Mac And Cheese Mini Muffins Recipes

MINI MAC 'N CHEESE MUFFINS RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously spray 8 cups of your muffin pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the crushed Ritz crackers, 1 cup of the shredded white cheddar cheese, and the melted butter, mixing well until the mixture holds together and resembles coarse sand. Divide the mixture among the 8 muffin cups and, using your fingers or the back of a spoon, firmly press the crust into the bottoms and up the sides of each muffin cup. In another large bowl, combine the cooked (and still hot!) macaroni with 1/2 cup of the shredded white cheddar, the Boursin cheese, and the butter, mixing well. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, sour cream, salt, and red pepper flakes, mixing well. Add the egg/milk mixture to the cooked macaroni, mixing until all the ingredients are melted and smooth. Place about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the macaroni mixture into each muffin cup (you will probably have a little leftover macaroni-I did. Save this and bake it separately, if desired.) Top each muffin cup with the remaining white cheddar. Bake the mac and cheese pies until lightly golden on top, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing from the muffin pan, garnish with parsley, and serve immediately.

MAC AND CHEESE MUFFINS

Steps:

• Spray a 12-cup muffin tin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of bread crumbs into each muffin cup; set remaining bread crumbs aside. Gently shake pan to distribute the crumbs over the entire bottom and partially up the sides of each muffin cup.
• Cook macaroni in salted water; drain.
• While macaroni cooks, prepare cheese sauce. -- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and whisk in flour. Return to heat and gradually whisk in milk. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring. Boil gently for about one minute, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened.
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Add shredded cheese 1/2 cup at a time, stirring after each addition until cheese is fully melted and incorporated.
• Add cooked macaroni to cheese sauce; stir to coat macaroni thoroughly.
• Spoon about 1/2 cup macaroni and cheese mixture into each muffin tin cup, filling the cups completely. Sprinkle about 1/8 teaspoon of remaining bread crumbs on the top of each mac & cheese muffin.
• Bake at 350℉ for 18-20 minutes until tops are lightly golden browned.
• Let stand in the pan for 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the edge of each muffin to loosen. Use a fork to lift muffins out of the pan and place on a serving plate.
• Muffin Tin Mac & Cheese can easily be prepared in advance, with a couple of options: 1) Fill muffin cups with mac & cheese mixture, cover and refrigerate overnight, and bake the next day when needed. Just increase the baking time by about 5-8 minutes to account for the muffins going into the oven cold. Or, 2) Finish the muffins through the final baking step, and then reheat. To reheat, pop the muffins back into a 350℉ for about 10 to 12 minutes.
• Or FREEZE the mac & cheese muffins to make them even more in advance. Fully bake the muffins and freeze them in an airtight container. At serving time, reheat frozen muffins at 350℉ for about 20 minutes or until heated through.
• When serving as a main part of the meal (like alongside a bowl of soup), plan on 2 mac & cheese muffins per serving. When served as a side dish as part of a larger meal, plan on 1 or 2 muffins per serving -- depending on your eaters, of course!

MINI MAC & CHEESE BITES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain., Meanwhile, sprinkle 1/4 cup bread crumbs into 36 greased mini-muffin cups. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and seasonings until smooth; gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in 1 cup cheddar cheese and Swiss cheese until melted., Remove from heat; stir in biscuit mix, eggs and 1/2 cup bread crumbs. Add macaroni; toss to coat. Spoon about 2 tablespoons macaroni mixture into prepared mini-muffin cups; sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese and bread crumbs., Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pans 5 minutes before serving.

MAC AND CHEESE MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• For the panko mix: Mix the panko, Parmesan, olive oil and garlic together and set aside.
• For the mac and cheese: Cook the macaroni according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
• In the meantime, melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the milk and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens. Reduce the heat to low and add the Worcestershire and salt to taste. Slowly fold in the Gruyere, Cheddar and goat cheese and heat through until all the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes. Fold the cooked macaroni into the cheese mixture.
• Spray mini-muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray and dust with the panko mix. Put the muffin pans in the oven and bake until the panko is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove the pans and lower the temperature to 350 degrees F. Carefully fill the cups the rest of the way with the mac and cheese, packing tightly. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle the tops with the panko mix and continue baking until the tops are golden brown, about 5 minutes more.
• Let the muffins cool before removing them from the pan. Repeat with the remaining macaroni and cheese and panko mixture.