Mac and cheese balls are one of the most delicious snacks one can ever enjoy! If you are thinking – how to make air fryer mac and cheese balls then this article is the right place for you. Their outside is crispy, and the inside is creamy. Yummy! You cannot have enough of these. But best of all is that they are not deep-fried in a lot of oil!!
The air fryer mac and cheese balls recipes we are going to talk about are very quick. The reason is that we use readymade or leftover macaroni and cheese. These dishes can be an excellent addition to any home party as appetizers. These dishes are a swift and good way to make good use of leftover food. These dishes are very healthy as we do not use extra fat for cooking them.
It is up to you what kind of cheese and macaroni you want to try out. By the way, the cheese sauce must be very thick. This sauce will hold everything together when you make the balls and fry them. So, thick sauce is the solution. It depends on the moisture – with more moisture, the ball’s ingredients will not hold together, and with less moisture, the ingredients will stick together.
There are many recipes, but the main ingredients remain the same, but there are few variations. Therefore, we will name them as variations one, two, and so on.
4 cups of refrigerated cheese and macaroni leftovers.
2 beaten eggs.
2 tablespoons of milk.
1 cup of Panko – Japanese.
1 teaspoon of salt.
1 teaspoon of paprika.
½ teaspoon of powdered garlic.
2 slices of chicken fillet – finely chopped.
Instructions
Get your leftover cheese and macaroni from the freezer and make some balls. Keep on a tray or platter.
Take a bowl. Put the eggs and milk in it and whisk to mix well together.
Take a fresh bowl (it turns out to be a bowl fest, but please bear with it :D). Put chicken, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and panko bread crumbs. Stir with a spoon for a while to mix them well.
Now, this process will be repetitive, so follow this one and keep doing it for the balls’ rest. Take one ball and place it in the egg mix. Roll it to cover with egg adequately and then put it on the other bowl with bread crumbs. Then place it on a tray with butter paper on it.
Repeat the previous process for all the other balls and place the tray inside the freezer for half an hour.
Take the balls out from the freezer after half an hour and then place them inside the air fryer, which has been preheated at 360 degrees Fahrenheit. You have to put them in a way that no ball touches the other.
Fry for 10 minutes and take them out when they become light golden.
Take a bowl and pour water inside. Heat it to bring the water to boiling point. Now put the macaroni in the water and stir and cook for eight minutes. Then remove pasta from the water when tender. Drain, but do not use water to rinse. Now, put the margarine, milk, and cheese sauce inside. Add the cheddar and stir to mix and combine with the rest of the contents. Wait till cheese is completely melted.
Now, take the cheese mix and the macaroni and refrigerate for at least two hours. But you can keep them there overnight.
Make even-sized balls out of your cheese and macaroni. Put them on a tray with butter paper on it. Then put the balls with the tray inside the freezer for another hour.
Now coat the air fryer’s basket with nonstick cooking spray after preheating the fryer at 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
Take a bowl. Put the eggs and milk in it and whisk to mix well together.
Take a fresh bowl (it turns out to be a bowl fest, but please bear with it :D). Put chicken, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and panko bread crumbs. Stir with a spoon for a while to mix them well.
Fry for 10 minutes and take them out when they become light golden.
Enjoy your cheese and macaroni air-fried balls.
Variation Three
Ingredients
¼ cup of chipotle mayo, garlic aioli, or ranch dressing.
1 tablespoon of milk.
2 beaten eggs.
½ teaspoon of garlic – powder and divided.
1 teaspoon of paprika – smoked and divided.
1 teaspoon of salt and divided.
3 tablespoons of flour.
1 teaspoon of pepper – black, ground, and divided.
4 cups of leftover or freshly prepared macaroni and cheese sauce, refrigerated.
1 cup of panko – bread crumbs.
Instructions
You need an oven preheated at 400 degrees and an air fryer preheated at 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
Manage all the ingredients on your kitchen table for preparation.
Take the bread crumbs and place them onto a tray with a baking sheet on top. Use your hand to make the layer of bread crumbs evenly placed on the tray. Bake the bread crumbs for 3 minutes. Then take them out and shake. Put the tray back into the oven and bake for an additional 2 minutes.
Make even-sized balls out of your cheese and macaroni. Put them on a tray with butter paper on it. Then put the balls with the tray inside the freezer for another hour.
Now coat the basket of the air fryer with nonstick cooking spray after preheating the fryer at 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
Take a bowl. Put the eggs and milk in it and whisk to mix well together.
Take a fresh bowl. Put chicken, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and bread crumbs. Stir with a spoon for a while to mix them well.
Fry for 10 minutes and take them out when they become light golden.
Now serve and enjoy.
Conclusion
After learning how to make air fryer mac and cheese balls and reading these recipes, I hope you will not be able to stop your urge of cooking these amazing dishes! These creamy, cheesy, and smooth balls full of flavor will blow your mind away. You should give them a try. Invite your family and friends over and have a weekend full of artistic kitchen time. Show them your Chef spirit!
Daisy grew up on the beautiful Honolulu island where she often found herself spending most of her day enjoying the ocean scent in sea waves. As such, Daisy came to appreciate the art of cooking seafood. She has experimented with baking, roasting, broiling, poaching, grilling (and every other cooking technique you can think of); and with all kinds of spices too. Now she is ready to present her experience: the art of cooking healthy food without any pre-packaged ingredients; food product recommendations for people who need a bit more guidance on what goes into their bodies; how to maintain an active lifestyle without having to give up your favorite foods!
