Mac N Cheese Bites Recipes

FRIED MAC AND CHEESE BALLS

Steps:

• Fill a pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir in the macaroni, and return to a boil. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the macaroni is cooked through but still firm to the bite, about 7 minutes. Drain. Stir in the 2 tablespoons butter, the 1/4 cup milk, and the cheese packet from the package.
• While the macaroni is still hot, stir in the Cheddar cheese, pimento cheese spread, and Italian cheese blend, and continue to stir until melted. Place the macaroni and cheese mixture in a container and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the macaroni mixture from the refrigerator, and, using a cookie scoop, scoop into balls. Place mac balls on the prepared baking sheet and freeze for at least 2 hours.
• Heat oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Whisk the bread crumbs with the paprika, chili powder, black pepper, sugar, and cayenne in a shallow dish; set aside. Beat the eggs with the 3 tablespoons milk in a small bowl. Remove the mac balls from the freezer, coat in the egg wash, and then dredge in breading.
• Fry the mac balls in small batches until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain briefly on a paper towel-lined plate; serve hot.

MACARONI AND CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• In a large pan of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni until al dente. Drain well, shaking off any excess water.
• Brush mini muffin tins (48 mini-cups total) with butter. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan.
• In a large saucepan, melt the 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook, constantly whisking, until boiling, about 5 minutes. Add the cheddar and American cheeses and whisk until melted. Mixture will be very thick. Remove from heat, and whisk in the egg yolk and paprika. Fold in the macaroni.
• Spoon slightly rounded tablespoons of the macaroni into the prepared muffin cups, packing well. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan on top.
• Bake for about 10 minutes, until golden and sizzling. Let cool for 5 minutes. Carefully loosen the mini macs, remove from pan to a platter, and serve.
• These can be prepared through Step 4 and refrigerated overnight.

BACON MAC 'N' CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 34 mini muffin cups with cooking spray. In 3-quart saucepan, cook and drain macaroni as directed on package; return to saucepan.
• Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Stir in flour and salt. Cook and stir until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Stir in 3/4 cup of the Cheddar cheese until melted. Stir in Parmesan cheese, blue cheese and bacon until blended. Pour over macaroni, stirring until well mixed.
• Spoon mixture into mini muffin cups, filling full. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle with chives. Remove from pans.

KIDS CAN MAKE: MAC 'N' CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line 2 or 3 mini-muffin pans with liners, and coat the liners generously with cooking spray.
• Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain the macaroni and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain again and shake off any excess water.
• Put the heavy cream, cream cheese, eggs, mustard, paprika and garlic in a large bowl. Beat on low speed with an electric mixer until combined (the mixture may have small lumps). Add the macaroni, Cheddar and Monterey jack, and stir until combined.
• Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the mac 'n' cheese into the prepared muffin liners. Combine the breadcrumbs and butter with your fingers in a small bowl until the mixture is the texture of wet sand. Sprinkle the top of each mac 'n' cheese mound with the buttered breadcrumbs.
• Bake until the cheese is melted and the bites are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving hot or at room temperature. Serve with hot sauce on the side, if desired.

MINI MAC & CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain., Meanwhile, sprinkle 1/4 cup bread crumbs into 36 greased mini-muffin cups. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and seasonings until smooth; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in 1 cup cheddar cheese and Swiss cheese until melted., Remove from heat; stir in biscuit mix, eggs and 1/2 cup bread crumbs. Add macaroni; toss to coat. Spoon about 2 tablespoons macaroni mixture into prepared mini-muffin cups; sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese and bread crumbs., Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pans 5 minutes before serving.

HOMEMADE MAC AND CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
• Cook pasta according to packaged directions and set aside.
• In a medium size pan combine butter and flour over medium heat. Whisk until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Slowly add milk and bring to a simmer. Add 1½ cups of the cheese, cream cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth and creamy. Remove from heat.
• In a large mixing bowl, carefully stir pasta, cheese sauce, and egg until evenly mixed and pasta is evenly coated.
• Spoon mac and cheese into mini muffin tins and top each with a small pinch of remaining cheese. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
• Allow to cool 5 minutes before gently removing the bites.

MAC 'N CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add macaroni and American cheese; stir until cheese is mostly melted, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low; mix in milk.
• Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven on the low broil setting. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Spread pretzels crackers on the prepared baking sheet; top each with a slice of sausage. Spoon 1 tablespoon macaroni and cheese mixture over sausage. Sprinkle black pepper on top.
• Bake under the preheated broiler until American cheese and pretzels start to brown, 1 to 2 minutes.

