Gooey and cheesy on the inside and crispy and crunchy on the outside, this Fried Macaroni and Cheese Bites Recipe is perfect as a party appetizer or a game day snack.
This family favorite can be made in a skillet, deep fryer or air fryer.
I usually don’t make fried foods at home, but some things just beg to be fried and this Fried Macaroni and Cheese Bites recipe is one of them!
We all love mac and cheese as it is, but once you add some seasoned breading and make them all crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside – YUM!
These little mac and cheese balls make a perfect game day food or party appetizer.
Macaroni and cheese is good in any form, but we especially love it in this “party perfect” deep fried form.
While I like to eat the fried macaroni and cheese bites AS IS, other family members and party guests have found that they love them when they’re dipped into a sauce.
That can be almost ANY type of sauce – from ketchup, to mustard, to ranch, to barbecue sauce, salsa – even guacamole!
I’m thinking a fun idea for our next party would be to set up a Mac and Cheese Bites Bar complete with a whole array of different sauces so everyone can experiment and find out just what combination they like best.
To fry the Mac and Cheese bites you can use an ordinary skillet filled 1/2″ to 3/4″ deep or you can choose to use an electric deep fryer. The main benefit of a deep fryer is that it offers uniform high heat throughout cooking. You’ll also get a super crispy and crunchy coating.
Air Fryer Appetizer:
If you want to decrease the amount of oil, you can also make this as an air fryer appetizer.
For air fryer mac and cheese bites, follow all the directions below, except when it comes to cooking them, brush with oil and cook in a single layer in your air fryer at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
(You might want to make just one or two for the first batch and adjust the cooking time and temperature to best work in your model of air fryer.)
Making Fried Mac & Cheese Bites with Boxed Macaroni and Cheese:
Our recipe includes making your own mac and cheese from scratch, but you can make the bites using a boxed mac and cheese.
We recommend using the deluxe mac and cheese that comes with a package of cheese sauce (not powder). This will give you a more creamy bite.
I also recommend adding in up to an additional 1/3 cup of shredded cheese to make it even cheesier.
Fried Macaroni and Cheese Bites
INGREDIENTS
1 lb Macaroni
2 (8 oz) Packages of Sharp Cheddar Cheese Chunk
1 1/4 cup Milk
1/2 cup Flour
1/4 cup Butter
2 Eggs
3 cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Salt & Pepper to taste
Vegetable Oil (for frying)
How to make fried mac and cheese bites
Boil the macaroni until tender. Then drain and set aside.
Shred your cheese and set aside – you’ll be using it to make your sauce.
In a large pan, melt butter over medium heat.
Add flour and mix until light brown color (make a roux).
Add 1 cup milk and whisk until thick.
Add cheese one handfull at a time.
Mix until cheese is all melted and smooth.
Add cooked macaroni to pan and mix until well coated.
Add salt and pepper.
Transfer to a container that will fit in your refrigerator, and refrigerate for at least one 1 hour or until cold.
Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper.
Form cold macaroni and cheese into 1″ balls and place on prepared pan.
Place in freezer for 1 hour.
Beat eggs and add 1/4 cup milk in a bowl to make egg wash.
Dip balls into egg wash then roll in bread crumbs to coat completely.
Heat oil in deep fryer to 320 or fill skillet 1/2-3/4″ deep and heat over medium high to 320.
Fry for about 3-4 minutes and drain.
Be sure to pin this recipe on Pinterest or save it to your Facebook wall so you can find it later!!
Fried Macaroni and Cheese Bites
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb Macaroni
- 2 8 oz Packages of Sharp Cheddar Cheese Chunk
- 1 1/4 cup Milk
- 1/2 cup Flour
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 2 Eggs
- 3 cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Vegetable Oil for frying
Instructions
- Boil macaroni until tender, drain and set aside.
- Shred your cheese and set aside.
- In a large pan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Add flour and mix until light brown color (make a roux).
- Add 1 cup milk and whisk until thick.
- Add cheese one handfull at a time.
- Mix until cheese is all melted and smooth.
