loves peas and ham added to his but I’m a broccoli and chicken kind of gal. Pinned.
Hope you give it a try! It’s so good!
This looks really yummy. Could you make this in a slow cooker?
Maybe! I haven’t tried it in the slow cooker yet but I do have a recipe for slow cooker mac and cheese on the blog – https://www.bigbearswife.com/crock-pot-macaroni-and-cheese/ – so there might be a way to change up this recipe a tad to make it work.