MAC 'N' CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• To make the toppings, heat half the oil in a frying pan over a high heat, and cook the mushrooms for 10 mins until golden. Stir in half the garlic and the parsley, and fry for 1 min more. Season and scrape into a bowl. Heat the rest of the oil in the pan and fry the remaining garlic and the breadcrumbs for 3-5 mins, stirring until crisp. Scrape into a second bowl.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then stir in the flour to make a thick paste. Gradually add the milk, a splash at a time, whisking until it's all incorporated. Cook for 2-3 mins more until thickened. Meanwhile, cook the macaroni in a pan of boiling salted water for 5-6 mins. Stir the cheddar into the white sauce until all the cheese has melted, then fold in the macaroni.
• Butter a 12-hole muffin tin and divide the mac 'n' cheese between the holes, packing it in with the back of a spoon. Top with the mushroom mixture, olives or sundried tomato slices, then scatter over the grated cheese and garlic breadcrumbs. Will keep, covered in the fridge, for up to 24 hrs.
• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Bake for 15 mins until golden and piping hot. Leave to cool for 10-15 mins in the tin, then loosen by running a spoon around the edges. Transfer to a plate.

FRIED MACARONI-AND-CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook macaroni until al dente according to package instructions; drain.
• In pot, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour, and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is pale golden and has a nutty aroma, about 4 minutes. Whisking constantly, slowly add milk. Cook, whisking along bottom of pot, until boiling, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat, and add remaining 1 tablespoon butter, the mustard powder, and cheese. Stir until melted and sauce is smooth; season with salt. Add macaroni to sauce, and stir to combine.
• Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with parchment; brush parchment lightly with oil. Spread macaroni mixture evenly in dish. Cover and refrigerate until firm, at least 8 hours.
• Invert set macaroni and cheese onto a cutting board and remove parchment. Cut into 1-inch squares with a sharp knife.
• Whisk eggs in a shallow dish. In a shallow dish, season panko with salt. Dip macaroni squares, a few at a time, in eggs, allowing excess to drip off into dish, then roll in panko mixture to coat completely. Transfer to a wire rack set on a baking sheet.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium until shimmering. Working in batches, add coated squares in a single layer (do not crowd pan); cook, turning occasionally, until all sides are crisp and golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes total. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined rack to drain and cool slightly. Wipe skillet clean. Repeat process with more oil and remaining squares. Serve warm.

MAC & CHEESE BACON BITES

Steps:

• Cook the pasta for 4 minutes less than the package instructions. Drain and set aside, reserving 1⁄4 cup of the pasta cooking water.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and then add the flour. Whisk together, cooking until the flour resembles wet sand and begins to smell nutty and fragrant. Add the milk, whisking until there is no lumps. Bring to a boil and cook for one minute, stirring often.
• Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Season generously with pepper and add salt to taste (this will depend on the saltiness of your cheese.) Add the pasta and fold together until the pasta is coated, add 1 tablespoon of the pasta cooking water, if necessary, to loosen.
• Lightly grease a muffin tin and line each cup with a piece of precooked bacon to come up sides of cup. Spoon mac and cheese into each of the cups and then top with some Italian panko breadcrumbs.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and allow to cool 5-10 minutes to settle into cups before removing and serving.

OVEN BAKED BREADED MACARONI AND CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• Start with our Mac and Cheese recipe.
• Make sure that your leftover mac n cheese is nice and cold and set up (refrigerated for at least 12 hours). If needed, you can also freeze the macaroni just a bit before portioning out to coat with breading.
• Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F (218 degrees C) and line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper. Use 1 Tbsp of the olive oil and a basting brush to coat the parchment paper lined baking sheet(s).
• In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until well combined. Use a second bowl for the all-purpose flour and then a third small bowl to combine the breading ingredients: crushed Italian seasoned croutons, Italian seasoned Panko, and Parmesan cheese.
• Using a table spoon, portion out large (approximately 1- 1 1/2 inch) chunks of the leftover macaroni and cheese. Quickly roll in your palms to shape into a rough ball shape, then dip into the flour, then the egg mixture, and next into the breading mixture. Coat thoroughly and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat until all of your macaroni and cheese has been breaded.
• Bake at 425 degrees F (218 degrees C) for about 10-12 minutes, then use the second Tbsp of olive oil to brush over the baking sheet. Roll the breaded macaroni and cheese balls to bake the opposite side for an additional 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

MAC AND CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• Grease a nonstick mini muffin pan very well with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat, then cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the package says. My elbow macaroni said to cook for 7 minutes, so I drained it after 5.
• After you've cooked and drained the pasta, return the empty pasta pot to the heat and turn the heat down to medium. Melt the butter and add the paprika. Add the flour and stir the mixture around for 2 minutes. While whisking, add the milk. The mixture will be very thick, but that's intentional. Just make sure you have stirred out any lumps. Remove the pot from the heat and add the cheeses and drained pasta, stirring it all together until the cheese and sauce are well distributed.
• Portion your mac and cheese into the muffin cups, either with a spoon or a 3-tbsp cookie scoop. Pack the mac and cheese into the muffin cups with your fingers really well. If you don't pack the mac and cheese down, they won't hold their shape when you take them out after baking, and you don't want them to fall apart.
• Bake the mac and cheese cups for 15 minutes, until bubbling and gooey. Remove them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 minutes, then carefully run a plastic knife or toothpick (assuming you need to not destroy the nonstick coating on your pan) around the edges to loosen. Remove the mac and cheese cups from the pan and garnish with chopped chives or scallion greens. Enjoy!