These Mini Macaroni and Cheese Bites are the perfect easy game day appetizer. Easy, cheesy, and full of flavor, everyone will love this macaroni and cheese recipe!
Mini Macaroni and Cheese Bites truly saved the day last week. I threw a last minute party and knew that this delicious, go to appetizer would be a fan favorite! And I was right! Everyone loved this easy, flavorful, appetizer. Thank you to Collective Bias and its advertisers for sponsoring this fun basketball party.
Last Saturday we had the pleasure of having some people over to eat, chat, and watch some college basketball for March Madness. The party was kind of last minute and I didn’t get to spend as much time planning as I normally do. I usually agonize over menus and decor for weeks, but this time, I honestly only had about 24 hours to prepare. To make things easy, I went with simple basketball themed decor (it is college basketball season, after all!) and an easy menu made up of snacks, dips, and Coke products. I made my absolute favorite Mini Macaroni and Cheese Bites and as usual, they were a big hit! They are the perfect cheesy game day appetizer!
I have made these mini macaroni and cheese bites for so many functions and they are truly fool-proof. I love the taste and texture of these and find them a lot more flavorful than your regular macaroni and cheese. The herbed cheese really makes all the difference and I wouldn’t skip it! Since these need to stay together, they aren’t going to be as creamy as a bowl of stove top mac and cheese, but they are still super smooth and cheesy!
These Mini Macaroni and Cheese Bites are truly one of my favorite things to make. They are SO good. While I love Mac & Cheese, I often find homemade versions bland and dry. This recipe is neither of those things. It is kicked up with garlic and herb cheese and the buttery Ritz cracker crust adds tons of flavor as well. I love the crunch from the crust topped with the creaminess of the macaroni mixture.
Even better, these can be made hours before hand and then just baked right before serving. And unlike most macaroni and cheeses, these do reheat well the next day for lunch! If making ahead of time, prepare as directed and then stop after mixing everything and cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Looking for another easy appetizer recipe? Try these BLT Waffle Fries!
This recipe makes 48 mini muffin sized mac & cheese bites, so if you don’t need quite that much, halve the recipe. Or you could make these in a regular sized muffin tin and get around 24.
Ingredients
- Makes 48 mini muffin sized bites
- 12 oz. elbow macaroni
- 5 oz. of garlic and herb cheese (boursin, alouette, or even herbed cream cheese works, any soft spreadable herbed cheese)
- 2 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 tbsp. cold unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cups milk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- pinch salt and pepper
- for the crust:
- 2 cups crushed Ritz Crackers
- 6 tbsp. butter, melted
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray 2 mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
- Begin by melting the 6 tbsp. of butter and then mixing in the crushed Ritz and the 1/2 cup cheddar. Press about 1 tsp. of crumb mixture into the bottom of the mini muffin tin. Press down until firmly packed. Crust should come up a little on the sides.
- Prepare macaroni noodles. Cook in boiling water until a few minutes shy of al dente. When done, strain and then put into a large bowl. Add the herbed cheese, cheddar, sour cream, milk, eggs, cold butter, and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly until cheese is starting to melt and no large clumps remain. Spoon about 1-2 tsp. of mixture into each well over the prepared crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit at least 10 minutes. If you try to remove them before that, they will crumble as you take them out. After 10 minutes, run a knife around the edges and then gently remove each one. Serve warm. Enjoy!
As for the rest menu, I kept it simple. Here is what we had. These are all perfect appetizers for your next party!
For the basketball party, I stuck with an easy color scheme of white and black,with orange accents. This seems ¨basketbally¨ to me and the white on black reminded me of the game officials. I grabbed all the decor at our local Giant Eagle’s gift wrap section and dollar stores, so it cost me less than $10 dollars for everything!
I used a black tablecloth for the table and then purchased a small roll of plain white wrapping paper. Using wrapping paper on tables is one of my favorite party decor tricks. It is cheap and I loved using this white paper because I was able to write the menu directly on it.
I grabbed these basketball baskets and they were perfect for holding napkins and silverware and also the chips to go with the Jalapeño Corn Dip.
It was an easy and fun basketball March Madness party with lots of great food! I hope you found some ideas here for your next basketball party!
This all looks so delicious! That Reeses dip sounds amazing! Pinning!
Thank you!! I LOVE that Reese’s dip, it is amazing! Thank you for pinning!
Wow – those mac and cheese bites look delicious! Already pinned the recipe so I can make it soon!
Thank you Meg! You can make this recipe in your beautiful new kitchen!! I am obsessed with your countertops!
Thanks, Amanda!! I love them!! And I’m still thinking about those mac and cheese bites, have to make them soon!
Your mac-n-cheese balls look yummy and I love your basketball theme! Perfect for my boys!
Thank you! My big boy (my husband) was excited to have a party that wasn’t princess themed for once!
The basketball party looks fabulous! I am going to have to try these bites! My little guy loves him some mac-n-cheese!
What a cool basketball party!! Mini Mac & Cheese look noms!!
When you say you can make the mac and cheese bites ahead of time…..do you fill the ritz cracker shells or do you wait to do that right before you put in the oven????
Yes you can fill the shells, put the macaroni mixture on top, and then cover and refrigerate until ready to bake!
Where did you get the white, square, lidded casserole dish?
Hi! I got it from Bed Bath and Beyond. It is part of their B. Smith White Dish Collection.
In your opinion, are the mac n cheese bites to herby to be kid friendly? I’m making these for sure but wondered how the littles would like them.
I’m honestly not sure Bonnie! I have only served these at baby showers and wedding showers, and there haven’t been kids there. I don’t see why not though! The garlic and herb cheese makes them tangier than a regular Mac n cheese but I think the cute shape would appeal to littles. Let me know after you make them how they go over!
Definitely kid friendly. My daughter is picky and she ate this.
I’m so glad she liked them!
Does the sour cream go in to the mixture with the noodles? I might be missing something, but I didn’t see when to add that. Thank you!!
yep, mix it in the noodle mixture!
Instead of the garlic and herb cheese is there another soft cheese that you can recommend using?
Hi Danielle! I think you could use a garlic and herb cream cheese. Any soft cheese should work but don’t skip the garlic and herb flavor bc it really adds a lot!
Can you freeze these and if so when would you do that before baking or after?
I have never done this Leah so I can’t say for sure, but I would think you would have to freeze them after baking because they are a little gooey before baking. Let me know if you try it please so I can share the results!
Made these today for our New Years Party. I followed the recipe exactly as is. Tasty but dry!!!
Would these be ok to send in a child’s lunch to school cold?
I think so! I have never eaten them cold before, but they are definitely portable and would pack up well!
I have made these before and they are delicious. Do you think I could just make it in a big pan instead of muffin tins? What adjustments would you make?
Hi Stacy! I think you could. You would need to add some cook time maybe 10-15 minutes more. Please let me know how it turns out!