This Creamy Air Fryer Mac and Cheese is made in your Air Fryer and you do not have to boil the noodles first. It’s a delicious side dish that can be made in your Air Fryer in about 20 minutes.
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The full recipe with ingredients/instructions is available on the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Important tips/tricks are also included in the blog post.
Macaroni and cheese is something that happens quite often around our house. Whether it’s this creamy baked macaroni and cheese recipe or this white cheddar mac and cheese in the Instant Pot, we are a pasta-loving family and mac and cheese is a favorite.
I bet you’re wondering if you can make macaroni and cheese in your Air Fryer. The answer is a huge YES! Because I love my Air Fryer, I pondered on how I would make mac and cheese work in it. I knew a few things, I did not want to boil the noodles first and I wanted it to be a quick recipe. I’m glad to report that this recipe fits the bill.
How to Make Mac and Cheese in your Air Fryer
First, if using block cheese, which I highly recommend, shred it. I find that block cheese melts much better than the pre-shredded packaged kind.
Then combine uncooked elbow macaroni, water, heavy cream, mustard powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and about ¾ths of the shredded cheese in a 7-inch pan that will fit in your Air Fryer and is deep enough to hold your macaroni. I use the cake pan that comes in this Air Fryer Accessory set. Stir until combined.
Place in your Air Fryer and cook on 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 18-20 minutes, stirring and adding the remainder of the cheese halfway through cooking.
Once done, your mac and cheese will look hot, bubbly, and watery. Please don’t stress, because....
Once you stir, it'll start to thicken up.
And once you let it cool a bit, it'll thicken up even more and you'll have yummy creamy mac and cheese goodness.
Notes:
- I use sharp cheddar for this recipe but you can certainly add any combination of cheeses you like. Here’s a list of great cheeses for mac and cheese from the pros.
- The cheese will thicken while it cools. It’s a good idea to let it rest before digging in.
- Various air fryers will cook at different speeds so you’ll want to make sure you check it halfway through. My Philips took a total of 18 minutes to complete this dish while my Ninja Foodi took 20 minutes.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
What to serve this mac and cheese with?
You can also use this recipe to make these Air Fried Macaroni and Cheese Balls recipe
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Watch this video tutorial and see how I make this mac and cheese from start to finish.
Air Fryer Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup elbow macaroni
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded and separated
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Combine elbow macaroni, water, heavy cream, ¾ of the cheese, dry mustard, kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder in a 7-inch pan that is deep enough to hold all the ingredients. Stir to combine.
- Place in Air Fryer basket and set Air Fryer on 360 degrees Fahrenheit. Set the timer for 18-20 minutes and start Air Fryer. Halfway through cooking, open the Air Fryer basket and add remaining cheese and stir. Close and continue cooking.
- Once the Air Fryer is done cooking, open Air Fryer and stir the mac and cheese. Remove the pan from the basket and allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes. The mac and cheese will thicken while it cools. Serve and Enjoy 🙂
Mary Williams says
This recipe did not work for me at all. Dry pasta and runny sauce.
Tanya says
Hi Mary, sorry to hear it didn't work for you. It may be your air fryer brand, as the sauce should thicken and your noodles should soften.
Lilly says
I made this with Monterrey jack cheese in my new air fryer oven and it came out spectacularly. My husband loved it! This is definitely going in my regular rotation. Thank you!
Tanya says
Thanks Lilly, so happy you all liked the recipe 🙂
Lilly says
@Tanya, mine was also not done at 20 minutes, but I mixed in more water and cooked it longer. I've since cooked the pasta separately in my pressure cooker and then afterwards added all the other ingredients while it was still hot. I also added a can of tuna and some chopped mushrooms and then cooked it all together in the microwave for 4-5 minutes. It came out really good! The basic recipe is excellent alone or doctored up. I'm wondering how many variations I can dream up. Thank you!
Amy says
Smells delicious but takes way longer than 20 minutes. Noodles are still Al dente at 30-35 minutes. I’ve tried this recipe 3 times - I’ll keep trying cause I think it’ll be worth it
Tanya says
Hi Amy, which air fryer and which brand of noodles are you using? I've done this in multiple air fryers and I'm not having the issue you're having. Would love to help you troubleshoot.
Lori says
I decided half way thru trying to make this that I was never making it again. I doubled the recipe and cooked accordingly, allowing more time, but it took over an hr, the pasta was pretty much burned, it never got cooked, it was sloppy and runny and my family asked me never to make it again. I'm glad some had good luck and enjoyed it but for me it was a disaster. 🤨🙁
Tanya says
Hi Lori, I wouldn't recommend doubling this recipe for an air fryer basket.
Linda Bates says
This recipe sounds good,but I like the way I make my own I don’t use cream just a lot of cheese and a can of garlic tomatoes,just wanted to know if it took as long to cook as it does in the oven.It’s way to hot to use oven today I’m going to try the air fryer and I’m not very fond of it,to me things taste different then in the oven thank you Linda bates
Sue Kinnaman says
Is there a lot of difference in air fryers versus the front loaded and the top loaded?
Tanya says
Hi Sue, very little. This post should help. https://www.myforkinglife.com/air-fryer-basket-vs-air-fryer-toaster-oven/
Renee says
What kind of basket is this? Mine has holes.
Tanya says
Hi Renee, this is the Philips air fryer.
Beth says
I love your recipe! I bought an air fryer so I didn’t have to use my stove/oven. So many recipes require pre-cooking before putting it in the air fryer. I love that the dry pasta goes right in and the texture is great when cooked. I have an inexpensive Dash Air Fryer and it worked great in my air fryer. I added an additional 5 minutes because I like it crispy on top.
Usha says
Hi, can I use milk instead of cream in this recipe?
Can I also add tuna in this recipe.
Tanya says
Milk can be used but it won't be as rich. Yep, I've added tuna before during the last 5 minutes.
Victoria says
Can you use half and half cream?
Marilyn says
Very good recipe made it tonight for supper and I just loved it so thank you very much for the recipe will be using it again I’m sure
Steph says
Hi!
I have a ninja and I’m wondering if you press the air fryer button or the bake button to cook this?
Thanks!
Tanya says
I use the air fryer mode.
kay shambaugh says
SOUNDS DELICIOUS!!! I HAVE TO
TRY THIS!
Kirstin says
Cooking this exactly as directed yielded al dente pasta - which my mom would have liked. I just upped it to 375 for five more minutes and for me it was perfect. This was super easy and delicious. I used a mixture of shredded sharp cheddar, white cheddar and colby jack. Before putting into the air fryer, i made sure the pasta (i used penne) was completely submerged in the liquid. I loved how this came out and definitely will be a quick lunch or dinner for my son and I in the future
DONeal says
Air Fryed for 20 min in Ninja ..... not even near done. The only way my family would eat this is to cook the mac for 5 min prior.
Tanya says
Hi DONeal, sorry to hear that. Different air fryers will take different amounts of time to cook the mac and cheese.