These fried mac and cheese bites are the perfect appetizer, snack, or side. A rich, creamy mac and cheese filling loaded with bacon, jalapenos, and more cheese is rolled into balls, coated with a seasoned panko breading, and fried to crispy perfection!
When I think of savory comfort foods, my mind always goes immediately to rich, creamy mac and cheese.
It’s one of my favorite sides to make for any occasion, and it’s always on my list of must-have holiday recipes.
These fried mac and cheese bites are the perfect appetizer or side, combining creamy, cheese mac and cheese with zesty jalapenos for heat and a breaded coating that’s fried to golden perfection.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: This recipe is made with your choice of mac and cheese and a simple breading, so everything is easy to find in your kitchen or local grocery store.
- Easy to Make: It only takes a few easy steps to make this recipe.
- Classic Comfort Food Flavor: These bites combine cheesy mac and cheese with a golden, crispy fried coating to bring you ultimate comfort food flavor in every bite.
- Versatile: These bites are the perfect appetizers for any gathering.
- Customizable: It’s easy to change up the recipe to make it your own.
- The Perfect Leftover Dish: This recipe works with any kind of leftover mac and cheese, from homemade to boxed!
- Great for Meal Prep: These bites are freezer-friendly, so you can make extra for future use.
Key Ingredients
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
- Bacon: Crispy bacon adds smoky, meaty flavor to your leftover mac and cheese filling.
- Jalapenos: Diced jalapenos add a kick of heat to the filling.
- Buttermilk & Hot Sauce: Buttermilk and hot sauce ensure the panko adheres to the filling while adding more flavor and extra heat.
- Panko: Panko breadcrumbs create an extra crispy coating.
- Seasoning: A blend of Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, and red pepper flakes gives the coating a zesty, bold, spicy flavor.
Variations
- Mac and Cheese: Any mac and cheese will work, even boxed mixes. Try different recipes like smoked mac and cheese, spicy southwest mac and cheese, or even this Panera broccoli cheddar mac and cheese to create different bite flavors.
- Mild: Omit the jalapenos, hot sauce, and red pepper flakes for a mild version.
- Bacon: Use your favorite variety of bacon for this recipe. Every flavor adds its own twist to the bites.
- Sausage: Use ground sausage to add a different flavor to the dish. Everything from Italian to breakfast sausage works.
How to Make Fried Mac and Cheese Bites
- Make fresh mac and cheese and let it cool. Cook the bacon until crispy, crumble, and set aside. Combine all the filling ingredients in a mixing bowl. Scoop the filling out into 1-inch balls, place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper, and flash freeze until solid.
- Set out a shallow container of flour, a container with the buttermilk mixture, and a container with the seasoned panko.
- Dip the bites in the flour, buttermilk, and panko, in that order.
- Fry 6 to 8 bites in hot oil until golden brown, transferring the fried bites to a wire rack set over a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce, and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Fry your bacon over medium heat. This allows it to get nice and crispy without burning.
- Be gentle when mixing your bite filling. You want to keep your noodles as intact as possible.
- When flash freezing the filling, line your baking sheet with wax paper, not parchment paper to ensure the balls are easily removed.
- Be sure your oil is hot before frying. If the oil isn’t hot enough, your bites will be soggy rather than crispy.
- Fry your bites in small batches to ensure the oil stays nice and hot.
Fried Mac and Cheese Bites FAQs
Roll leftover mac and cheese into bite-sized balls and freeze them until solid. Then, coat them in flour, egg, and panko and fry in hot oil until golden and crispy.
Be sure your oil is adequately preheated. Then, fry in small batches to ensure it remains hot throughout the frying process. This promotes a crispy exterior instead of a soggy one.
Fried mac and cheese bites are perfect with marinara sauce, alfredo sauce, BBQ sauce, and almost any of your other favorites. You can even dip them in guac!
These bites will last for up to 4 days in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer in an airtight, freeze-safe container.
More Delicious Fried Appetizers
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Fried Mac and Cheese Bites
Ingredients
Macaroni and Cheese Bites
- 8 cups prepared macaroni and cheese
- 1 ½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 jalapenos, stem and seeds removed, diced
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 2 large eggs, whisked
- 12 ounce bacon, cooked until crispy, crumbled
Crispy Coating
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1 ½ cups panko breadcrumbs, crushed
- 2 teaspoons Slap Ya Mama seasoning
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1-2 cups vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with paper towels and place a baking rack on top. Set aside.
Macaroni and Cheese Bites
- Make the mac and cheese according to package directions. Let cool.
- Cook and crumble bacon, set aside.
- In a large bowl, add mac and cheese, whisked eggs, green onions, jalapenos, cheese and crumbled bacon. Stir to combine.
- Scoop macaroni mixture into 1-inch balls. Make sure they are tightly rolled up so they don’t fall apart.
- Flash freeze for 30 minutes.
Crispy Coating
- While the mac and cheese bites are in the freezer, set up a dredging station with 3 shallow containers.
- In the first container, add flour.
- The second container, add buttermilk, egg, and hot sauce. Whisk together.
- In the third container add breadcrumbs and all the seasonings for the coating.
- Heat oil over medium high heat.
- Add each ball into the flour, then into the egg mixture, and then into the breadcrumb mixture.
- Place about 6-8 balls into the hot oil and deep fry until golden on all sides.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a prepared baking sheet with a wire rack.
- Make sure to work in batches so the oil keeps the perfect temperature.
- Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
- Fry your bacon over medium heat. This allows it to get nice and crispy without burning.
- Be gentle when mixing your bite filling. You want to keep your noodles as intact as possible.
- When flash freezing the filling, line your baking sheet with wax paper, not parchment paper to ensure the balls are easily removed.
- Be sure your oil is hot before frying. If the oil isn’t hot enough, your bites will be soggy rather than crispy.
- Fry your bites in small batches to ensure the oil stays nice and hot.
Nutrition
Love mac and cheese, love all the little bits over the holidays – you made me happy!
I can eat a ton of these – they are the best of both worlds – everything I really like!
These mac and cheese bites were epic! My kids were amazed to find these on their plates and are begging for me to make them again!
Such a tasty appetizer or snack! Everyone loved them and ask me to make them again…great for crowds!
I made these as a snack and they were a huge hit. Crispy outside and creamy inside!
These look like the ultimate party appetizer! I love the idea of turning a classic comfort food into a crispy, bite-sized snack. I know these would disappear in minutes at my house!
Perfection. I made them this weekend for the Bears game and just ate a bowl of them with ranch.
These are amazing! I made them for a family movie night this weekend. The only change was leaving out the jalapenos for the kids. BIG hit.
Fried cheesy pasta? What could be better? Nothing. The answer is nothing.
I can’t think of a better use for leftover mac and cheese. These were so good!