As a kid, my mom always cooked dinner at home from scratch, she wasn’t a fan of all the artificial colors and and flavors in packaged foods, and as a curious kid, I always wondered how other families ate. I’d get little glimpses of what meals were like on the other side when I’d hang out at a friends house. Forbidden treats like Twinkies and Cheetoh’s would would come out, and the twelve year old version of me was always a bit envious.
I think the first time I had macaroni and cheese was when I was around eighteen. I was at a friends house, we got hungry, and he whipped out a box of Kraft, a can of hormel chili and some hot dogs to toss in as well. After leaving the nest for college, and left to my own devices (with an utter distrust of dorm food), Mac’n Cheese and I become good friends. Sometimes salsa would join in, while other times it would be bacon and chili. Like a drunken frat party, it was all fun and games until the hangover set in.
I’ve moved on, and it’s been years since I’ve eyed that tall blue box filled with little pasta elbows and impossibly orange cheese powder, but away from my usual Whole Foods in NYC, I was lured by an endcap display at a local supermarket. I can’t really say I miss my college years, but I figured that if I were going to revisit my early twenties, I may as well do it right; and what better way to relive youthful collegiate exuberance than to take my old favorite and deep fry it?
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cultured unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3/4 cup cream (or half and half)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup leftover Mac & cheese (I used Kraft)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 large egg (beaten)
- 1 cup panko (you can also use regular bread crumbs)
- parmesan cheese (for serving)
Steps
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the flour and stir vigorously until the mixture is bubbling. Remove the pan from the heat, then slowly whisk in the half and half until it is fully incorporated and there are no lumps. Return the pan to a medium-low heat stove and use a silicone spatula to continuously scrape the bottom of the pan to keep the sauce from burning. When the sauce is thick and bubbly, remove the pan from the heat and add the mac cheese. Stir to combine, then taste for salt and adjust as needed. Cool to room temperature, then place the mixture into the fridge to harden.
- Once the macaroni mixture has cooled, it will be very firm. Use a spoon to scoop out a 1 1/2" ball, then roll it between your hands to make it round, pressing down a bit to remove any air pockets. You should be able to make about 8 balls.
- Add about 2 inches of oil into a heavy bottomed pot. Turn the heat onto medium high, and watch for the temperature to reach about 320 degrees F. In the mean time, get 3 shallow bowls out, and put the flour in one, the egg in another and the panko in the third. Roll each ball in the flour to coat evenly, then in the egg (make sure it's well coated with egg or the panko won't stick). Lastly, drop the balls in the panko and roll around to coat evenly.
- Line a wire rack with paper towels to place the balls on once they're fried. Fry each ball, rolling them around so they brown evenly until they are golden brown and crisp. Transfer the fried mac and cheese bals to a paper towel lined rack and let them drain. Let them cool for a minute before serving, then top with plenty of grated cheese.
Marc – I think my kids would love me even MORE than they already do if I made them these for dinner! This recipe is a definite keeper for sure!! Very cool concept! Hope you’re doing well!! ~H
Nasty goodness 🙂
The panko is so good. Nice and crunchy, crunchy, crunchy. We’re making mac & cheese this weekend, but it won’t be fried. Hmmm, next time!
My mom was like yours–she didn’t serve packaged foods either. I didn’t have my first taste of the mac and cheese from the blue box until college when it was prepared for me by a friend. Years-worth curiosity was satisfied and you know what? I still don’t mind it. Great way to dress up an American icon by frying into balls. The bechamel sauce and panko are the kicker. Yum!
This is just plain fun!
Brilliant idea!
Oh my! I think my arteries clogged just reading that. Sounds so worth it though!
Oh yum… This is so dangerous, Marc! I am guilty of still enjoying the boxed mac and cheese but I do try to buy all natural/organic (I really like Annie’s) rather than Kraft. It helps my peace of mind when I can read the ingredients without a struggle 🙂
oh heavens yes. why not. love to make these every once in a while. it’s worth the heart palpitations lol
My kids are gonna love you for this, Marc….Really!
Ooh… I really want to see a cross-section shot of those beauties!
Years ago I had leftover mac-n-cheese, I breaded it and fried it thinking I was a genius only to find out that it had already been done…I’d like to try it with a packaged mix, although artificial, the color is so enticing!
Love the mac and cheese balls. I have a great recipe for feta and mozzarella macaroni: might deep fry this in small balls. Thanks for the idea
Mmm these look superlative! I can just imagine the crispy exterior giving way to cheesy ooze. Yum!
In the recipe, it calls for 1 packed cup prepared mac & cheese. What does that mean?
