Mac and Cheese Bites
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Turn leftover mac and cheese into crispy, golden, homemade Mac and Cheese Bites! You can cook them in an air fryer, bake them in the oven, or pan fry them on the stove. The breading on the outside is crispy and flavorful, while the inside is filled with creamy, cheesy mac and cheese.
This easy recipe is freezer-friendly and perfect for an afternoon snack, appetizer or game day party food!
Table of contents
I’m not going to lie, I’m really drawn to any recipe that’s crispy on the outside and cheesy on the inside. Mozzarella sticks, arancini, and these mac and cheese bites, are all on the top of my list of favorite appetizers. The taste and texture of these appetizer recipes is delicious!
I also like to find fun and unique ways to reinvent leftovers, and that’s exactly what I did in this recipe. I took leftover mac and cheese from my easy stovetop recipe and made these mac and cheese balls.
The great thing about this recipe is that you can use just about any leftover mac and cheese to make it! Whether it’s stovetop mac and cheese, baked mac and cheese or smoked mac and cheese, you can take it and turn it into these cheesy delights!
Have leftover mac and cheese from a holiday meal, like Thanksgiving or Christmas? Get the kids in the kitchen to help you roll up these mac and cheese balls. It’s fun for the whole family!
And I love that these mac and cheese bites are freezer-friendly. Make them today, then anytime in the next 3 months, when you’re in the mood for a cheesy snack, grab 1 or 2 and cook them up quickly in an air fryer or in the oven!
Ingredients
- Mac and cheese – if you don’t already have leftover mac and cheese, you can make this easy stovetop mac and cheese recipe, then chill it in the refrigerator to make this recipe.
- All-purpose flour – to coat the mac and cheese bites before dipping them in the eggs and panko parmesan mixture.
- Salt – to season the flour.
- Eggs – I recommend using large eggs to make sure you have enough egg wash to coat the mac and cheese bites.
- Panko breadcrumbs – used to bread the mac and cheese bites and give them an extra crispy texture!
- Parmesan cheese – for a lot of recipes, I recommend fresh grated cheese. For this recipe, I actually recommend using pre-grated shaker parmesan cheese. It adheres better to the outside of the mac and cheese as part of the breading.
- Italian seasoning – click the link for my homemade seasoning recipe. It’s easy to mix up in 5 minutes with 7 ingredients, and the taste and texture are perfect in this recipe. You can also use premade Italian seasoning found on the spice aisle at the grocery store.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Form and chill balls of mac and cheese. Grab 2 to 3 tablespoons of mac and cheese, and form it into a ball. Repeat this until you’ve made about 15 balls of mac and cheese. Place them on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper, and into the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Prepare the breading station. Stir flour and salt together in a shallow bowl, or on a rimmed plate. In a separate shallow bowl, whisk 4 large eggs together. In a third bowl, combine panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.
- Bread the mac and cheese bites. Roll a ball of mac and cheese in the flour until it’s fully covered. Transfer it to the bowl of whisked eggs and roll it around until it’s fully covered. Allow any excess egg to drip off, then transfer it to the bowl of bread crumbs and roll it around until it’s fully covered. Place it back in the egg mixture and cover it completely again, then back into the breadcrumbs for a second coating. Press down gently on all sides to make sure the mac and cheese is fully covered in the breadcrumbs. Repeat with all of the balls of mac and cheese.
- Store or cook the mac and cheese bites. Once all of the mac and cheese balls are breaded, either cook them in the air fryer, oven, or pan fry them. Or transfer them to a freezer-safe zipper bag, date and label the bag, then place them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Cook them in an air fryer
- Add the breaded mac and cheese bites to an air fryer basket, with space around each one for the air to circulate around them and cook them on all sides.
- Spray the mac and cheese bites with cooking spray, then cook at 400°F for 5 minutes.
- Open the air fryer, flip the mac and cheese bites, spray the tops with cooking spray and cook for an additional 5 minutes at 400°F.
Bake them in the oven
- Place the mac and cheese bites on a wire rack, on top of a baking sheet. This will allow air to move around all sides and cook them evenly.
- Spray them with cooking spray on all sides.
- Place in a 425°F preheated oven. If you have a convection option on your oven, I recommend using it to bake the mac and cheese bites. Cook for 12-14 minutes, or until the outside of the mac and cheese bites are golden brown.
Pan fry them on the stove
To make pan fried mac and cheese balls, follow these 4 simple steps.
- Heat 2 inches of canola or vegetable oil in a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the mac and cheese bites to the skillet, 6-8 at a time so you don’t overcrowd the skillet.
- Cook the mac and cheese bites for 2-3 minutes per side, or until browned on all sides. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a wire rack, over a stack of paper towels. This way any remaining grease will drain through the wire rack and onto the paper towels, to keep the outside of the mac and cheese bites super crispy!
- Repeat until you’ve cooked all of the mac and cheese bites.
Recipe tips
- Don’t skip the step of freezing the mac and cheese balls before breading them! This step is essential to keeping the mac and cheese together while you bread it.
- Make sure the mac and cheese is completely cooled before making this recipe. The mac and cheese will not stick together to form balls if it’s still warm.
