★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★
A Shortcut to Comfort Food
This Rotisserie Chicken Tuscan Mac and Cheese is all about big flavor with less effort. Using store-bought rotisserie chicken saves time without sacrificing taste. It’s tender, juicy, and ready to mix right into your creamy, cheesy pasta—perfect for busy nights when you still want a hearty, homemade meal.
Ready in 15 minutes
Maybe even less. Really. This all comes together really quickly so it's an excellent weeknight dinner idea. It's one of those easy dinners that's also fancy enough to serve to guests so if you like hosting people over for dinner but you don't always have a ton of time, this might be a great solution for you.
Homemade Sauce with a Gourmet Twist
What makes this mac and cheese stand out is the scratch-made sauce. It’s rich and velvety, made with half and half, butter, and flour, then blended with Italian cheese for a melty, savory finish. A pinch of cayenne adds just enough kick, while the parmesan topping gives it that irresistible golden crust.
Bursting with Tuscan-Inspired Flavors
The addition of garlic paste, chopped fresh basil, and diced pimento peppers brings a Mediterranean flair to this dish. The pimentos add a pop of color and sweetness, while the garlic and basil layer in fresh, herby flavor that balances the richness of the cheese sauce beautifully.
Family-Friendly and Crowd-Pleasing
This dish is the perfect blend of cozy and sophisticated—something adults can enjoy just as much as kids. It’s easy to double for a potluck or serve as a one-dish family dinner. You can even make it ahead and reheat, making it as convenient as it is crave-worthy.
Make it a Meal
Serve this with a roasted veggie or a bagged salad to make this a complete dinner.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
You don't need a long list of ingredients to make this dinner dish either. Just a few key elements really bring the flavor.
- Macaroni pasta. Or choose a different shape of pasta. Any works!
- Rotisserie chicken. Garlic or traditional flavor work best.
- Butter. Salted or add extra salt if using unsalted.
- Garlic paste. Feel free to use fresh garlic if you prefer.
- Chicken bullion. Cube, powder or paste.
- Flour. All purpose flour.
- Half and half. Or milk can be used.
- Italian cheese blend.
- Pimento peppers. Drained and diced
- Fresh basil. Chopped and stems removed.
Optional
- Cayenne pepper. Optional for heat. Red pepper flakes can also be used.
- Parmesan cheese. Grated or shredded.
★ How to Make this Recipe ★
This Tuscan chicken and pasta dish is super simple even with the homemade cheese sauce.
Here's a look at how it comes together:
- Cook pasta, drain and set aside.
- Melt butter in skillet. Whisk in garlic, bullion and flour.
- Add heavy cream or milk.
- Add basil, pimentos, and Italian cheese.
- Add cooked pasta to sauce. Stir.
- Top with sliced rotisserie chicken and Parmesan then serve.
★ Tips & FAQs ★
You can stir in a handful of fresh spinach leaves if you're really craving the style of Tuscan chicken you'd find at Olive Garden. They also sneak in a splash of white wine. Feel free to do there here too if you want to really get fancy. Totally not necessary though, you will get plenty of flavor without so I'll leave that up to you.
To get a smooth cheese sauce, slowly whisk shredded cheese into a warm (not boiling) béchamel or cream base off the heat to prevent curdling and graininess.
Serve this dish with a side of roasted Brussels sprouts (or any roasted vegetable), a side salad, and some crusty bread.
This meal pairs well with either red or white wine and you could offer fresh cracked black pepper and fresh grated Parmesan cheese as toppings if you want to be a little extra.
★ More Chicken Pasta Recipes ★
More Quick and Easy Dinner Ideas
Browse all my easy dinner recipes
This Rotisserie Chicken Tuscan Mac and Cheese recipe was featured on South Your Mouth and Julie's Simply Southern!
Tuscan Chicken Mac and Cheese
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups macaroni pasta cooked and drained
- 1 rotisserie chicken warm
- ½ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon chicken bullion
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 3 cups half and half or milk
- 1 cup Italian cheese blend shredded
- 4 oz diced pimento peppers drained
- 2 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes (optional for heat)
Toppings
- Parmesan cheese to taste
- black pepper freshly cracked
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Instructions
- Cook pasta. Prepare pasta according to package. Drain and set aside.
- Make cheese sauce. Melt butter over medium-high heat in the same cast iron skillet or pot used to boil the pasta.Add and saute garlic for 1 minute. Add chicken bullion. Break up and stir into butter with a whisk. Whisk in flour. Add half and half or milk. Whisk in Italian cheeses, pimentos and fresh basil. Add cayenne pepper to taste if you want to add some heat.
- Let sauce thicken. Reduce heat to medium-low and whisk until cheese melts and sauce becomes thickened. Don't let it boil or the cheese may separate and the sauce may become grainy.
- Add pasta. Stir in cooked macaroni then remove from heat.
- Add chicken. Slice off chicken breast from a warm rotisserie chicken and cut into slices or bite sized pieces and place on top of the mac and cheese for serving. Top with grated Parmesan cheese right before enjoying.
Video
Notes
- To thin the cheese sauce, add a little more half and half or milk.
- Let flour bubble in melted butter for about 1 minute to help cook out the floury taste.
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