King Ranch Chicken Mac and Cheese

Husband and son could not get enough of this dish!  The ingredients were simple and the recipe easy to make.  I never buy Velveeta and was skeptical of a recipe using it and cream of chicken soup.  Turned out delicious.  It is officially my husband's favorite recipe. Tonight we are serving King Ranch Chicken Mac and Cheese for supper club.  I will double the macaroni and keep the rest of the recipe the same. Can't wait for my friends to try it.

this recipe was OK, but nothing special.  it was a little commercial tasting, but this made the dish easy to put together, and i think that is the point.  unless one substitutes or changes, it lacks depth of flavor, but then why not make something else?

There is a dairy-free vegan cottage cheese. I haven't tried it, but that should work ... unless you also have an allergy to the ingredients for that product. I know how troublesome food allergies are. I also have one.

Now this is what we both called great and tasty comfort food. I used just half the amount of Velveeta and substituted the other half with 1 1/2 cups of grated pepper jack and 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan, added 1/4 tsp ground chipoltle pepper and 3 large cloves of garlic, finely minced. To the 1 1/2 cups of sharp cheddar on the top I added 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan. This actually made 4 not 6 decent sized servings so we had it for dinner the next night.

Did you try adding garlic and cayenne?

I will be making this tonight.

I made this last weekend for children I was babysitting for.  They loved it and so did I!!  I purchased the mild diced tomatoes and green chiles since I didn't want it to be too hot for them.  I also used the Low Fat Cream of Chicken soup and left out the chili powder and cumin since I was out of it.  It still tasted awesome and will definitely make it again and pass it to all my friends!

I was pleased with the flavor of this recipe.  I find calling it a "mac and cheese" to be somewhat misleading, despite the amount of cheese that's in it.  It's a casserole with pasta, tomatoes, cheese, soup, bell pepper and spices.  As usual, depending on your family's tastes, tweaking it with spicy Rotel or adding more cumin and chile powder are always up to you. 

This king ranch is delicious! Either use velveta or real Monterey Jack. The kids will love this. Many more unhealthy things you're consuming than cheese real or otherwise.

If I make this for freezing to eat later in the week, do I cook it first and then freeze it or no? If I don't cook it first, must I thaw it ahead of time before cooking or can it go straight to the oven like a lasagna? Does this effect cooking time?

This recipe can be rather bland and lacking in the "can't stop eating even though I'm stuffed" field, so I made a few changes to the recipe. I'm not a fan of pasteurized cheese so I substituted it with sharp white cheddar with a dash of milk. The chicken can be rather bland without seasoning, so a touch of salt and pepper rubbed in olive oil is always fun. Excluding the chili powder, I replaced it with minced habaneros and fresh parsley mixed into the dish. If you're like me and get easily tired of the texture and/or the constant blasts of cheese, adding small diced potatoes (hash brown style) into the mix will give you a pleasant surprise.

This is the best casserole I have ever made and I have been cooking for over 30 years. I kept the ingredients the same, but changed the process.  Instead of melting the cheese on top of the stove, I cut it into cubes and added a can of Ro-Tel Tomatoes.  I then cooked it in the microwave on four minutes.  I used the oven safe dish as a mixing bowl and added the remaining ingredients.  I baked it according to directions.  My family loved it and we did not have leftovers!  I make it weekly now!

Really good and simple. Changes I made: elbow pasta, sharp cheddar for the velveeta, 1 Von's rotisserie (about 3 1/2 cups), Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup, light sour cream & 6 ounces of reduced fat sharp cheddar. I would add a can of diced green chiles or fresh minced jalapeno and I would double the spices. This recipe would serve 8+ and would not fit into an 11x7 or a 10" skillet as noted in the original recipe.

I don't have a review, but a question.. is there any substitute for the sour cream other than cottage cheese?? I have a dairy allergy so the "fake" cheese is only cheese I can really tolerate.  Any ideas would be welcome

There's a chipotle mac and cheese recipe here that is pretty good, and you add as much chipotle peppers as you want!

