Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Show: 30 Minute MealsEpisode: What's Warm, Cozy and Fast? Dinner!

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (304)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(304)

Cook Time:
25 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
Yield: 6 servings

Times:

Prep: 10 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 25 min
Total:: 35 min

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Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 pound chicken breast tenders, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 pound macaroni elbows or cavatapi corkscrew shaped pasta twists
2 1/2 cups raw broccoli florets, available packaged in produce department
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cups whole milk
1 cup chicken stock
3 cups yellow sharp Cheddar
1 tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard

Directions

Place a pot of water on to boil for macaroni.

Heat a medium pan over medium to medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and chicken and season with salt and pepper. Saute a couple of minutes then add onion and cook another 5 to 7 minutes until onions are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn off heat and reserve.

To boiling pasta water, add pasta and salt to season the cooking water. Cook 5 minutes, then add broccoli and cook 3 minutes more or until pasta is cooked to al dente and florets are just tender.

While pasta cooks, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter and melt, then add flour, cayenne and paprika and whisk together over heat until roux bubbles then cook a minute more. Whisk in milk and stock and raise heat a little to bring sauce to a quick boil. Simmer sauce to thicken about 5 minutes.

Drain macaroni or pasta and broccoli florets. Add back to pot and add chicken to the pasta and broccoli.

Add cheese to milk sauce and stir to melt it in, about a minute or so. Stir in mustard and season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli and cooked pasta and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings, transfer to a large serving platter and serve.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli
KIM Trumbull, CT 11-04-2009
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Good with Adjustments
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I read many of the reviews and took some of the advice I read and tweaked it a little more. I was making this for myself, my... husband and 16 month old, so I sort of cut the recipe in half. I followed the instructions for the roux, but then only used 2 cups of milk and a little over a cup of broth. When I added the cheese, I used 2 cups and added it in small batches as others suggested. The sauce was thick and cheesy. I only cooked a half a pound of pasta, but used the full amount of brocolli and chicken, because I wanted it to be hearty. My husband liked it a lot and he can be a very picky eater. Read more
recipe Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli
Jessica Buford, GA 11-03-2009
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Delicious and Do-able
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

After reading these comments, it sounds like I was lucky this turned out so well. My husband and I both loved it, and will... have leftovers for a week! I used Evaporated milk for the sauce, so maybe the thickness helped it turn out well. Be sure to use a whisk, not a spoon to keep the sauce from clumping, and stir it at regular intervals. That's my advice to get the sauce to turn out well. I did not add the cheese to the sauce, but sprinkled it over the chicken and macaroni, then stirred the sauce in over it. I thought it was pretty flavorful, and just spiced it to taste. I added more cayenne, garlic powder, and some Tony Chachere's powder. I told my husband to say YUM-O if he loved it, and we got a YUM-O!!Read more
recipe Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli
Cherri San Lorenzo, CA 10-04-2009
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Not a very cheesy mac cheese dish
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

It was very watery (could've been because I used 2% milk), and the texture was not good at all. I used a whole pound of... cheese and it was still not creamy or cheesy. It was very grainy and not smooth at all. Also, it makes a ton! I felt bad having to throw the whole huge pot away.Read more
recipe Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli
Amie St. Augustine , FL 09-21-2009
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best mac and cheese
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I'm so suprised that so many people dont like this. I have been making this since the 1st time it aired and i love it. i have... never been a mac and cheese lover and this is the only one I like enough to eat. I think a lot of people are having a hard time with the sauce being runny because they aren't making the bechamel sauce right. It took me a few tries to get it right. I used fat free milk and then i watched an episode of Tyler's ultimate and he said you have to use whole milk or it wont come out right. Also I only use 1 can of stock and 1 pint of milk, this ratio works for me. I only use half of the cheese sauce and freeze the rest. it defrosts just like i had made it that day. This really is a great mac and cheese!! Read more
recipe Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli
Mark Puyallup, WA 09-16-2009
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Gross
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

Wow, what a disaster. There 's no fixing this recipe. Add chese, add spices, tweak this, tweak that. Quit before you start.... Sandwiches for dinner tonight...Read more
recipe Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli
Adrienne Lawrenceville, GA 09-04-2009
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Great with some changes
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I was so scared to try this recipe after reading the horror stories from many of these reviews. And after reading the... recipe, I decided that I needed to take some advice from the reviewers and make some changes on my own, because I could tell just from reading it that it would probably be bland. First: I bought White Cheddar Cheese and used 4 cups instead of 3. I also used a few slices of Yellow cheddar because it was in my fridge. I grilled the chicken and used a marinade and extra spices. Just salt and pepper won't cut it. I also sauteed the broccoli in olive oil, garlic and added mushrooms and Mrs. Dash. Second: I took the advice of many and made sure that my cheese sauce was on low and I didn't put in all the cheese at once. My sauce was thick, cheesy and wonderful. It did need time to melt and that worked. In the end, I added crumbled bacon pieces and more salt and pepper. The dish was absolutely wonderful!! Very flavorful, rich, and creamy. It does make a lot of food, so if you don't have 7 members in your family who love to eat, you'll be staring at it for a while. I would recommend this, but only if you make changes to it. Thanks other reviewers for your advice. Read more