
So long ordinary mac and cheese! Here, we combine the gooey, melty goodness of a classic mac with rich, spicy Buffalo seasoning. The result? A game-day crowd pleasing touchdown! It’s got it all: twirly cavatappi noodles tossed in a creamy, cheesy sauce. Salty crumbles of bacon. A crispy, spiced panko crust for crunch. And to top it all off, it’s all ready in just 35 minutes—SCORE!
8 ounce
Bacon
½ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
12 ounce
Cavatappi Pasta
(Contains: Wheat)
2 tablespoon
Cream Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
8 ounce
Cream Sauce Base
(Contains: Milk)
½ ounce
Frank's Seasoning Blend
2 unit
Scallions
2 tablespoon
Flour
(Contains: Wheat)
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
1.5 cup
Mexican Cheese Blend
(Contains: Milk)
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
6 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper

Adjust rack to top position (top and middle positions for 4 servings) and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Heat a large dry pan over medium heat. Add bacon*; cook, turning occasionally and adjusting heat if browning too quickly, until crispy, 6-10 minutes.
Turn off heat; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.
Carefully discard bacon fat and wipe out pan.

While bacon cooks, wash and dry produce.
Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens.

Once water is boiling, add cavatappi to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes.
Reserve 1½ cups pasta cooking water (3 cups for 8 servings), then drain.
While pasta cooks, place 2 TBSP butter (4 TBSP for 8) in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until melted, 30 seconds. Stir in panko and half the Frank's RedHot® Original Seasoning Blend. Season with pepper.

Place 2 TBSP butter (4 TBSP for 8 servings) in a second small microwave-safe bowl; microwave until melted, 30 seconds. Stir in half the remaining Frank's RedHot® Original Seasoning Blend.

Heat pan used for bacon over medium heat. Add 2 TBSP of butter and a drizzle of oil. Slowly add flour, whisking until color has slightly darkened and flour is bubbling.
Add scallion whites, garlic powder, and remaining Frank's RedHot® Original Seasoning Blend. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
Whisk in cream sauce base, cream cheese, Buffalo sauce, and 1 cup reserved pasta cooking water (2 cups for 8 servings); reduce heat to low. Simmer, whisking, until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes.
Whisk in Mexican cheese blend until melted and creamy.

Roughly chop bacon. Stir drained cavatappi and half the bacon into pan with cheese sauce. (TIP: If your pan is not large enough, carefully transfer everything into pot used to cook pasta.) If needed, stir in more reserved pasta cooking water a splash at a time until cavatappi is coated in a creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer mac & cheese to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish (for 8 servings, use two 9-by-13-inch baking dishes). Top with panko topping.
Bake on top rack until panko is browned and sauce is bubbly, 10-12 minutes (for 8, bake on top and middle racks, swapping rack positions halfway through). Sprinkle with remaining bacon and scallion greens.
Divide between plates or serve directly from baking dish.
Instructions to use half of red hot seasoning could have been clearer to say use half of a 0.25 oz pack as it makes it sound like you use one of the 2 packs by saying use half without reading ahead in the recipe. Could have been cheesier as well.
Great tasting dinner but way too much for leftovers. We had so much that some did have to get thrown away.
This was really good. The only I couldn't use was the buffalo sauce packets because my husband can't eat anything with spicy sauce.
I recommend 50% more cheese sauce but other than that it was delicious!
Really good. Could use extra hot sauce for after but not just seasoning.
Way better than expected even. Really good flavors and texture.
We don't add anything spicy, nor do we add the green onions.
Always order Mac and cheese dishes but didn't notice this was super size which cost more. Thought it was a little deceiving.