Please don't rate something that you did not even make. The rating scale is for rating the recipe after you have cooked it. If you do not like cheese product that is a personal choice but do not purposefully rate a recipe with a poor score just because you do not like the ingredients.

I have made this many times and it's definitely a family favorite. I wanted to leave a review because I read several reviews with complaints about the processed pasteurized cheese product called for in the recipe. I have NEVER made this with fake cheese. I always substitute real cheddar and it is so good. I also use rotisserie chicken which saves time and adds some good flavor.

Texas-transplanted NOLA native here who was mightily disappointed with this recipe. I wanted so much to like it, but it was flavorless. I just can't bring myself to try again with hot rotel since I tried to adjust seasonings to no avail. Still in search of a spicy mac n cheese recipe!

My family love this recipe I am going to fix this to night for them

Made this tonight and we enjoyed it. I sautéed some celery and carrot with the onion and bell pepper. I thought the texture was good and wasn't offended using the small amount of Velveeta as another reviewer was. Had a salad and some crunchy bread - good cold night dinner! I also divided it into 2 casseroles since it is just my husband and me. Froze the second for another time.

"1 (8-oz.) package pasteurized prepared cheese product, cubed"... SERIOUSLY? I gave the recipe two stars (which is "has potential") - because I haven't made it. It does have potential. Other than the ingredient above, it looks amazing. But a "package of pasteurized prepared cheese product"???? Wow, that is SO gross! I clicked on the recipe because it looked delicious, and I've been struggling to find a good mac and cheese recipe... but using this fake food? Absolutely not.

I've made the original King Ranch Chicken Casserole for years, but when I made this Mac & cheese version the other day, it became an instant hit with my entire family. Definitely not a diet dish, but very worth the occasional treat.

this is the first time i made this recipe...i hardly ever make macaroni dishes and even less mac & cheese dishes for dinner but this sounded pretty good.. I didnt have a bell pepper(guess i forgot to buy it) but i did add broccoli and kale to the dish...it came out so good..i think next time i may add some sliced carrots and i dont know more vegetables :) i also put bread crumbs on top to give it more texture...in all i really liked this recipe..my 4 year old liked it too!

Delectable.We loved it. I made 1/3 recipe for 2 and had leftovers.

I was so disappointed with this recipe! I have never made a recipe with 4+ stars that I didn't genuinely like and both my husband and I hated this. There were just too many soft elements to this - there was no textural element that was appealing. I will stick to regular King Ranch Chicken with some type of crunchy chip topping. Wouldn't make this again unfortunately.

My husband absolutely loved this. The only thing I would do different is separate the mixture and freeze half for later.

Made this as written using mild Rotel. Everyone loved it, even my husband who doesn't usually go for mac'n'cheese. I had to put it in my meal rotation for every two weeks, at least, because the grandkids kept begging for it. Although spicy enough for us, I like how you can make this spicier just by buying a spicier can of Rotel. I serve this with tortilla chips and a green salad for some crunch. The family likes this better than King Ranch Casserole (that has the corn tortillas layered in)and it's easier to make, as well!

I thought this dish was pretty good, but not worth the 5 stars everyone seems to be giving it.

love it...i actually made this a little more healthy by using whole wheat penne pasta, 2% velveta, fat free sour cream, fat free cheddar and low sodium soup. i am a firefighter and plan on serving this up at the station soon!

Good flavor, but mine came out with some thin liquid at the bottom that seaprated out, rather than the ooey-gooey cheesey sauce I expected. I mixed mine ahead and baked it the next day, so this may be why. Other than that, it was what I expected, having made King Ranch casserole many times.

So easy & tastes fantastic. This recipe makes PLENTY. If you have a small family (2-3), freeze 1/2 for later. It reheats beautifully.

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.

Truely delicious and easy.

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

Delicious and easy to make!

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! Donna Mesa, AZ

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Awesome! Easy to prepare - used mini penne pasta.

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...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 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 13X9casseroles and a meatloaf pan size. I have enough in the freezer to eat this 1xweek for 3 weeks! This one is a keeper!!

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