Easy Mac & Cheese Balls
Potato chip crusted appetizer stuffed with fresh mozzarella.
you're making mealtime meaningful.
I love a mac and cheese ball almost as much as I love a good gooey mac and cheese. My favorite thing to do as a cook is to repurpose an ingredient or a recipe or even a leftover into something it wasn’t already. Mac and cheese balls are by no means something new, but I feel like only recently have we been repurposing our mac and cheese into other recipes like “balls”. The reason this works so well is due to the comfortability of frying them. Don’t worry, because of how much cheese sauce is in here, the mac won’t dry out. Think of it as a hyper concentrated ball of cheese sauce. They will be best right out of the oven, but you can also reheat in the microwave for a quick easy bite.
Let’s talk about how these come to be. This is a labor of love, but I promise it’s less work than you think. Cheese sauce, cooked pasta, tossed together, chilled, crush potato chips, beat eggs, dredge, hold, fry, and enjoy! Nine steps. It’s all about prep.
Start with your mac and cheese. If you’re just looking to try and make these or even make these for a party, BUY THE MAC AND CHEESE. Costco has a great version, Home Chef has a great version, even Bob Evans has a good mac. If you want to take the task of making your own, follow the recipe and make the mac a day ahead of time. This will save you a lot of struggle. My method is to make it the day before and serve a little bit with my dinner that way I can enjoy the fruits of my labor and know what task stands ahead of me tomorrow.
You can even scoop the mac and cheese into balls the day ahead and optionally stuff them with more cheese like what we’re doing. Use any cheese you’d like here, I like gooey mozzarella for maximum cheese pull.
Today’s the day you are breading the balls! You can use a three step breading process with flour, eggs, and panko OR you can skip the flour, use eggs and for added crunch and flavor, fry them up in potato chips. A gluten-free friendly way of making these extra tasty. Use one hand to roll the balls in egg and one hand to roll the egg balls in potato chips. This way keeps everything less messy and helps you get them all done easier.
Fry these up before the party starts and keep a batch warm in the oven while the first batch is out. Serve it up with your preferred dipping sauce like marinara or ranch.
Easy Mac & Cheese Balls
Yield(s): Makes 24 - 30 balls
25m prep time
20m cook time
30m inactive
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked
- 1 lb. cheddar cheese, grated
- 8 oz. Monterrey jack cheese, grated
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 12 oz. evaporated milk
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, divided
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 7 oz. bag kettle cooked potato chip, finely crushed
- 3 eggs, beaten
- Fresh mozzarella cheese, for stuffing (optional)
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Make the cheese sauce in a pot over medium-high heat. Add in the butter and let it melt. Sprinkle in the flour and toast for 1 minute stirring constantly.
- Whisk in the evaporated milk, whole milk, and heavy cream to the pot. Bring mixture to a boil to thicken, whisking constantly.
- Season the bechamel with 1 tablespoon Dijon, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning.
- Turn the heat to low. Gently fold in the grated cheddar cheeses to the sauce until incorporated. If cheese sauce is grainy, use an immersion blender to smooth it out.
- Add the macaroni to the cheese sauce and combine. Dump the mixture into a 9x13 tray and let cool in the refrigerator.
- Meanwhile, assemble your breading station with one bowl for crushed potato chips and one bowl with three eggs whisked with a tablespoon of mustard
- Preheat a pot filled with 2" of a cooking oil to 350° F.
- Using a medium ice cream scoop, scoop the mac and cheese balls into an even scoop and place onto a sheet tray. Repeat for as many mac balls as you want to make.
- Stuff each mac ball with two mozzarella balls then form into a ball. Dredge the ball through the egg mixture, then coat in the potato chip crumbs. Place onto a sheet tray to await frying. Repeat with remaining.
- Fry the mac and cheese balls in batches, 4 - 6 at a time until golden. Around 2 - 4 minutes. Maintain the heat of 350° throughout this process by adjusting the heat source.
- Remove to a plate of paper towels or wire rack, season with extra salt, then serve with your favorite dipping sauce.