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Creamy Mac and Cheese with Crispy Chicken Tenders

Recipe by The Cozy Bowl Kitchen

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  • Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield4 generous portions 1x

Smooth three-cheese macaroni topped with buttermilk crispy chicken tenders, crispy onions, spring onions and a spicy honey sriracha drizzle. Our Chicken Mac Daddy, rebuilt at home.

Ingredients

Scale

For the chicken tenders

  • 600g chicken breast, cut into finger-width strips, or chicken mini fillets
  • 250ml buttermilk
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 150g plain flour
  • 2 tbsp cornflour
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1.5 litres sunflower oil, for deep frying

For the mac and cheese

  • 400g macaroni or small pasta shells
  • 50g salted butter
  • 50g plain flour
  • 700ml whole milk, warmed
  • 200g mature cheddar, grated
  • 100g red Leicester, grated
  • 50g cream cheese
  • 1 tsp English mustard powder
  • A good grating of nutmeg
  • Salt and white pepper

For the spicy drizzle

  • 4 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp sriracha, or more
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • 1 tsp white wine vinegar

To finish

  • 4 tbsp crispy fried onions
  • 3 spring onions, finely sliced

Instructions

Brine the chicken

  1. Mix the buttermilk with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp garlic powder in a bowl. Add the chicken strips, turn to coat and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours.

Make the spicy drizzle

  1. Whisk the mayonnaise, sriracha, honey and vinegar together until smooth. Taste and add more sriracha if you want it hotter. Set aside.

Make the cheese sauce

  1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat, stir in the flour and cook for a full 2 minutes, stirring, until it smells faintly biscuity.
  2. Add the warm milk a third at a time, whisking each addition completely smooth before adding the next. Simmer gently for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until it coats the back of a spoon.
  3. Take the pan off the heat. Add the cheddar and red Leicester in three handfuls, stirring until each melts. Stir in the cream cheese, mustard powder and nutmeg, then season with salt and white pepper. Keep warm over the lowest possible heat, never boiling.

Coat and fry the chicken

  1. Mix the flour, cornflour, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a wide bowl. Drizzle in 2 tbsp of the buttermilk from the chicken bowl and rub it through with your fingertips so the flour goes lumpy.
  2. Lift each strip out of the buttermilk, let the excess drip off, then press firmly into the flour, turn and press again. Set the coated strips on a wire rack and rest for 5 minutes.
  3. Heat the oil to 175°C in a deep pan no more than a third full. Fry the chicken in batches of three or four for 5 to 6 minutes, until deep golden and the coating looks rocky. Check the thickest strip has reached 75°C in the centre. Drain on a wire rack and salt straight away.

Cook the pasta and assemble

  1. Cook the pasta in well-salted boiling water for 1 minute less than the packet says. Reserve a mugful of the cooking water, then drain.
  2. Tip the pasta into the cheese sauce and fold together, loosening with a splash of the pasta water if it is tight. Taste and season again.
  3. Divide between four warm bowls. Lay the crispy chicken on top, scatter over the crispy onions and spring onions, then drizzle generously with the spicy sauce. Serve immediately.

Notes

Make ahead. The cheese sauce can be made a day in advance. Press a piece of baking paper onto the surface so it does not form a skin, chill within two hours and reheat gently with a splash of milk, in line with standard UK food safety guidance. The chicken can brine for up to 4 hours.

The mistake to avoid. Adding the cheese while the sauce is on the heat. It splits and goes oily and stringy. Off the heat, in three handfuls, every time.

Air fryer version. Spray the dredged tenders generously with oil and air fry at 200°C for 14 to 16 minutes, turning once. Less crunch than deep frying, far less mess. Always check the chicken has reached 75°C in the centre.

Keeping the chicken crisp. Hold it on a wire rack in a low oven at around 90°C with the door slightly ajar. Never cover it or stack it on a plate.

Grate your own cheese. Pre-grated cheese is coated in starch to stop it clumping, and that starch is what makes a cheese sauce grainy.

Equipment. A large saucepan for the pasta, a second large saucepan for the sauce, a deep heavy pan for frying, a cooking thermometer (genuinely worth it), a balloon whisk, a box grater, a wire cooling rack and a slotted spoon or spider.

Deep frying safely. Never fill the pan more than a third full, never leave it unattended, and never add wet food to hot oil. Keep a well-fitting lid within reach.

Allergens. This recipe contains milk, wheat (gluten), egg (mayonnaise), mustard and sulphites. Crispy fried onions usually contain wheat, and some sriracha brands contain fish. Always check the label of every ingredient you use, as recipes and allergen information can change. People with food allergies or intolerances must also consider cross-contamination.

This is a home recipe inspired by Chicken Mac Daddy at The Cozy Bowl. It is not the restaurant’s exact commercial recipe.

Find it online: https://thecozybowl.co.uk/mac-and-cheese-crispy-chicken-tenders/