King Ranch Chicken Mac and Cheese

By Addie

All the flavors of a favorite casserole come together in the comfort of mac and cheese. Serve King Ranch Chicken Mac and Cheese to your family, and it will become a quick favorite.

MY NOTES: Make half of this recipe for Jack and me!

Ingredients

• 1/2 (16-oz.) package cellentani pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 (10-oz.) can diced tomatoes and green chiles
• 1 (8-oz.) package Velveeta, cubed
• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 (10 3/4-oz.) can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese

Details

Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 45mins
Adapted from keyingredient.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pasta according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper, and saute 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in tomatoes and green chiles and Velveeta; cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Stir in chicken, next 4 ingredients, and hot cooked pasta until blended. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 10-inch cast-iron skillet or 11x7-inch baking dish; sprinkle with shredded Cheddar cheese.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.
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REVIEWS:

Made for 7 adults. Everyone enjoyed. Used 16 oz of pasta vs. 8 per recipe. This recipe makes plenty of sauce so nothing else changed. Had salad with a lime, cilantro dressing. Nice dinner. Will make again.

This is quick and easy to make. This batch makes a huge helping, so it makes for good leftovers. Quick note: We added two fresh, diced jalapenos, and it gave it just the right amount of kick. Next time, we're thinking of subbing krab for the chicken. Make it, you'll enjoy it!

Made for 7 adults. Everyone enjoyed. Used 16 oz of pasta vs. 8 per recipe. This recipe makes plenty of sauce so nothing else changed. Had salad with a lime, cilantro dressing. Nice dinner. Will make again.This is quick and easy to make. This batch makes a huge helping, so it makes for good leftovers. Quick note: We added two fresh, diced jalapenos, and it gave it just the right amount of kick. Next time, we're thinking of subbing krab for the chicken. Make it, you'll enjoy it!My son said he would eat this every day of his life, he took the leftovers to school for lunch today, there was not a crumb left on anyone's plate. Best kid friendly recipe ever. Substituted 1lb ground chicken (i browned it first) and cottage cheese instead of sour cream. It came out fantastic. Our family is 4, so I froze a little for the next time my son is craving this.

Made for 7 adults. Everyone enjoyed. Used 16 oz of pasta vs. 8 per recipe. This recipe makes plenty of sauce so nothing else changed. Had salad with a lime, cilantro dressing. Nice dinner. Will make again.This is quick and easy to make. This batch makes a huge helping, so it makes for good leftovers. Quick note: We added two fresh, diced jalapenos, and it gave it just the right amount of kick. Next time, we're thinking of subbing krab for the chicken. Make it, you'll enjoy it!My son said he would eat this every day of his life, he took the leftovers to school for lunch today, there was not a crumb left on anyone's plate. Best kid friendly recipe ever. Substituted 1lb ground chicken (i browned it first) and cottage cheese instead of sour cream. It came out fantastic. Our family is 4, so I froze a little for the next time my son is craving this.

Truly delicious and easy.

Absolutely the BEST mac and cheese dish I have ever had!!!!

This is great! The first time I omitted the cumin, simply because I didn't have any and the second time I forgot the chili powder...but it was STILL amazing! Make it spicy by using hot rotel tomatoes, or keep it low key. Very versatile recipe that is a crowd pleaser!

I and my husband loved this. He called it a "keeper". I used mild Rotel and otherwise followed the directions exactly. Before baking, I put half in the freezer for another day. Yum.

Made this last night a my husband also said it was a "keeper". Couldn't find cellentani pasta, but Kroger's Private Selection pasta called Cavatappi appeared to be the same and worked great.

Easy and very very good! My three year old could not get enough, so it definitely passed the test.

Made this tonight. My kids and I usually do not like macaroni dishes. This was a BIG hit with everyone. Most of us had seconds! I substituted elbow for cellentani pasta (they did not have it at my local grocery store). It tasted like cheesey chicken enchiladas...very Tex Mex flavored. I also doubled the recipe. It made 3 full size 13X9-inch casseroles and a meatloaf pan size. I have enough in the freezer to eat this once a week for 3 weeks! This one is a keeper!!

Awesome! Easy to prepare - used mini penne pasta.

Easy and very good! I have two gransons that love mac and cheese -- so we cooked this together and I left out the chili powder and they picked the shape of the pasta. They loved it and ate on it for two days until it was gone.

This dish is SO good! My entire family loved it from ages 5 to 42.

I made this last week. Very good. My family enjoyed it but my husband suggested adding some bacon for more flavor.

Absolutely the BEST mac and cheese dish I have ever had!!!!

Terrific taste and sure to please everyone. I haven't used pasteurized cheese product in a long time, but when I saw this combination with cellentani pasta, I couldn't resist. This kicked up version of King Ranch was a hit with all the boys at our table. Fun to make and a crowd pleasing hearty meal.

This is absolutely the best Mac N Cheese I have EVER eaten! We like spicy so I like to marinade chicken breasts in McCormick Grill Mates Mexican Fiesta marinade, grill them, and cut into bite-sized pieces. I use about 3 chicken breasts - more than the recipe. I also substituted "light" cream cheese for the "processed" cheese, and added extra shredded cheddar for color. Love this recipe ~ have made it twice and we are looking forward to some of the leftovers (I froze some) tomorrow!

The judgment of other reviewers is certainly respected but I must say that my family was very disappointed with this recipe. We've enjoyed King Ranch-type casseroles before and was excited to find a new way to make mac and cheese. Possibly it was the fake taste of the "pasteurized prepared cheese product" but it just didn't taste fresh and healthy. Reminded me of a boxed dinner but not even that good. Might be worth another attempt replacing the boxed cheese with cheddar.

Delicious and easy to make!