This is a Chicken Mac and Cheese that’s made in one pot, where macaroni, chicken and broccoli are all cooked together from raw! The cheese sauce is creamy but made without cream, and the pasta and chicken is perfectly cooked. A complete cosy dinner, on the table in just over 30 minutes!
Broccoli Chicken Mac and Cheese
I will never abandon my beloved Baked Mac and Cheese. But sometimes you need your mac and cheese to be dinner, not just an enormous bowl of cheese and carbs. 😂
So here’s a mac and cheese that not only makes a respectable dinner with seasoned chicken bites and a giant head of broccoli, it’s actually a healthier version too. Less butter. No cream.
But – I didn’t cut back on cheese. We’re making Mac and Cheese here, after all. Not just Mac!! 🙂
And to top it all off, it’s all made in one pot. Start it on the stove by searing the chicken and making the sauce. Then pour the uncooked macaroni and raw broccoli in, pop it in the oven and like magic, out comes a bubbling Mac and Cheese with perfectly cooked macaroni, tender broccoli and juicy bites of chicken smothered in a creamy sauce. It’s like….magic!
Ingredients in Broccoli Chicken Mac and Cheese
To make a mac and cheese in one pot, you need to use an exact amount of liquid to macaroni ratio – enough to cook the pasta and create a creamy sauce. Not enough liquid = dry. Too much liquid = soup! Here’s what you need:
1. the chicken
Chicken – I like to use boneless thighs as they stay juicier for the bake time required. But you could use breast if you prefer.
Garlic powder – To flavour the chicken. You can substitute this with an Italian Herb Mix.
Salt and pepper – For seasoning.
2. the mac and cheese
Macaroni (elbow pasta) – Feel free to use other pasta that is similar size, like small shells, ditalini, fusilli, penne or cavatappi.
Broccoli – Use one large head, or two smaller ones. The dish can take quite a lot of broccoli, so you can even increase it if you want!
Cheese – Use 2 tightly packed cups (200g) of your favourite cheese that melts well, but not mozzarella as it doesn’t have enough seasoning. I will always be an advocate for shredding your own – it melts more smoothly because packet shredded is coated in anti-clumping agents that can make the sauce a little grainy. But if you have a shredded cheese brand you know and trust, feel free to use it! Australians reading this – I use the Devondale 3 Cheese Blend (Colby, mozzarella, parmesan) and it works very well, no graininess.
Butter – This is the fat I use to cook everything, then when the flour is added it forms a roux – the thickening base for the cheese sauce.
Flour – Just plain / all-purpose flour. As mentioned above, this is what thickens the liquid to become the creamy sauce.
Onion and garlic – Sautéed at the beginning to form a flavour base. I recommend not skipping this, it adds extra flavour into the whole dish.
Milk and chicken stock/broth (low sodium) – These are the liquids used to make the sauce. You need quite a lot in order to cook the pasta – 5 cups (1.25 litres) for 300g / 10 oz of pasta. Most of it gets absorbed by the pasta then by the time it is cooked, we need enough liquid to form the creamy sauce.
Full fat milk is best but low-fat works fine too. For the chicken stock, use low sodium, though if full salt is all you’ve got, reduce the salt in the sauce by a bit.
3. Crunchy topping
Panko breadcrumbs – These are chunkier than regular breadcrumbs so they make a crunchier topping!
Butter – I prefer the flavour of butter but you can use olive oil if you prefer.
Parmesan cheese – Just a couple of tablespoons of parmesan to give the topping a flavour boost. I use the sandy-type of grated parmesan (fridge, not aisle – that’s no real parmesan! 🙂 )
How to make One Pot Broccoli Chicken Mac and Cheese
Don’t be alarmed by how soupy it looks when you’re stirring in the cheese. Pasta absorbs liquid astonishingly fast, so in the few minutes it’s under the broiler (oven grill) to brown the crunchy topping, the sauce will from too loose to thick and creamy. Trust! 🙂
Sauté – Melt the butter in a large deep oven-proof pan (30cm/12″ wide), or use a large pot. Then sauté the garlic and onion for 2 minutes.
Sear chicken – Add the chicken and sprinkle the chicken seasoning over (garlic powder, salt and pepper). Cook for 2 – 3 minutes, just until the surface of the chicken is sealed but the inside is still raw. You won’t get much colour on the chicken, if at all.
Make roux – Add the flour and stir until you can no longer see flour. The chicken and onion will look like it’s covered in a paste.
Dissolve roux – Add the stock and stir until the roux is dissolved – it will become cloudy. Then add the milk and stir to combine.
Macaroni – Add the uncooked macaroni, stir.
Broccoli – Cover the surface with the raw broccoli florets. Just scatter it across the surface, don’t push it into the liquid.
Bake 20 minutes – Place the lid on and bake for 20 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced).
Cheese it! Remove from the oven and flick it over to the broiler/oven grill on high. Working quickly (but gently!) sprinkle the cheese over and stir it in.
Sprinkle with the crunchy topping.
Golden crunchy topping – Then pop it under the oven grill/broiler for 3 minutes, just to make the crunchy topping golden. Remove and serve straight away!