- Add cooked macaroni to pan and mix until well coated.
- Add salt and pepper.
- Transfer to container that will fit in your refrigerator, and refrigerate for 1 hour or until cold.
- Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper.
- Form cold macaroni and cheese into 1" balls and place on prepared pan.
- Place in freezer for 1 hour.
- Beat eggs and add 1/4 cup milk in a bowl to make egg wash.
- Dip balls into egg wash then roll in bread crumbs to coat completely.
- Heat oil in deep fryer to 320 or fill skillet 1/2-3/4" deep and heat over medium high to 320.
- Fry for about 3-4 minutes and drain.
Nutrition
Alyssa says
The Fried Macaroni is going to be my breakfast tomorrow before I go to work. It looks yummy! Hoping I could prepare mine to look just exactly like what is in the picture.
Debbie says
I am catering a huge party for 400 people and want to premake them and freeze until day of when I will defrost.
Do you think it would be ok to put the bread crumbs on them before freezing? I have a ton of appetizers to make that day and want to do things the easiest way possible.
Thanks for the help.
Alison Beck says
May be a silly question but if I prepare these the day before and freeze them over night will they be okay?
Chrysa says
I haven’t tried that so I can’t know for sure. It might be ok, but if it is frozen solid all the way through I’m not sure if the center will get totally hot when you fry them. If you try it, let me know how it turns out that way!
Joan M Mast says
I want to make ahead for a graduation party. Did you have success making ahead and freezing?
Chrysa says
Hi, Joan. I haven’t yet tried making this ahead of time and freezing. Before making a whole bunch for the party, I would recommend just trying to put a few in the freezer and cooking afterwards to make sure they turn out!
Pamela says
I left some mac and cheese balls in the freezer to fry up later . I will egg wash and put bread crumbs on before frying .
Pamela says
I used my favorite macaroni and cheese recipe instead. As I had leftover mac and cheese from Christmas Dinner. It was very yummy.
Maria says
Hi Diane,
I just found this great recipe today, love this macaroni taste, thanks for sharing with us.
Shannon says
Hello! Do these reheat well? I’m looking for something to make ahead, and reheat the day of the party.
Thanks so much!
Chrysa says
To be honest, Shannon, I haven’t tried that. As with most fried foods they taste best right away. But I think you could have good results if when you first cook them you do so until they are only just starting to brown. That way if you heat them later in the oven they won’t get too dark on the outside before they are fully reheated inside.
Diane Stiney says
Hello, I noticed that your recipe calls for seasoned bread crumbs, but when you click on the directions your picture shows panko unseasoned bread crumbs, so which one are we supposed to use? Thanking you in advance for your response.
Chrysa says
The seasoned will make them more flavorful, but unseasoned can be used if that’s what you have on hand! (You can always add a teaspoon or two of your favorite seasoning to the unseasoned crumbs if you like.)
Diane Stiney says
What kind of seasoning do you use to seasoned the unseasond bread crums? Thanking you in advance for your response.
Stephen says
Did l just miss the air fry time and temperature, l looked twice.
Betty says
Great ideal. Must try
jendidessert says
I noticed you call for 1 3/4 cup milk, but it looks like you only use 1 1/4 cups in the recipe. Where does the other 1/2 cup go or do you even need it?
Chrysa says
Oops!! It should say 1 1/4 in the Ingredients list. Thanks for catching that!
stephen says
I found it looking the last time thru thanks. 400 8-10
John says
I drank it with my cheese bites 🙂
natalie says
Hi,
I was wondering, serving size to this recipe? I want to make for a kids party.
Chrysa says
It depends on how big you make them, but generally 24 – 36.
JOYCE ROGERS\ says
I’ve had these before….they are too yummy
Brandnewmom says
Holy Moly I think I just died and went to heaven! These look amazing!!!!! Thank you for this recipe!-Brandnewmomblog.com
Tammy S says
Wow oh wow! These look awesome! I have never even heard of them before. I have been missing out on a majorly delicious snack! My daughter loves Mac & Cheese so I know these are going to be a huge hit! Thanks for the recipe!