Cooked mac and cheese tends to clump, leaving large air pockets if you
don’t pack it down.
tks Marc. I will try this recipe since my grandson love mac & cheese. tks for the reply
I’m making a special mac and cheese with cream cheese for Paula Deen’s cooking contest, the Real Women of Philadelphia. Maybe I’ll pack it into balls and fry them up like these bad boys…they look delicious! Mmmmmmmm cheeesy. If you guys don’t know about the contest, it’s going on now and it’s my new obsession. Submit your recipe and compete with my famous mac and cheese (…balls)
My family friend loves the mac and cheese, hot dog, and chili mix. He calls it “Beanie Cheesy Mac a Weenie”
Mmmmmm! My husband is the opposite of an adventurous eater (the list of things he won’t eat is about a mile long), and while I am constantly drooling over the foods you post, I think this might be the first recipe of yours that both he and I could drool over. 🙂 Great photography, I just love that first photo.
Oh holy yum! These sound amazing! Next time I make my 5 cheese macaroni I know exactly what I am going to do with the leftovers!
This is so wrong that it’s just so right!!!
comfort food does arancini, yum!
So decadent and yet so good!
Oh my God, this looks and sounds sooo good! You have an amazing site by the way!
I will try these soon- most definately!
O Gosh that sounds sinfully good!!!!!
I have not even breaded or fried mine and I have to say that is the best bad thing I ever tasted. My picky 3 yr old agreed. She said, I eat with the bowl? No dear, if I let you take the bowl there will be none for the rest of us. Amazing what a little butter can do!
OH MY HECK!!! I’m so making these! YUM!!! Thanks.
I made these tonight and was very disappointed. No offense. I love your photography and other recipes. However this didn’t taste good. I followed all the directions exactly as written. The only thing I didn’t do was add sugar, because even tho it’s on the ingredients, you didn’t list when / where to put it in on the directions. It was VERY milky / liquidy and grosssss. I am 99% sure the reason it was nasty was because of the half and half. That’s all I could taste, same w/ my bf. Looked great, I got a killer picture out… Read more »
I made these tonight. However, I would suggest not using bread crumbs because they burn too easily in the oil. Maybe the Panko would work better. I also used milk instead of half and half which didn’t seem to affect the hold of the Mac and cheese.
I made these on Thanksgiving they are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
omg!!! SOOOOO good!
Yum Yum Yum! Â I didn’t have half & half on hand so I sub’d with skim milk and they were still great!
Yum Yum Yum! Â I didn’t have half & half on hand so I sub’d with skim milk and they were still great!
Saw these on the Chew and thought I would give them a go! Forgot the receipt so glad to see it here!There was variances of course but am sure that the end result is what we are all looking for, I like the sprinkling of cheese idea after frying.
I just tried this and USUALLY IM NOT THE KIND OF PERSON THAT COMMENTS ON ALL CAPS BUT THIS WAS SOO GOOD THAT I JUST NEEDED TO SAY IT LOUDLY, ehr, type loudly, that is. Amazing. The use of bechamel takes the Kraft boxed unindentified-substance-they-call-cheese to another level. Genius, Marc. JUST GENIUS.
Absolutely wonderful and delicious!!! I didn’t have breadcrumbs so I crushed up some soda crackers and some salt and vinegar chips instead– worked great and tasted even better. Good with ketchup too.
Absolutely wonderful and delicious!!! I didn’t have breadcrumbs so I crushed up some soda crackers and some salt and vinegar chips instead– worked great and tasted even better. Good with ketchup too.
Well, I know what I’m making for dinner tonight. These look incredible!
When do you add the bechamel?
Hi John, in the first paragraph, it explains how to make the sauce, then says to add the macaroni and cheese. So I guess technically, you don’t add the bechamel, rather you add the Mac and cheese. Sorry if that was confusing.
Hey Marc just found your blog and I like it, however, I have a question in regards to this recipe, is the béchamel really needed? I would assume if you let the Mac and cheese set a little it will be able to hold its shape with a little help from the refrig. I plan on doing these, but will add dice jalapeno and Chipotle power to give them a kick.
The bechamel isn’t intended to make the mac & cheese set, it’s intended to keep the mac and cheese saucy. If you omit it, the macaroni will absorb most of the moisture in the cheese sauce and you’ll end up with very dry mac & cheese balls. Diced jalapenos and chipotle on the other hand sounds like a fantastic idea!
They have em at the Cheesecake Factory it’s amaaazing
Im not one ta follow recepies i just usually guess whts n it and how to make it ….but the one thing i couldnt fig out was y mine were yucky n dry n side but now i know …..thank you
These are absolutely delicious. The only problem I had with it is that 1/2 teaspoon of salt is a bit too much for my taste. But other than that, these are just magnificent. I substituted in evaporated milk for the half and half and they still came out great. Thanks for posting such a great recipe!
Made for a church function and got rave revues. I added shredded cheddar to macaroni mixture before adding it to white sauce. Makes more gooey. Thank God for this recipe.
Hi Zania, I’m so glad to hear it was a hit! Great call on adding cheddar!