There you go!! Mmmmm, not sure what else to say about this. 🙂 I mean, it’s:
√ One pot
√ Easy
√ Creamy and cheesy
√ Complete meal
√ No cream
Errrm….ticked all my boxes for an easy, scrumptious midweek meal! 😉 – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Here’s the video so you can see for yourself the magic of how you can make Mac and Cheese in one pot! With no cream!!
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One Pot Broccoli Chicken Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
Chicken and seasoning
- 500g / 1 lb chicken thigh fillets, skinless and boneless, cut into small bite size pieces
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, +50% for flakes)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Broccoli mac and cheese
- 3 tbsp (50g) unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
- 1 small onion , finely chopped
- 1/4 cup plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 3 cups milk , full fat best but low fat is fine
- 2 cups chicken stock / broth , low sodium
- 3/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, +50% for flakes)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 300 g (3 cups) macaroni (elbow pasta) (Note 1)
- 1 large head of broccoli , broken into florets (or 1 1/2 smaller ones)
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups (150 – 200g) cups shredded cheese (cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, tasty – not mozzarella, too plain), preferably freshly shredded but I usually use pre-shredded ("3 cheese blend" mozzarella, Colby and parmesan)
Topping
- 25 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter , melted
- 1/2 cup panko (or ordinary breadcrumbs)
- 2 tbsp parmesan cheese , I use the store bought sandy-type (from fridge not aisle), else finely shred you own (tightly pack the tablespoons)
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced).
- Sauté onion – Melt butter over high heat in a large deep oven-proof skillet (30cm/12" wide), or use a large pot. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes.
- Cook chicken – Add the chicken and garlic, and sprinkle the garlic powder, salt and pepper over. Cook, stirring, until the surface of the chicken is sealed.
- Creamy sauce – Reduce heat to medium high and add flour. Stir until you no longer see white flour. Pour in the stock and stir until it turns milky from the flour dissolving into the liquid. Add milk, salt and pepper. Turn the heat up to high and stir.
- Macaroni and broccoli – Add macaroni, stir, then once you start seeing bubbles, spread the broccoli across the surface.
- Bake 20 minutes – Cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Bake 20 minutes.
- Crunchy topping – Meanwhile, mix the Crunchy Topping ingredients together.
- Cheese and crunch it! Remove the pan from the oven. Flick to oven grill/broiler on high. Remove lid. Scatter with cheese then gently (but quickly!) stir through. It might look a bit watery still, that's good! It will thicken quickly into a creamy sauce. Smooth surface, then sprinkle with Topping.
- Golden topping – Place under the broiler/grill for 3 to 5 minutes, or until top is golden. By this time excess liquid will be absorbed by the pasta and the sauce will be thickened and creamy.
- Serve immediately while hot and oozy and creamy!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Recipe originally published in 2016, way back when I just started making recipe videos! Updated with a much needed better video, new photos, and the recipe steps have been slightly streamlined too. I used to cook the chicken first, remove, then add it back later. I’ve since changed to an all-in method. Easier and just as good!
The Mac and Cheese Collection
Life of Jaffle
Jaffle thinks every dog was put on this earth to be his play mate, but he’s definitely got one friend he’s particularly attached to. Meet Charlie! He’s the one on the left, also a golden retriever, just one month younger than Jaffle.
I hope you weren’t expecting a nice photo of the two of them sitting next to each other, facing the camera so you can clearly see Charlie’s face. No chance of that! The moment we arrive at the park, these two get right into it, leaping and whirling and pouncing and tumbling!
And when all else fails, this is Jaffle’s strategy to gain the upper hand – just pin Charlie down with his weight. He’s got a few kilos on him so it doesn’t take any effort – he just splat flops onto top of Charlie and he’s pinned down, squirming, legs flailing like an insect on its back. 😆
They’re very cute together. 🥰
Im loving mushrooms at the moment and love to add extra veggies, do you think they would work in this recipe or the greek one pot chicken recipe?
DEFINATELY! Just saute them so the water comes out and they soften slightly before adding the liquids and baking, otherwise the water in the mushrooms will make the sauce water 🙂 Same goes with other veggies!
I love your tips as always, Nagi. The macaroni looks perfect. And the video – swoon!! You know, I jumped into the world of video myself this week – yes, ME who’s usually 3 years behind everyone else with these sorts of things. Enjoyed it so much, and it really wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.
Anyway, back to your post. Love the burn tips too – I burn my hands on my hair straighteners EVERY week, so very useful indeed (and my darn hair only stays straight for about an hour).
Woah woah!! Really?? I have to check it OUT!!!!
I love one pot meals and this one was delicious. My little grandson and daughter scraped their bowls clean
Thank you so much Belinda! Glad to hear the little one(s) scraped their bowls!!! <3 N x
Mac and cheese is a favourite here too, although the kids always get annoyed when I ‘spoil’ it by adding veggies. Although now they are getting older they are more health conscious so I can probably get away with it! Glad I am not the only one who still manages to burn myself. Hope it is better soon.
