Air Fryer Mac & Cheese
No need to boil the pasta separately when you make this easy, creamy and delicious Air Fryer Mac & Cheese.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
- Category: pasta
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
1/2 pound dry uncooked pasta (we used elbow macaroni)
2 cups whole milk
1 cup chicken stock
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons cream cheese
8-ounce package sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch Cayenne pepper
Few grinds fresh nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer on 400 degrees F. for 10 minutes.
- Rinse pasta under hot tap water for two minutes and drain.
- Place milk, chicken stock, butter and cream cheese in a glass 4-cup or larger measuring cup and microwave until hot, and the butter melted, about 3-4 minutes. (This just needs to be hot enough to melt the butter and cream cheese, not boiling hot)
- Mix drained pasta, hot liquid, cheddar, mozzarella, salt, pepper, mustard, cayenne and nutmeg in a large bowl then pour into the Air Fryer handled pan.
- Spray a round parchment circle with pan spray and place sprayed side down over the macaroni mixture, pressing down to touch the mixture. Cover the top with foil and set into the heated air fryer and cook for 45 minutes.
- Note: Air fryer wattages vary so check at 35 minutes and cook the additional 5-10 minutes as needed. Our air fryer is an 1800-watt air fryer and our macaroni and cheese took exactly 45 minutes.
- Remove foil and parchment, stir and serve.
Notes
Some air fryers sell accessories (like the 7-cup pan we used in this recipe) separately. The pan we used is 3” deep and 7” across. The recipe makes six cups so it fits perfectly in this pan. If you don’t own the handled pan, we tested this recipe first with an 8-cup stainless steel mixing bowl and it worked just as well (but having a pan with a handle definitely made it easier to lift out of the air fryer).
Find it online: https://www.afamilyfeast.com/air-fryer-mac-cheese/
