Who Would Say No To This Creamy, Cheezy Snack | Mac n Cheese Bites

What's better than the crowd favourite mac and cheese you ask? Fried mac and cheese of course!

As the title suggests this is a pretty straight forward video of making some mac and cheese and deep frying them. But in order for them to stay in shape during the cooking process is where the extra steps will be required. For one, this version of mac and cheese will be thicker than your typical mac and cheese to help them stay in shape once chilled and cut into cubes. Another great addition, in my opinion, are the cauliflowers. We've tested a few recipes before settling on this one and we felt that the cauliflower adds a great variation in texture making it a whole lot more fun to eat.

If you're more into the cheese pull scene, I'll suggest adding mozzarella or fontina into the mix. However, it has to be eaten hot for the maximum effect. Since we usually make these for gatherings, we learned that cheese pulls don't really pull that well once they cool down and end up as solid cheese clumps. Instead, we decided to focus on making them creamy by using cream cheese and cheddar.

Another question we get a lot is "can we use an air fryer?". The short answer is yes, definitely. The shape holds quite well even when you throw it in the air fryer but you would have to do them in small batches since you don't want to stack them in the container and the colour might be a little bit paler compared to the fried ones. You could probably do bigger batches with the oven but you do have to keep an eye on them to get even colouring on the cubes and shuffle them around now and then. But you're making mac and cheese anyway so take it as a cheat day treat maybe? :)

Ingredients

• 350g macaroni

• 1 large onion, diced

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 350g cauliflower, cut into chunks

• 30g butter

• 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil

• 60g cream cheese

• 100g grated cheddar

• 300ml milk

• 2 tbsp plain flour

• 1 tbsp smoked paprika

• 1 tbsp onion powder

• 1 tbsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1 tbsp whole grain mustard

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Reserved pasta water

• 300g panko breadcrumbs

• 4 eggs, beaten

• Approx 100g cake flour for dusting

• Vegetable oil for frying

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Method

1. In a pot, boil the pasta water, add salt.

2. Once the water has boiled, add the pasta and cook as per package instructions - a little past al dente is good too, so don’t fuss.

3. In a pan on a medium high heat, add the butter and a little bit of oil to avoid the butter from burning too quickly. Add the onion and garlic. Sautee until soft and translucent. Add the cauliflower and cook until golden and soft.

4. Next add the flour and cook for a minute.

5. Gradually add the milk and mix well. Adjust the thickness of the sauce, if it appears to be too thick, add more milk. If too runny, cook it up abit longer to thicken up the sauce. Turn down the heat if necessary.

6. Add the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and mustard.

7. Turn off the heat for the pasta and using a slotted spoon, scoop the pasta into the pan with the sauce. Keep the pasta water. Stir well until well combined.

8. Add the cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Mix well.

9. Ladle some of the pasta water to adjust the texture of your macaroni. It shouldn't be too runny, a bit of the thicker side. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off heat.

10. Place the mac and cheese into a large tray and flatten the top evenly. Cover with cling wrap and let chill in the fridge for a few hours to set, preferably overnight.

11. Once chilled, cut the mac n cheese into bite-sized cubes.

12. Roll the cubes in cake flour, beaten eggs, and finally the breadcrumbs.

13. Heat the vegetable oil, and fry the cubes until golden. Drain the oil and serve hot. Enjoy!