- Always bread the mac and cheese bites in the egg and breadcrumb mixture TWICE! This ensures that the mac and cheese is fully coated and will not melt out of the breading while it cooks.
- When breading the mac and cheese balls, always use one hand for the wet ingredients and one hand for the dry ingredients. This will prevent clumping, keep your hands from becoming coated in the breading, and it will help keep the breading ingredients separated. My Dad taught me this trick growing up, making his famous Captain Crunch Fried Chicken together!
- This recipe makes 15 mac and cheese bites. If you’d like to double the recipe, click the 2X button in the recipe card below. This will automatically update all of the ingredient amounts for the new serving size.
- To spice up these mac and cheese bites, add 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or cayenne pepper, to the seasoned breadcrumb mixture.
Storage and reheating
Store uncooked breaded mac and cheese balls in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months. To cook them, simply follow any of the instructions in this post to air fry, pan fry or cook them in the oven. They will cook in the same time whether you’ve just breaded them, or they’ve been frozen for a few weeks.
Store cooked leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat them in the air fryer at 400°F for 2-3 minutes to keep them crispy. Or in the oven at 425°F for 3 minutes.
What to serve them with
Mac and cheese bites are delicious served with a sauce on the side for dipping. Of course, I served these with buffalo sauce on the side. But you could also serve them with ranch dressing, bbq sauce, warm marinara sauce or sriracha mayo.
Mac and cheese bites are a great snack. But they’re also a great appetizer paired with any of these delicious main dishes.
More appetizer recipes
Make these mac and cheese bites part of an epic game day spread, or appetizer sampler platter, by pairing them with these other delicious recipes!
Mac and Cheese Bites
Ingredients
- 2 cups prepared mac and cheese, chilled – click link for an easy homemade recipe
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs, whisked
- 2 cups panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, click link for homemade recipe
Instructions
Prepare the mac and cheese bites.
- Grab 2-3 tablespoons of the mac and cheese, form it into a ball and place it on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Repeat until you’ve made 15 mac and cheese balls.
- Place the baking sheet of mac and cheese balls in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare the breading station.
- Combine the flour and salt in a shallow bowl.
- In another shallow bowl, whisk the four large eggs together.
- In a third shallow bowl, combine the panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.
- After 30 minutes in the freezer, roll each ball of mac and cheese in the flour mixture, then dip it in the egg.
- Once it’s fully covered in the egg, allow any excess to drip off before transferring the mac and cheese ball to the bowl of breadcrumbs. Roll the mac and cheese in the breadcrumbs until it’s fully coated, then dip the mac and cheese back into the egg wash.
- Add it back into the breadcrumb mixture and press down gently on all sides to make sure the mac and cheese is fully covered in the breadcrumbs.
- Transfer the breaded mac and cheese ball back to the rimmed baking sheet, then repeat with all of the remaining mac and cheese balls.
- Once all of the mac and cheese balls are breaded, either cook them in the air fryer, oven, or pan fry them. Or transfer them to a freezer-safe zipper bag, date and label the bag, then place it back in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Cook them in an air fryer.
- Add the mac and cheese bites to an air fryer basket in a single layer, making sure there’s room around each mac and cheese bite for the air to circulate.
- Spray them with cooking spray, then cook at 400°F for 5 minutes.
- Open the air fryer, flip the mac and cheese bites, spray with cooking spray and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Cook them in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, on the convection setting, if available.
- Place the mac and cheese bites on a wire rack, on top of a foil-lined baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, or until the outside of the mac and cheese balls are golden brown. Because you’re cooking them on a wire rack, you don’t need to flip them throughout the cooking process. If you’re cooking them directly on a baking sheet, I recommend flipping them halfway through the cooking time.
Pan fry them on the stove.
- Heat 2 inches of canola or vegetable oil in a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the mac and cheese bites to the skillet, 6-8 at a time so you don’t overcrowd the skillet.
- Cook the mac and cheese bites for 2-3 minutes per side, or until browned on all sides. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a wire rack, over a stack of paper towels. This way any remaining grease will drain through the wire rack and onto the paper towels, to keep the outside of the mac and cheese bites super crispy!
- Repeat until you’ve cooked all of the mac and cheese bites.
Notes
- Don’t skip the step of freezing the mac and cheese balls before breading them! This step is essential to keeping the mac and cheese together while you bread it.
- Make sure the mac and cheese is completely cooled before making this recipe. The mac and cheese will not stick together to form balls if it’s still warm.
- Always bread the mac and cheese bites in the egg and breadcrumb mixture TWICE! This ensures that the mac and cheese is fully coated and will not melt out of the breading while it cooks.
- When breading the mac and cheese balls, always use one hand for the wet ingredients and one hand for the dry ingredients. This will prevent clumping, keep your hands from becoming coated in the breading, and it will help keep the breading ingredients separated.
- Store uncooked breaded mac and cheese balls in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months. To cook them, simply follow any of the instructions in this post to air fry, pan fry or cook them in the oven. They will cook in the same time whether you’ve just breaded them, or they’ve been frozen for a few weeks.
- Store cooked leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat them in the air fryer at 400°F for 2-3 minutes to keep them crispy. Or in the oven at 425°F for 3 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
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