How to make the best ever air fryer mac and cheese. Two types of cheese, a creamy sauce, cooks like a baked macaroni cheese and so good you will want a second helping.

Even better, this mac and cheese in air fryer is like a dump and start recipe as almost all ingredients are added to the air fryer at the start, you mix and it comes together in your air fryer container.

Air Fryer Mac and Cheese
Air Fryer Mac and Cheese
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Air Fry Mac And Cheese

When we were making our second air fryer cookbook, Air Fryer Easy Everyday, a couple of weeks before the photoshoot (okay 1 week before!!!) I asked for major changes to the vegetarian chapter.

They felt like they were not everyday enough, and one of the changes I asked for was to swap a recipe for mac and cheese. I have always loved macaroni cheese in the air fryer, as a vegetarian it was my favourite food, and I never get bored of it.

There I was updating our tried and true air fryer mac and cheese recipe for you and I just had to share it here too, to give you a glimpse of what we are up to in our 2nd air fryer cookbook.

Of course, if you have not yet done so, you can get Air Fryer Easy Everyday here, or check out our first air fryer cookbook The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook.

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If you want to try more cheesy comfort food dishes using your air fryer also check out: air fryer camembert, air fryer babybel bites, air fryer grilled cheese, air fryer cheese and bean toasties, or my personal favourite air fryer cauliflower cheese.

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Can You Air Fry Mac And Cheese?

Yes, you can air fry mac and cheese and you will love it. I will often call it air fryer baked mac and cheese as it just like when you bake macaroni cheese in the oven.

You’re just taking the same method to the air fryer.

We recommend using an air fryer accessory for the macaroni cheese and this can be a foil container, silicone, or a casserole dish.

Can You Cook Pasta In Air Fryer?

Yes, you can cook pasta in the air fryer. In this airfryer mac and cheese we are cooking the pasta from scratch in the air fryer, then the milk and cheese becomes the sauce, and the pasta soaks it up, creating a creamy sauce at the end.

Can I Put Ceramic Dish In Air Fryer?

Yes, you can put ceramic dishes in the air fryer. In our 2nd air fryer cookbook we wanted to show off ceramics more (you can find out about our 2nd book here). So we used them in a few of the different air fryer recipes, including the beautiful photograph for macaroni cheese.

Just note, it can be hard sometimes, to find a ceramic dish that fits your air fryer size, so it’s a shopping experience (these are the ones we have). So, measure your air fryer!

Is It OK To Put Cheese In An Air Fryer?

Yes, cheese is amazing in the air fryer. There are so many ways to enjoy cheese in the air fryer, and the only thing you need to worry about is cheese flying about.

For example, when we made our air fryer zucchini pizza slices, we put cream cheese on first and then pressed the cheese down on it, to keep it in place. You can also use some cocktail sticks/toothpicks if you prefer.

Ninja Foodi Mac And Cheese

If you have a Ninja Foodi, you can also make it the pressure cooker way. Use the pressure cooker function, instead of air fry, and its so quick and easy. Get it here: ninja foodi mac and cheese.

Or if you have a Ninja air fryer such as this dual, you can make a Ninja Air Fryer mac and cheese. I would recommend removing the crisp plate, following our mac and cheese recipe and then you can do the macaroni cheese in one drawer, then some air fryer part baked bread in the other drawer for serving.   

Air Fryer Mac n Cheese Ingredients

Air Fryer Mac n Cheese Ingredients

Macaroni – You can use dried macaroni, but also some small pasta shells will do the same thing, or you can mix and match for your air fryer mac n cheese.

Milk – Then because we are making an air fryer baked macaroni and cheese you need milk and lots of it. The milk is soaked up by the pasta and then you don’t need to make a separate cheese sauce.

Cheese – Then for cheese we add lots of grated cheese and then mix it up with some cream cheese. Boursin is the best and produces the best results, but you can use any favourite. 

Flavour – Now you want the flavour. Air fryer macaroni cheese shines by adding in some mustard and some garlic. We also love our creamy pasta dishes with some dried herbs such as mixed herbs, oregano, or basil.

Can You Recommend An Air Fryer?

I often get asked which air fryers I recommend and which one I use. In 95% of our air fryer recipes, we use either the Philips Air Fryer XL or the Cosori XL because they are the best ones, we have found out of many air fryers we have tried over the years. You can click on the links above and read up on them. But if you would rather have a dual air fryer we recommend this Ninja Dual (make sure you order the right one as not all are good) or the Philips Dual.

