This Buffalo Shrimp Mac and Cheese is basically bangin’. A remix of a classic comfort dish, specifically my 5 Cheese Mac & Cheese that I made for Thanksgiving. I decided to experiment and add some buffalo shrimp. One of the best choices that I’ve ever made in the kitchen. Periodt.
The beauty of this dish is that you can customize it however you’d like. Switch out the protein to chicken, vegan meat or leave it out completely. Add blue cheese and breadcrumbs. Drizzle on some ranch dressing. Sneak in some veggies. So many delicious possibilities. By the way, this macaroni and cheese is gluten free thanks to these gluten free elbow noodles. For best results, I highly suggest preparing the mac and cheese in a cast iron skillet. Something about them crisp edges just hit different!
This Buffalo Shrimp Mac and Cheese will be a big hit with the kiddies and adults alike. Trust me, you’ll get requests often. You can make this dish as a complete meal. Or you can use it as a side. However you make it, be sure to make enough to go around, plus extra. Every one will want seconds. Here’s the recipe.
Buffalo Shrimp Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb medium shrimp (peeled & deveined )
- Slap Ya Mama Seasoning
- 2 tbsp butter (melted)
- 1/2 cup Franks Red Hot Buffalo Sauce
- 8 oz gluten free elbows (or shape of choice)
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup asiago cheese
- 1 cup colby jack cheese
- 1 cup pepperjack cheese
- 2 tbsp salted butter (pieced)
- smoked paprika
Macaroni Mix
- 1 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 1 egg
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- Wash shrimp, pat dry and season with Slap Ya Mama.
- Melt the butter in a non-stick pan. Then add the shrimp. Cook 2 minutes on each side. Then add the buffalo sauce. Stir everything together and cook for another 3 minues. Turn off the heat and set the Buffalo Shrimp aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cut/shred all of the cheese.
- Boil the elbow noodles al dente. Rinse and drain.
- To make the macoroni mix, beat the egg into the cup of milk and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a cast iron skillet or baking dish, evenly mix the noodles with all of the cheese.
- Pour the macaroni mix over the noodles and cheese and mix until every thing is coated. Level the pan.
- Stick the pieces of butter in between the noodles and cheese, throughout the entire pan.
- Pour the buffalo shrimp over the entire pan and gently push the shrimp down into the mac and cheese. Drizzle the excess buffalo sauce over everything. You can drizzle more sauce directly out of the bottle if you want more.
- Garnish the pan with a light layer of smoked paprika. This adds flavor and helps the dish to brown.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake the macaroni and cheese until the cheese begins to bubble. Uncover the pan and bake a few more minutes to allow the cheese to brown a bit.
- Let the pan cool a little before serving as hot cheese will burn the ish out of you.
Notes
- You can switch out the shrimp for chicken, vegan meat or whatever protein you’d like.
- You may add blue cheese and breadcrumbs for more flavor and texture, or drizzle with some ranch dressing. You can even sneak in some veggies. It’s ok to be creative!
- To get a variety of cheeses for my mac and cheese without spending a grip, I cheat and use a cheese variety tray since it has just enough of each cheese. Then I add 2 cups of sharp cheddar.
- This would be the perfect dish to make with leftover cheese from a charcuterie board as you can use whatever type of cheeses you like.
2 Responses
This is so stonkin good! I used half & half instead of almond milk for added decadence. Old Bay bc I didn’t have Slap Yo Mama, it’s a very forgiving dish.
Very forgiving. So glad you enjoyed it!