Air-Fryer Mac and Cheese

This air-fryer mac and cheese is an easy way to use your favorite new appliance to make a classic side dish. “Can you air fry mac and cheese?” has been a frequently-searched question online and for good reason.

The simplest way to prepare this dish is to cook the pasta and sauce separately. A few minutes in the air fryer finishes the dish beautifully, leaving it hot and bubbly with a nice and cheesy crust. It’s a good way to use up the leftover macaroni and a worthy addition to our list of air fryer recipes.

Ingredients for Air-Fryer Mac and Cheese

• Milk: Whole milk makes the base for the recipe cheese sauce.
• Seasonings: The garlic powder, ground mustard and paprika all complement the rich creaminess of the cheese sauce, without overwhelming the cheese flavor.
• Elbow macaroni: Elbow macaroni is an excellent choice for sauce-based dishes like this one, because its hollow shape traps the flavorful sauce
• Cream cheese: Cream cheese adds a pleasing tang and helps bring smoothness to the sauce..
• Butter: Butter brings richness and flavor to the sauce, and also combines with the flour to form the sauce’s thickening roux.
• Cheese: Shredded cheddar brings flavor and color to the sauce, and also create a bubbly, browned layer at the top.

Directions

Step 1: Prepare the macaroni and sauce

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Preheat your air fryer to 360°F. While it heats, grease an 8-inch metal cake pan. Combine the milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder and mustard in the cake pan. Stir in the macaroni, cream cheese, butter, and 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheddar.

Step 2: Finish the mac and cheese

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Place the pan in your air fryer’s basket. Bake the macaroni for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through that time. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar, then continue baking for 5 more minutes, or until the top is melted and bubbly.

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Air-Fryer Mac and Cheese Variations

• Switch the pasta: Elbow macaroni is always a good choice for casserole-style dishes but any other bite-sized shape with a knack for holding sauce can also be a good choice. Shells, fusilli, rotini, bowties, penne and many more are all suitable options. One to think carefully about is cavatappi, aka “scooby-doo.” Although it’s a great pasta choice for mac and cheese generally, the oversized spirals may be too large to be practical in an air fryer’s basket.
• Change up the cheese: The cheeses used in this recipe work well together and make a good mac and cheese but you have plenty of other options. Soft white processed cheese (Laughing Cow or similar) can take the place of cream cheese, for example. A handful of grated Parmesan adds big cheese flavor. Gruyere, Swiss, Monterey Jack and aged Gouda all pack along plenty of flavor and melt well. Fontina is another mild and melty cheese that works well in recipes like this one. You could even mix a bit of mozzarella into the topping to get a bigger cheese “pull” when you lift out a forkful of the finished mac and cheese.

Storing Air-Fryer Mac and Cheese

Any leftover macaroni and cheese should be refrigerated as soon as possible in a food safe storage container with an airtight lid.

How long will the recipe keep?

Like most leftovers, your macaroni and cheese should be good for three to four days after the initial meal.

Can I make this ahead of time?

Yes, macaroni and cheese reheats well so you can prep a batch whenever time permits. You can reheat it in the microwave, oven, toaster oven or in your air fryer. The sauce will naturally thicken as it cools so you may need to add a spoonful of milk when you’re reheating it in order to regain the original consistency.

Air-Fryer Mac and Cheese Tips

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Is there a lower-fat way to make the sauce more flavorful?

You bet! If you replace half of the milk with buttermilk, you’ll be able to cut back on the cheese by about 1/3 and still have plenty of flavor. Buttermilk’s tang complements the cheese and help bring out its flavors.

What kind of pan should I use in my air fryer?

This recipe calls for an 8-inch cake pan which will fit into some air fryer baskets. You may need to experiment to find a pan that fits and that’s considered safe for the air fryer. Metal pans are usually best because they transfer heat to the food quickly. In a dual-basket model you may need to divide the recipe between two smaller pans or in a single-basket model you may need to use a smaller pan or one that’s designed specifically for air fryers. Either way, we’ve got tips to help you calculate pan sizes or scale the recipe to match the pans you have.

I don’t have an air fryer yet, but I’m tempted. Are some better than others?

Yes, you’ll see differences in quality and features between air fryers. Our test kitchen recently tested air fryers and made several recommendations based on varying combinations of price, features and the quality of food they produced.