Hi Bronnie! Hope you’re having a great week….almost at the end of it, YAY!!! Ugh, I’m such a klutz, I constantly have minor kitchen incidents, burns being the worst offender.? I hope you haven’t had any major disasters yourself – touch wood! N x
Love one pot meals. Canon you imagine I have never made Mac and cheese…too rich. Now ,no cream I will have to try it. Thanks for a great recipe.
Woah! YES you must try it!! This is a great one to break in with because it’s not insanely rich like they are at restaurants! 🙂 I do hope you enjoy it Lisa!!
Nagi, the queen of one pot meals and the cream-no cream dish! I’m totally with you on the mac n’ cheese thing – just give me a giant spoon and I’m set… no smaller bowl needed. As for this dish, it’s like mac n’ cheese and broccoli and cheese soup had a love child! Absolutely delicious!
*Snort!* OK – wait. If I want a title, I want that one ?
Mmmmm, just looky here at all that comfort food goodness. With a safe helping of broccoli thrown in I would feel no guilt. LOVE Mac & Cheese, especially homemade 🙂
Well hello there Kevin! Long time no chat! Popping over to catch up on what’s been happening! 🙂
Hey there! I’ve sent you a couple emails with updates instead of in the comment section on your site. You didn’t get them? Even my Valentines Day one? I figured you were so busy making all these wonderful videos or a new project. LOVE you! 🙂
NO! I didn’t get them!!! Mind you, I had a computer virus around that time….let me check my filters!!! <3 N x
See, I thought something was up. I’ll email you from Keviniscooking email and let’s see. 🙂
What a great looking recipe!! I love the idea of making it all in one pot. In fact I don’t think you’d even need a dish — just set the whole pot in front of me with a huge serving spoon. YUM!! xxxooo
BA HA HA!!! Deal! But I get to sit beside you – give me a spoon too, let’s dig in together!!! ❤️
Full disclosure, mac and cheese is usually too rich for me. But omg, this looks amazing! You’ve solved the heaviness with gobs of gorgeous broccoli. I happen to have a big brick of comte in the fridge right now and this is the PERFECT way to use it!!
ME TOO Marissa! I grew up with creamy sauces made from roux not CREAM, I couldn’t eat this if it was made with cream. Way too rich!! 🙂
We had this for dinner last night and it was fantastic! Perfect combination of ingredients and the panko/parmesan crust I could eat just by itself! Nice and moist and creamy though in the future might try a little more cheese and a combination of cheeses. I wonder what other vegetable would work well in this instead of the Broccoli or maybe in combination with it?
WOO HOO!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for you Steve, the first to try this recipe and come back to share your thoughts!!!! Any other veggie would work well, but harder ones like carrots would need to be chopped and sautéed to help soften, and watery ones like zucchini and eggplant also sautéed to get the water out otherwise they will make the sauce watery. 🙂 I think spinach would be a lovely addition to stir through with the cheese too!
A yummy twist, adding chicken and broccoli is a great idea. By the way, I enjoyed watching your video for truly crispy wings, I can’t wait to try it too 🙂
Thanks Muna!!! Those crispy wings are insanely good! I still remember the first time I made them, I was SO AMAZED how crispy they came out!
I just love your videos – they bring the recipe to life and show me how simple making dinner is going to be. Love your work Nagi 🙂
oh that looks yummy, Nagi! Anything that takes half an hour or less to cook is a life-aver in my books for evenings. I’ve just watched your video and found it compelling: there’s something addictive about watching food being cooked, especially in such nice light. x
What a lovely, modern interpretation of Mac ‘n’ Cheese, Nagi. A full meal!
Thanks so much Victoria, that’s so kind of you to say! N x
sneaky sneak! i bet my nieces wouldn’t even know there are veggies. Grand plans! i like it!
It’s easy to see past veggies hidden amongst CREAMY SAUCE, isn’t it? ?
I LOVE cooking with cast iron pans and dutch ovens for that exact same reason! And I like you, I have SO MANY burn scars on my hands because I always manage to touch the handles while they’re still hot. That burn cream is made for people like me! If only I can find it or something similar in America…
This one pot wonder looks amazing, Nagi!! Just want to dig right in. (P.S. LOVE that white color of your dutch oven!)
I know, right?? I swear, my fingerprints always have trouble scanning at airports!!! It’s terrible!!! N x
Hi Nagi! Like you I can’t resist a good mac n’ cheese! And a one pot complete meal makes it even better! I always top my homemade with Panko and parmesan too! 🙂
Dorothy, I know I’ve said this before….but gosh, you and I have such similar taste it’s almost scary!!! YOU ROCK!!! ??❤️
This looks absolutely amazing!!! I usually don’t make mac & cheese because it’s really unhealthy but now it’s got protien and broccoli so I’ve got no excuse not to make it 😉
I know exactly what you mean. In fact, I honestly cannot remember the last time I made it with cream!!
I just love this idea Nagi…one pot for one of my favourite dishes 🙂 Who doen’t love mac and cheese? And yes, the one at Rockpool is incredible 🙂
I know, right?? Neil Perry is a genius!