How To Make Mac And Cheese In Air Fryer?

air-fryer-mac-and-cheese-step-by-step
  • Mix. Add everything into a foil tray or you can use a casserole dish or a silicone container, apart from the cream cheese and mix well.
  • Cook. Place the container into the air fryer basket, and then air fry for 180c/360f for 9 minutes, stir and do the same again.
  • Creamy. Next after cooking your mac and cheese in air fryer for 18 minutes, stir and then find a spot for your Boursin cream cheese. Air fry again at the same time and temperature, stir and then repeat. Resulting in a 36 minute cooking time and 4 stirs.

You now have perfectly cooked and creamy airfryer mac and cheese.

How Long To Cook Mac And Cheese In Air Fryer?

We found that 36 minutes was ideal for macaroni and cheese in air fryer. But if you listen to the podcast episode below, we made a half batch and it was done in 27 minutes, reducing the cooking time by 25%.

Listen To Air Fryer Mac and Cheese

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Every week this year on the Magic With Gadgets Podcast we are creating a podcast each week to accompany the recipe. You can listen to this week’s below, and then follow along with me at home as you make it.

Want to learn more about our Podcast? Then click here and you can browse through past episodes and subscribe to the Magic With Gadgets Podcast.

More Comfort Food In The Air Fryer

Air Fryer Mac And Cheese

Learn How To Cook Macaroni Cheese In Air Fryer below, note you can print it out with or without photos, adjust servings, or click between metric and imperial depending on where you are in the world.

Though before you do, don’t forget to subscribe, and grab your FREE VIP Pass to Recipe This. You will get access to our latest recipes first, you will be able to request recipes, you will have access to free mini courses, free air fryer ebooks and useful air fryer cook time charts and so much more.

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Air Fryer Mac And Cheese

How to make the best ever air fryer mac and cheese. Two types of cheese, a creamy sauce, cooks like a baked macaroni cheese and so good you will want a second helping.
Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: 36 minutes
Total Time: 37 minutes
Servings: 2
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Ingredients 

Kitchen Gadgets

Instructions 

  • Place all the ingredients (apart from the Boursin) into a foil container or a casserole dish or a silicone pan.
    How Long To Cook Mac And Cheese In Air Fryer?
  • Stir the mixture well with a dessertspoon.
    How Long To Cook Mac And Cheese In Air Fryer?
  • Air fry mac and cheese for 9 minutes at 180c/360f, stir then cook at the same time and temperature again.
    How Long To Cook Mac And Cheese In Air Fryer?
  • When the air fryer beeps stir the macaroni cheese, find a spot for the Boursin, and submerge.
    How Long To Cook Mac And Cheese In Air Fryer?
  • Air fry again for another 9 minutes at the same temperature, stir and it will now be very creamy from the Boursin. Cook again for the final 9 minutes at the same temperature, stir, and serve.
    How Long To Cook Mac And Cheese In Air Fryer?

Notes

Half. We experimented with our macaroni cheese air fryer recipe and did exactly half the ingredients for a smaller portion. We found it reduced the cooking time to 27 minutes and just 3 lots of stirring.
Thanks for reading all about macaroni cheese in air fryer on Recipe This. We have many more air fryer recipes for you to check out next. Though if you love comfort food in the air fryer, do try our air fryer cheesy chips.

Nutrition

Calories: 1357kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 71g | Fat: 84g | Saturated Fat: 40g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 212mg | Sodium: 2494mg | Potassium: 884mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 2243IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 1925mg | Iron: 4mg
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About Sam & Dom

Hi! I am Sam and along with my chef hubby Dom we love sharing with you easy everyday recipes using kitchen gadgets. We are also the authors of The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook, an amazing air fryer cookbook filled with 140+ everyday air fryer recipes.

Beyond the air fryer we also love the instant pot, slow cooker, soup maker, ninja foodi, pie maker and several other kitchen gadgets.

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3 Comments

    1. Hi Lynn,

      We have not actually tried this recipe in the air fryer oven yet, but if you were going to try it, we have found that most recipes would need a longer cook time up to 20% longer in an air fryer oven so please bare that in mind 🙂